Head-to-Head: notion vs obsidian
| Decision Factor | Notion | Obsidian | What It Means in Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Cross-functional teams running docs + projects in one workspace | Individuals or technical teams who want local markdown control | If you need one shared operating system for company work, prioritize Notion. If you want file ownership and longevity, prioritize Obsidian. |
| Not ideal for | Offline-first, local-file-heavy users who dislike web-app dependency | Teams that need polished permissions, real-time co-editing, and admin controls | The wrong fit creates migration pain within 3-6 months, usually when team size or governance needs increase. |
| Budget entry point | Free; paid starts at $10/member/month (Plus) | Core app free; Sync starts at $4/user/month billed annually | Obsidian is cheaper for solo usage, but Notion can be more cost-efficient when replacing several team tools. |
| Complexity | Moderate at first, then grows with databases and permissions | High for non-technical users, especially plugin-heavy setups | Notion has faster team onboarding. Obsidian has a steeper setup curve but stronger long-term flexibility for power users. |
| File and storage constraints | Free uploads up to 5MB/file; paid up to 5GB/file | Local vaults are your storage; Sync Standard has 1GB total and 5MB max file | Media-heavy teams feel limits quickly on free tiers in both tools unless they upgrade or self-manage storage. |
| Collaboration model | Mature teamspaces, guests, permissions, enterprise controls | Shared vaults, but no true live cursor-level co-editing | For daily multi-author workflows, Notion is safer. Obsidian collaboration works, but friction rises under concurrent editing. |
| Integrations and automation | Native database automations, API, broad SaaS ecosystem | Plugin ecosystem + local automation + optional paid services | Notion is better for business process automation; Obsidian is better for custom personal knowledge workflows. |
The frame is simple: this is not “notes app vs notes app.” It is a choice between a workspace platform and a markdown knowledge environment.
Facts first: Notion is optimized for shared workflows, permissioning, and structured data collaboration. Obsidian is optimized for local-first writing, linking ideas, and extensibility through plugins and plain files.
Interpretation: teams usually outgrow weak collaboration faster than they outgrow weak note-linking. That is why Notion wins for the majority. Obsidian still dominates a specific segment: people who value data ownership, offline reliability, and markdown portability over centralized team workflows.
Pricing Breakdown
Pricing checked on February 17, 2026.
| Tier | Notion (official) | Obsidian (official) | What It Means in Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Both can start free, but the “free experience” differs: Notion free is feature-rich with team limits, Obsidian free is fully functional local app. |
| Core paid seat | Plus: $10/member/month; Business: $20/member/month; Enterprise custom | Core app remains free; optional support licenses and add-ons | Notion introduces per-member spend early; Obsidian lets teams defer spend unless they need managed sync/publish services. |
| File/upload limits | Free plan file upload up to 5MB; paid plans up to 5GB per file | Obsidian local files depend on your disk; Sync Standard max file 5MB, Sync Plus max 200MB | For heavy attachments, Notion paid and Obsidian Sync Plus are the practical thresholds. |
| Sync/collab add-on cost | Included inside workspace plans | Sync: $4/user/month billed annually; Publish: $8/site/month billed annually | Obsidian stays cheap for solo users, but team-wide managed sync costs can stack if everyone needs it. |
| Commercial usage | Standard paid workspace model | Free for work; Commercial license is optional ($50/user/year) | Obsidian is unusually permissive for businesses. Budget holders should still plan optional support spend if they rely on it heavily. |
Sources (official, dated):
- Notion pricing: https://www.notion.com/pricing (checked 2026-02-17)
- Notion file upload limits: https://www.notion.com/help/images-files-and-media (checked 2026-02-17)
- Notion free workspace block behavior with multiple members: https://www.notion.com/help/whos-who-in-a-workspace (checked 2026-02-17)
- Obsidian pricing: https://obsidian.md/pricing (checked 2026-02-17)
- Obsidian Sync limits: https://help.obsidian.md/sync/plans (checked 2026-02-17)
- Obsidian collaboration limits: https://help.obsidian.md/sync/collaborate (checked 2026-02-17)
- Obsidian commercial usage terms: https://obsidian.md/license and https://obsidian.md/blog/free-for-work/ (checked 2026-02-17)
One caution on budget math: Notion is seat-priced and predictable. Obsidian is modular, which looks cheaper at first but can become fragmented when you add Sync, Publish, and internal support overhead.
Where Each Tool Pulls Ahead
Notion pulls ahead when the work is inherently shared. Example: a 25-person SaaS team managing product specs, launch checklists, meeting notes, and CRM-adjacent databases in one place. The win is fewer handoffs and fewer disconnected tools.
Tradeoff: Notion can become process-heavy if every team builds its own schema.
Risk: governance debt appears quickly without template standards and workspace ownership.
Obsidian pulls ahead when the core asset is personal or small-group thinking quality. Example: a research lead, founder, or engineering manager building a durable knowledge graph across years of markdown notes. The win is control, speed, and future-proof files.
Tradeoff: onboarding new collaborators is harder than in workspace-first tools.
Risk: plugin sprawl can create brittle setups and inconsistent team experience.
Notion is stronger for formal collaboration depth. Permissions, teamspaces, and role boundaries are materially better for organizations beyond a handful of users. Obsidian shared vaults are useful, but they are not equivalent to enterprise-grade workspace administration.
Tradeoff: stronger controls usually mean more admin work.
Risk: over-permissioning can slow down execution if setup is too strict.
Obsidian is stronger for workflow autonomy. You can run everything locally, automate with scripts, and keep your stack portable. That matters for security-sensitive or compliance-aware teams that avoid centralizing all knowledge in one SaaS platform.
Tradeoff: local-first freedom shifts responsibility to the user or IT function.
Risk: uneven backup discipline can create silent data-loss exposure if Sync is not standardized.
On integrations, Notion typically wins by default for business systems. It fits better with cross-functional SaaS operations that need structured data movement. Obsidian wins when your integration goal is personal productivity automation rather than company-wide process orchestration.
Tradeoff: Notion integrations can encourage over-automation before process maturity.
Risk: Obsidian automations may become key-person dependent and hard to support.
The Verdict
Winner: Notion for most users in 2026.
The reason is straightforward: most teams are buying alignment, not just note-taking. Notion provides stronger default collaboration, admin controls, and multi-workflow consolidation for growing organizations.
Choose Notion if you are a SaaS team that needs shared execution with predictable onboarding and governance.
Choose Obsidian if you are an individual or privacy-first team that values markdown ownership, local-first operation, and deep customization.
If you are a 5-50 person startup with mixed technical and non-technical users, choose Notion and enforce template governance early.
If you are a small expert team with strict data-control constraints, choose Obsidian and standardize Sync, backup, and plugin policies upfront.
If you are a solo operator or researcher optimizing for long-term knowledge durability, choose Obsidian unless real-time collaboration is a top requirement.