Choose Apple Notes when every device you own is Apple-made and you want quick capture, attachments, audio transcripts and syncing with nothing to set up. Choose Obsidian when you'd rather keep linked notes as open-format files on your own device, shape the app with plugins, and handle syncing yourself or through its optional add-on.
Most people land on this question when their notes have grown past shopping lists and meeting scraps. Apple Notes is already sitting on the iPhone and Mac, Obsidian keeps coming up whenever people talk about linked notes, and the worry is simple: is moving worth the hassle, or does the app you already have cover what you need?
Sync is the dividing line, not features
Obsidian's free app doesn't include sync. Its own plans page lists syncing across devices as an optional add-on service that sits apart from the app itself. Apple, on the other hand, lists Notes among the apps iCloud keeps in step across your devices, so a to-do list jotted on a Mac is waiting on your iPhone without you lifting a finger.
The real split, then, is built-in convenience on one side and local, open-format ownership on the other. Because your notes stay privately on your own device under that model, getting them onto a second device becomes your job, either through the optional service or through a route you set up yourself.
If you only ever write on one computer, this barely matters. If you capture ideas on your phone and write them up on a laptop, it's the first thing to settle, long before you look at plugins or themes.
Side by side
| Apple Notes | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Where notes live | iCloud | Your own device |
| Sync | Built in | Optional add-on |
| File format | - | Open |
| Works offline | - | Yes |
| Audio transcripts | Yes | - |
| Inline maths | Yes | - |
| Drag-in files | Yes | - |
| Plugins and themes | - | Thousands |
| Web publishing | - | Optional add-on |
Who'll be happiest staying with Apple Notes
If every device in your bag has an Apple logo on it, the built-in app does a lot with no setup at all. You can record an audio session right inside a note and get a live transcript as you go, which is handy for interviews, lectures or thinking out loud on a walk. Type a sum followed by an equals sign and Notes solves it inline, so quick sums and unit checks stay in the same place as the rest of your thinking.
Attachments are easy too. Pictures, videos, PDFs and other files drag straight into a note, so a project brief, a screenshot and your own comments can live together. For someone who wants capture to be instant and doesn't want to think about where files are stored, that's hard to beat.
Who's better suited to files they own
Obsidian suits people who think in connections and want to own the files. Because it uses open file formats and keeps everything on your device, your notes aren't tied to one company's cloud. Its site says thousands of plugins and themes let you shape it around the way you think, so it can grow from a simple notebook into something closer to a personal knowledge base.
The trade-off is effort. You'll spend time choosing plugins, deciding on folders and sorting out how notes reach your phone. None of that is hard, but it's work Apple Notes never asks of you, so be clear with yourself about whether you'll enjoy it or resent it by the second week.
If you go this way, a short list of plugins worth installing first saves a lot of trial and error, and a good theme for long writing sessions makes the switch feel less like a step down in looks.
Where your notes physically sit
It sounds like a technical detail, but it shapes your week. With Apple's app, your notes sit in iCloud and appear on each Apple device you sign in to, so there's nothing to copy and nothing to remember. The flip side is that your notes live where Apple keeps them, in the form Apple chooses.
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On the other side, the notes are files on your own device in an open format. Backups are yours to think about, so decide early where a second copy of those files will live, whether that's the optional sync service or a backup routine you already run. Apple handles storage and sync for you. Here, you get the files and the choices, and you're expected to make them.
Questions to answer before you switch
- How many devices do you write on? One computer makes the sync question disappear; a phone plus a laptop puts it at the top of the list.
- Do you record audio or rely on inline maths? Those are built into Apple's app, so check whether a plugin covers them before you leave.
- Do you want to own your files? Open formats on your own disk are the main reason to make this move at all.
- How much setup will you tolerate? Plugins and themes are a strength only if you enjoy choosing them.
- What do you attach most? If your notes are full of PDFs and videos, test how they come across before moving the lot.
Two weeks with one real project
Don't move your whole archive to find out. Pick one live project, copy its notes across by hand or with an export, and leave everything else where it is. On day one, decide how those notes will reach your phone, either through the optional sync add-on or a method you already trust, and test it before you rely on it in a meeting.
Keep the first week lean. Install two or three plugins at most, so you're judging the app rather than an evening of tinkering, and carry on capturing quick thoughts in Apple Notes as normal so the speed comparison is fair. In the second week, write something longer that links several notes together, because linked writing is where open-format notes shaped by plugins earn their keep.
At the end of the fortnight, the app you reached for first on a busy day is usually your answer. If you'd rather carry on with the new setup, don't delete anything from Apple Notes until the new setup has seen you through a busy stretch of real work.
Frequently asked questions
Does Obsidian work without an internet connection?
Yes. Its own site says notes are stored on your device so you can reach them quickly, even offline.
Can I publish Obsidian notes as a website?
Only through its optional publishing add-on, which is a separate service from the free app.
Do I need a commercial licence to use it at work?
No. Obsidian's own site says you aren't required to pay for a commercial licence for work use.
What happens to my notes if I stop using the app?
They're files in an open format on your own device, so they stay where they are and other tools can open them.
Is it sensible to run both apps at once?
Nothing stops you, and it can work well: one for fast capture, the other for longer linked writing. Set yourself a rule about which note goes where.
