Top 10 Obsidian Alternatives to Try in 2024

Do you have a love-hate relationship with most note-taking apps? Perhaps you’re overwhelmed with the number of options out there. Maybe, you’ve tried your hand at Obsidian but now want better Obsidian alternatives.

And why not? Notes are the best way to keep tabs on important deadlines and tasks. They prevent costly slip-ups and help your projects along. In this blog, we’re rounding 10 improved alternatives to Obsidian you can try—even switch to!

6 Reasons Why Obsidian is Not Up to the Mark

So, let’s address the million-dollar question: What makes Obsidian a bad pick? Here are five reasons you might be struggling with:

• Offline mode is not convenient: Obsidian offers offline and online modes, but the offline mode has one major flaw—you can’t sync your locally stored notes across devices on the free plan. A planned upgrade automatically translates to higher costs.
• Need coding knowledge to use it to the fullest: If you’re a non-coder, you’ll not be able to utilize much of Obsidian’s functionalities. More importantly, you must be more careful when downloading plugins, as Obsidian’s website states: “Obsidian cannot reliably restrict plugins to specific permissions or access levels due to technical limitations.”
• The formatting has a learning curve: The formatting, particularly Markdown, has a fair bit of a learning curve. Plus, some users complain that the formatting and the list of folders and notes are ugly.
• Lack of support: The Obsidian community does not have useful support documents and tutorials for beginners and intermediate users.
• The User Interface (UI) is poor: Another area of concern for users is Obsidian’s clunky interface, which doesn’t feel “thought-out” by active users.
• It has a slow loading time: Most users complain about Obsidian’s slow loading times. 

Top 10 Obsidian Alternatives: A Quick Snapshot

App	Key Features	Pricing
1. Nifty	All-in-one project management tool with features for task management, time tracking, and reporting; allows for the integration of tasks and notes at one click	Free plan available; paid plan starts at $39/month, billed annually
2. Zettlr	Simple to use, clean and intuitive interface, easy to navigate	Open source tool that’s available for free entirely; no hidden costs
3. ClickUp	Quick and easy online notepad	Free plan available; paid plan starts at $7/user/month, billed yearly
4. Notion	Real-time collaboration, good for task management, highly-customizable app	Free plan available; paid plan starts at $8/seat/month
5. Logseq	Strong community of users, open-source tool, 150+ plugins available	Free to use
6. Evernote	Multiple formats for notes; advanced search feature	Free plan available; paid plan starts at $10.83/month (originally $14.99)
7. Simplenote	Minimalist design and distraction-free interface	Free to use
8. Apple Notes	Great organization and search options	Free to use
9. Google Keep	Seamless integration and syncing capabilities	Free to use
10. Joplin	Notes are stored in markdown; offline mode is available	Free, open source note taking app

Top 10 Obsidian Alternatives: A Detailed Overview

1. Nifty 

Nifty is a complete project management tool that helps you do much more than take notes. It is one of the most well-rounded Obsidian alternatives available, with powerful features for internal collaboration, knowledge sharing, and creative decision-making.

All your notes are centrally accessible, from which you can drive internal discussions and edit notes live.

Key Features of Nifty as a Note-Taking App:

Docs

Nifty’s Docs feature helps you to set up a notes framework—you can create full-fledged agendas for important projects, collate all sensitive information in one place, and drive collaboration in real-time within a hybrid work environment:

Docs is a feature-rich market with superior formatting capabilities. With a click of a button, you can add rich media, GIFs, and images, embed links, build tables, format bulleted/ordered lists, set up to-do lists with in-built checklists, and much more. 

Its Highlight text to comment feature within Docs is the star feature. You can tag team members directly within docs and upload files for greater context:

Any note-taking app worth its salt allows you to capture information, provide context, and drive discussions with an in-built chat functionality, and Nifty does this with great organization.

You can share well-thought-out notes, complete with a strategic agenda. Well-articulate action items and discussion points, make updates in real-time, and ensure the team is aligned with the task’s expectations.

Nifty Orbit AI

Nifty Orbit AI is an extremely useful feature for teams and individuals who are hard-pressed on time. All you need is a prompt to get started:

Once you’ve added the prompt, Nifty Orbit AI gets to work. You’ll be presented with multiple fields where you’ll need to fill in the details as per your brand/project’s requirements:

And voila! You’ll get a full-fledged outline (content calendar in this case) within minutes:

You can always fine-tune the details to get a more accurate picture of your notes and share them with the team using a public link so that they have the most accurate and structured version of your notes.

