Obsidian
Standard Notes
| Feature | Obsidian | Standard Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $4/mo | Free / from $7.5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.7 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | researchers, writers, developers, knowledge-workers | privacy-focused-users, journalists, professionals, researchers |
| Founded | 2020 | 2016 |
| Markdown | ✓ | ✗ |
| Backlinks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Graph View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Plugins | ✓ | ✗ |
| Themes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Canvas | ✓ | ✗ |
| Encryption | ✗ | ✓ |
| Editors | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tags | ✗ | ✓ |
| File Attachments | ✗ | ✓ |
| Two Factor Auth | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Obsidian Pros
- 100% offline
- Local-first
- Plugin ecosystem
- Graph view
- Free for personal use
✗ Obsidian Cons
- No real-time collaboration
- Steep learning curve
- Mobile app is basic
✓ Standard Notes Pros
- End-to-end encrypted
- 100-year company promise
- Cross-platform
- Open-source
✗ Standard Notes Cons
- Basic free version
- Fewer features than Notion
- Limited formatting
The Verdict
Obsidian is built for researchers and writers, with a focus on markdown and backlinks. Standard Notes targets privacy focused users and journalists and leads with encryption and themes.
Pricing is close: Obsidian starts at $4/mo versus $7.5/mo for Standard Notes — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Obsidian edges out on user ratings (4.7 vs 4.3). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Both tools are a solid fit for researchers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Obsidian has a slight overall edge — but if end-to-end encrypted matters most to you, Standard Notes may still be the right call.
