Your comparison workspace.
Put two or three tools from the same category side by side.
There is a researched guide for these apps. Read Joplin vs Obsidian: free notes, sync costs and leaving later.
Open-source notes with a choice of sync service
A personal knowledge base in local files
Prices & plans
Published prices keep their original currency and billing terms. Taxes, promotions and checkout prices can differ.
Joplin
Local app
Free
Free open-source application
AvailabilityGlobal
Optional external storage may have its own cost.
SourceCloud Basic — monthly
EUR 2.99/month
Monthly subscription
AvailabilityEUR public list price
2 GB and 10 MB per note or attachment.
SourceCloud Basic — annual
EUR 28.69/year
Annual subscription
AvailabilityEUR public list price
Vendor's explicit annual total; do not calculate it from the rounded monthly equivalent.
SourceCloud Pro — monthly
EUR 5.99/month
Monthly subscription
AvailabilityEUR public list price
30 GB and 200 MB per note or attachment.
SourceCloud Pro — annual
EUR 57.48/year
Annual subscription
AvailabilityEUR public list price
Includes creating shared notebooks.
Source
Obsidian
Core
Free
No account or paid license required
AvailabilityGlobal
Free for personal and commercial use.
SourceSync Standard — monthly
USD 5.00/month
Billed monthly per user
AvailabilityUSD list price
1 vault, 1 GB storage and 5 MB maximum file.
SourceSync Standard — annual
USD 48.00/year
Billed annually per user
AvailabilityUSD list price
Annual total calculated from the advertised $4 per month billed annually.
SourceSync Plus — monthly
USD 10.00/month
Billed monthly per user
AvailabilityUSD list price
10 vaults, 10 GB storage and 200 MB maximum file.
SourcePublish — annual
USD 96.00/year
Billed annually per site
AvailabilityUSD list price
Annual total calculated from $8 per month billed annually; separate from Sync.
SourceFeatures and limits
Row headings group related topics. Each answer keeps its specific scope. An unverified answer means we do not have enough evidence.
Joplin
Devices
Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android; Cloud plans also include a web app.
Obsidian
Devices
Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android apps are documented.
Offline use
Joplin
Offline access
The app keeps notes locally and is designed for offline use.
Obsidian
Offline access
The local vault remains available without a connection; Sync merges changes when connectivity returns.
Sync choices
Joplin
Sync choices
Joplin Cloud, Nextcloud, S3, WebDAV, Dropbox, OneDrive and local filesystem are supported.
Obsidian
Not yet verified for this product.
Privacy and storage
Joplin
Encryption
End-to-end encryption is supported but must first be enabled on one device and synchronized to the others.
Obsidian
Sync privacy
Official Sync documents end-to-end encryption; local-only use does not send notes to Obsidian.
Collaboration
Joplin
Notebook sharing
Cloud Basic can join another user's shared notebook. Pro or above can create a notebook share.
Obsidian
Shared vaults
All collaborators need Sync. Shared vaults do not provide live co-editing cursors or fine-grained permissions.
Export
Joplin
Export
JEX preserves notes and metadata for Joplin restores; HTML and PDF exports are also documented.
Obsidian
Portability
Markdown files are directly accessible. Vault settings and extensions live separately in the .obsidian folder.
Project portability
Joplin
Evernote import
ENEX imports notes and resources; complex formatting and some inter-note links may need repair.
Obsidian
Notion migration
API import converts databases and formulas to Bases with limitations. ZIP import does not preserve databases.
Free plan limits
Joplin
Free app
The local application is free and open source; Joplin Cloud is optional.
Obsidian
Core app cost
Core use is free without a mandatory account. Sync and Publish are optional services.
Local OCR
Joplin
Local OCR
Desktop processes PNG, JPEG and PDF text offline. OCR results can sync to mobile; handwriting is not supported.
Obsidian
Not yet verified for this product.
AI features
Joplin
AI
Joplin Cloud plans list an AI chat beta for desktop. It is distinct from the core local editor.
Obsidian
Not yet verified for this product.
Joplin
Not yet verified for this product.
Obsidian
Storage format
Notes are Markdown text in a local folder and can be edited with other text editors.
Use at work
Joplin
Not yet verified for this product.
Obsidian
Use at work
Commercial use is free; the paid commercial license is optional support.
Team limit
Joplin
Not yet verified for this product.
Obsidian
Team limit
A shared vault supports at most 20 collaborators according to the current help page.
This workspace aligns existing research. It does not declare a winner or treat missing evidence as a missing feature. Read the methodology.