Limitations:

• Does not have a voice notes feature—yet
• The mobile app version lacks advanced functionalities such as OCR and PDF annotation
• The learning curve can be steep due to the number of features available

Pricing: 

Nifty offers a free forever plan to get you started with paid plans starting at only $5/month per user with all core features included.

Try the best Obsidian alternative, Nifty.
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2. Zettlr

Zettlr is great for taking notes, thanks to its minimal and simple UI. Its drag-and-drop functionality for organizing notes into folders comes in handy if you want to make on-the-spot changes to your workflow. The best part is that the app sorts your notes by file name, so you can extract your notes within seconds if you know the exact name of the notes file.

Key Features:

• Folder features allow you to categorize and store your notes within a cloud-synchronized folder so that you can access notes on the go
• A global search bar with an autocomplete feature is useful for finding notes easily
• Move files between notebooks with easy drag-and-drop functionality
• The markdown feature allows you to add LaTeX commands in addition to helping you format the headings, block elements, inline formatting, links and images, and more

Limitations:

• The app only opens files that match the given ID or filename exactly (case-insensitive)

Pricing: Available for free

3. ClickUp

ClickUp works as a note-taking app, especially when it comes to organizing your notes. You can co-author notes with the team and use rich formatting features for a more collaborative note-taking experience. Plus, ClickUp allows you to share notes with specific permissions for teams and individuals, keeping your notes safe and secure.

Key Features:

• ClickUp Doc connects your tasks and notes together so that you can build connections between the two
• ClickUp Brain is an AI-powered writing assistant to summarize notes and make your notes better
• ClickUp Meeting Notes template helps you to prep for upcoming meetings with ready-to-use list items and agendas
• The ability to archive Docs helps keep your Workspace clean

Limitations:

• Requires too many clicks to create a note on the mobile version
• Lack of customization and templates on the mobile version for notes
• The mobile note app is not as intuitive as the desktop version

Pricing: 

• Free Forever: $0
• Unlimited: $7/user/month, billed annually
• Business: $12/user/month, billed annually
• Enterprise: Contact the team

ClickUp is a good tool. Know why Nifty is better.
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4. Notion

Want to upgrade your notes to a more organized database? Notion is the best alternative to Obsidian in this regard. Its user interface is simplistic, and it boasts a large community of active users. From simple to-dos to 360-degree knowledge bases, you can create different forms of notes with Notion.

Key Features:

• Great note organization and management capabilities owing to the bi-directional feature where you can connect with your workspace with your notes
• Embed code snippets, links, images, videos, etc.
• Task management and database functionalities make Notion a versatile note-taking app
• Plenty of in-built templates to get started quickly

Limitations:

• The mobile app is less robust than the desktop version
• The mobile app lacks integration and offers limited features
• It doesn’t work offline
• Some users find it to be overly complicated

Pricing: 

• Free: $0
• Plus: $8/seat/month, billed annually
• Business: $15/seat/month, billed annually
• Enterprise: Contact the team
• Notion AI: Add to the workspace at $8/member/month, billed annually

Looking for Notion alternative? Try Nifty

5. Logseq

One of the best free note-taking apps on this list, Logseq doubles up as a powerful personal knowledge management (PKM) tool. You can use Logseq to create everyday notes and view them in highly visual graphs without worrying about privacy.

The tool is best suited for advanced note-takers who follow the PKM methodology and want to generate ideas as well as do research.

Key Features:

• The whiteboard feature works like a canvas where you can express ideas visually using images and files.
• Graphs view allows you to create notes and see the relationship between notes created.
• Offline mode is helpful if you don’t have access to the internet all the time.
• The plugin library is extensive and is built by the Logseq community

Limitations:

• Flashcards aren’t as polished as other tools, and the recall capabilities are lacking in functionality
• Some users feel that the software is buggy and unpolished

Pricing: Available for free

6. Evernote

Evernote allows you to organize your thoughts, ideas, and project information in one place. It has a clean UI that is easy to navigate. You can create notes offline and share notes across your social media handles.

Key Features:

• Attach voice notes, images, and PDFs to notes
• Capture scanned documents easily
• The web-clipping feature helps clip, save, and sync informative notes 
• Powerful search feature to locate notes instantly
• Exceptional integration features with popular apps such as Slack, Google Drive, etc.

Limitations:

• The free plan now limits users to only 50 notes and one Notebook—which is way too less for avid note-takers
• Does not offer task management and real-time collaboration features like other apps on this list

Pricing: 

• Free: $0/month
• Personal: $10.83/month, billed annually
• Professional: $14.17/month, billed annually
• Teams: $20.83/user/month, billed annually

7. Simplenote

Simplenote’s signature advantage is its clutter-free design. If you love all things minimal, Simplenote (like the name suggests) is for you. Its syncing feature is a cut above the rest. 

