Obsidian is built for researchers and writers, with a focus on markdown and backlinks. Zotero targets researchers and students and leads with reference-management and pdf-annotation.

On pricing, Obsidian is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $4/mo compared to $20/mo for Zotero. That $16/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.

Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.

Both tools are a solid fit for researchers, writers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.

This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.