Report updated Apr 16, 2026
Obsidian - Connected Notes
For knowledge workers, researchers, writers, and students who prioritize data privacy, long-term durability of their notes, and a highly customizable workflow.
Obsidian - Connected Notes is an established productivity app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.2/5 rating from 19K reviews, it shows polarized user reception. Users particularly appreciate high customizability and flexibility, though poor mobile ui/ux and navigation remains a common concern.
What is Obsidian - Connected Notes?
Current Momentum
v1.12
Includes all new features and bug fixes up to Obsidian Desktop v1.12.7.
Active Nemesis
Notion: Notes, Tasks, AI
By Notion Labs, Incorporated
Other Rivals
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
ProductivityRating Pulse 🇺🇸
Recent User Mood
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
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What Are The Key Features?
Notes are stored as plain text files on the user's device, ensuring data ownership and offline access.
Visualizes the relationships and connections between notes to help identify patterns in thinking.
An infinite workspace for brainstorming, diagramming, and laying out ideas spatially.
Extensive customization options through an open API and a large library of user-created plugins.
Allows users to create connections between notes, effectively building a personal wiki.
Secure, end-to-end encrypted synchronization of notes across multiple devices.
How much does it cost?
- Free for personal use
- Paid services available for Sync and Publish features
The core software is free and open-format to prevent vendor lock-in, with monetization focused on optional, value-added cloud services (Sync/Publish) and enterprise support.
Who Built It?
Dynalist
Empowering knowledge workers to build a durable 'second brain' through local-first, highly customizable note-taking and organization tools.
Portfolio
4
Apps
What other apps does Dynalist make?
Explore the full Dynalist report
Portfolio breakdown, audience, momentum, and every app published by Dynalist.
What do users think recently?
High confidence · 99 reviews analyzed · Based on 99 reviews. Signal may be noisy.
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a mixed sentiment. Users appreciate high customizability and flexibility and powerful knowledge management, but report poor mobile ui/ux and navigation and syncing and cloud issues.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
View the full user-sentiment analysis
Mood gauge, ratings & review-volume history, every praise / complaint / request, and sentiment over time.
What is the competitive landscape for Obsidian - Connected Notes?
Where is it available?
Localized markets (1)
How's The Productivity Market?
How does it evolve in the Productivity market?
Rank progression
56 active rankings tracked — 30-day window
The rivals identified
The outtake for Obsidian - Connected Notes
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Unmatched extensibility through community plugins and themes.
- Robust local-first architecture ensuring data sovereignty.
- Strong 'second brain' brand identity among power users.
Critical Frictions
- Declining mobile UI/UX quality causing user frustration.
- Performance bottlenecks (load times) on mobile devices.
- High learning curve for non-technical users.
Growth Levers
- Capture users fleeing from rigid, subscription-heavy SaaS platforms.
- Improve mobile-first accessibility to compete with Craft and Notion.
- Expand enterprise-grade support to drive B2B revenue.
Market Threats
- Rising 'database-first' tools like Capacities and Tana.
- Continued dominance of ecosystem-integrated tools like Apple Notes.
- Potential for user churn if mobile sync stability remains inconsistent.
Key Takeaways
Obsidian - Connected Notes is an established productivity app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.2/5 rating from 19K reviews, it shows polarized user reception. Users particularly appreciate high customizability and flexibility, though poor mobile ui/ux and navigation remains a common concern.
Where Is It Heading?
Mixed Signals
Obsidian faces increased competitive pressure from emerging database-first tools and persistent user dissatisfaction regarding mobile performance and sync accessibility.