Key Features:

• Extensive markdown support to make your notes visually appealing
• The checklist feature helps create basic to-dos and allows you to pin important notes above the fold
• Cross-platform syncing is available for notes, allowing you to co-edit notes with collaborators
• Note-tagging helps find notes easily

Limitations:

• The platform lacks severely when it comes to adding images, files, and other attachments to notes
• It does not offer any drawing tools for creating notes
• Lacks advanced features that other Obsidian alternatives offer

Pricing: Available for free

8. Apple Notes

Apple Notes is free for macOS/iOS users. What makes this app different from the rest is the ability to take notes by hand or using an Apple Pencil. Take your pick from diverse Markup tools and colors to create beautiful notes that convey the message visually.

Key Features:

• The pin feature helps keep all your important information on top for easy access
• The gallery view for notes is intuitive and engaging
• Quick Note feature brings up notes within seconds on your Mac
• Siri integrations offer a hands-off approach to note-taking and make it convenient to create notes without lifting a finger (if you find that Siri is interrupting your workflow or privacy by reading messages aloud on your AirPods, you might want to stop Siri from reading messages on your AirPods.)
• Built-in scanner within Notes comes in handy to scan documents with your iPhone
• Protects your notes with security-first features such as Touch ID, Face ID, etc. 

Limitations:

• There’s a cap on storage for Apple Notes users
• Taking your notes out of Apple Notes is cumbersome, according to some users
• Does not offer a web clipper plugin to scrape a webpage and build a note
• The app cannot be used cross-platform, especially with Linux 

Pricing: Free to use; it is built into the iOS

9. Google Keep

Want audio notes? Check. Want web-clipper for your notes? Check. Want to create notes on the fly? Check. Google Keep delivers on all these accounts. If you use Google Workspace routinely, try the Google Keep feature for your note-taking needs. The app is known for its speed and reliability, and is a great option for users who want to stay within the Google Ecosystem.

Key Features:

• Archive notes and keep your workspace clutter-free
• Save drawings as notes
• Pin, label, and color your notes as needed
• Automatically transcribes your recorded audio
• Access notes across platforms and devices, be it Android, iOS, Chrome, or Web
• Integrate at one click with Google Calendar, Google Drive, Gmail, and more
• Chrome extension is useful for saving links and notes

Limitations:

• Text notes are restricted to 19,999 characters
• Images are limited to 10MB each
• Offers basic note-taking features, with some users calling it “barebones”

Pricing: Free to use for Google account holders

10. Joplin: Open-source Obsidian alternative

Note-takers demanding more privacy should consider Joplin a viable app, primarily because it offers end-to-end encryption. This open-source note-taking app backs up your notes on the Joplin cloud. What’s more, Joplin allows you to create diagrams and supports math functions, unlike its competitors. Many users call it the best offline-first app, as they can access their notes without an internet connection.

Key Features:

• Take an image on your mobile and save it as a note
• Publish notes online and make it available for external stakeholders
• Web clipper extension captures notes across the web
• A smooth import process ensures your notes and tags are stored properly
• Stores note in markdown and offer abundant plugins
• Customize the interface to your heart’s content using CSS
• Organize notes across multiple folders—there’s no cap on this

Limitations:

• The mobile app is not intuitive or refined and lacks key essential features found in the desktop version
• The app is not updated as often as users would like

Pricing: Available for free

Choosing the Right Obsidian Alternative for Your Needs

Is there a checklist of factors to consider when looking for Obsidian note alternatives? There sure is. Read on. You want an app that:

• Offers plenty of themes and plugins to control how you use the app
• Organize all your notes neatly into folders based on specific projects and topics
• Allows you to interlink important tasks, documents, files, and more directly into the notes
• Doubles up as an interconnected knowledge hub—one where you can view and share notes as highly visual graphs and charts
• Helps you to collaborate on notes with features such as @mentions, alerts, in-app chat, and more
• Allows you to access notes offline and online

Nifty: A Versatile and Dependable Note-taking Option Among Alternatives to Obsidian

Nifty is so much more than a linear and simple note-taking app—it serves as an AI-powered project management platform where you can jot down notes, connect them to actionable tasks, and keep the team in line with their responsibilities.

There’s a suite of project management features that take your note-taking experience to the next level—you can scale your notes and sync them across platforms as well as devices. Take charge of your notes (and tasks) with Nifty. Sign up to get started.