Affine vs Obsidian

AFFiNE and Obsidian both let you own your notes locally, but they're built around different core models: AFFiNE unifies docs, whiteboards, and structured…

Best for Affine: Teams or individuals wanting a single workspace that combines Notion-style docs, Miro-style whiteboards, and databases, especially if they want an optional AI add-on for writing and planning.
Best for Obsidian: Writers and personal-knowledge-management users who want their notes stored as local, portable plain-text Markdown files with backlinks and a graph view, paying only for the specific add-ons (Sync, Publish) they actually need.

At a Glance

 AffineObsidian
Primary categoryProductivityProductivity
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starting priceFreeFree
Free planYesYes
Free trialNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Mac, WindowsWindows
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresYesNot documented
Public APINot documentedYes

Key Differences

Core Workspace Model

Affine: AFFiNE combines docs, whiteboards (Canvas), and structured databases/tables in one unified workspace.

Obsidian: Obsidian focuses on Markdown notes with bidirectional linking, a graph view, and its own Canvas for diagramming, but doesn't document a native structured database/table feature.

Users needing structured databases alongside notes get that natively in AFFiNE, while Obsidian users would rely on community plugins (not covered in these facts) for database-like functionality.

File Storage Model

Affine: AFFiNE is described as privacy-focused and local-first, but its free plan is built around 10 GB of cloud storage rather than plain-text file ownership as the core pitch.

Obsidian: Obsidian stores notes as local plain-text Markdown files that you fully control.

Obsidian's plain-Markdown-file promise is an explicit lock-in-avoidance selling point; long-term format portability differs between the two.

AI Features

Affine: AFFiNE offers an optional AI add-on for writing, visualization, and planning at $8.90/month, billed annually.

Obsidian: No AI features are documented for Obsidian.

Teams wanting built-in AI assistance for content creation have a documented paid path only in AFFiNE.

Sync/Collaboration Pricing

Affine: AFFiNE's Pro plan ($6.75/month, annual) bundles 100 GB storage, up to 10 workspace members, and 30-day version history together.

Obsidian: Obsidian's Sync add-on alone costs $4/user/month (annual) just for cross-device sync, end-to-end encryption, version history, and shared vault collaboration, separate from the always-free core app.

AFFiNE bundles collaboration and storage into one paid tier, while Obsidian keeps its core app entirely free and charges only for the specific add-ons a user needs.

Licensing for Organizational Use

Affine: AFFiNE offers a Team plan ($10/seat/month, 10+ seat minimum) and a custom Enterprise tier with commercial source licensing and OEM/white-label options, plus a self-hosted MIT-licensed editor.

Obsidian: Obsidian requires a separate Commercial License ($50/user/year) for organizational or commercial use of the otherwise-free app.

Businesses must budget for compliance licensing differently depending on which tool they choose.

Feature-by-Feature

Core Workspace

FeatureAffineObsidian
Whiteboard/canvasAvailableAvailable
Structured databases/tablesAvailableNot documented
Bidirectional linking/backlinksNot documentedAvailable
Graph viewNot documentedAvailable
Local plain-text file storageNot documentedAvailable

Pricing & Plans

FeatureAffineObsidian
Free tierAvailableAvailable
Entry paid planAvailableAvailable
Lifetime/one-time purchase optionAvailableNot documented
Team planAvailableNot documented

Platform & Extensibility

FeatureAffineObsidian
Plugin ecosystemNot documentedAvailable
Mobile apps (iOS/Android)AvailableNot documented
Self-hostingAvailableNot documented
AI featuresAvailableUnavailable

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Affine

Free — $0 N/A
Pro — $6.75/month Billed annually
Team — $10/seat/month Monthly
Self-Hosted FOSS — Free N/A
Believer — $499.99 one-time Lifetime
Enterprise — Custom Custom

Obsidian

Personal — Free N/A
Sync — $4/month billed annually ($5/month billed monthly) Monthly or annual
Publish — Custom pricing Monthly
Catalyst — One-time payment One-time

Pros & Cons

Affine

Pros

  • Open source with a local-first, privacy-focused architecture
  • Generous free tier plus a fully free self-hosted option
  • Cross-platform support across web, desktop, and mobile
  • Large, active open-source community (70K+ GitHub stars)

Cons

  • AI features and expanded storage require paid Pro/Team plans
  • Newer product still maturing relative to established competitors like Notion
  • Some team collaboration features (multi-admin, priority support) are gated behind paid tiers

Obsidian

Pros

  • Core app is free for personal and commercial use with no feature paywall.
  • Local-first, plain-Markdown storage gives users full data ownership and long-term durability.
  • Extremely deep customization through a large community plugin and theme ecosystem.
  • Works fully offline with no required account or internet connection for the base app.
  • User-funded business model keeps incentives aligned with users rather than investors.

Cons

  • No built-in real-time collaboration, unlike Notion or Google Docs.
  • Steeper learning curve than simpler note apps, especially when configuring plugins.
  • Sync and Publish are paid add-ons rather than included with the free app.
  • Heavy reliance on third-party community plugins can introduce inconsistency or occasional compatibility issues after updates.
  • Mobile app experience, while functional, is generally considered less polished than the desktop app.

Use Cases

Choose Affine: Teams or individuals wanting a single workspace that combines Notion-style docs, Miro-style whiteboards, and databases, especially if they want an optional AI add-on for writing and planning.
Choose Obsidian: Writers and personal-knowledge-management users who want their notes stored as local, portable plain-text Markdown files with backlinks and a graph view, paying only for the specific add-ons (Sync, Publish) they actually need.
Need both: A researcher could keep long-term reference notes in Obsidian for its plain-text portability and backlink graph, while using AFFiNE's whiteboards and databases for visual project planning and structured tracking — different tools for archival notes versus visual, structured collaboration.

Affine

  • Individual note-taking and docs — Write and organize personal notes and documents.
  • Team knowledge base and whiteboarding — Collaborate on documents, databases, and visual whiteboards.
  • Privacy-focused self-hosted deployment — Run AFFiNE on your own servers for full data ownership.

Obsidian

  • Personal knowledge management — Individuals build a linked, searchable 'second brain' of notes using bidirectional links and the graph view to surface connections between ideas.
  • Long-form writing and research organization — Writers and academics use Obsidian's plain-text, offline-first storage to organize research notes, drafts, and citations without vendor lock-in.
  • Developer documentation and technical notes — Developers use Obsidian's Markdown-native storage and plugin ecosystem to maintain technical documentation and code-adjacent notes alongside version control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is AFFiNE free?

Yes, AFFiNE has a free-forever plan with unlimited local workspaces, 10 GB of cloud storage, and up to 3 workspace members.

Is Obsidian free?

Yes, the core app is free with no sign-up required and no feature limits; paid add-ons cover Sync and Publish.

Does either have AI features?

AFFiNE offers a paid AI add-on ($8.90/month, billed annually) for writing, visualization, and planning; Obsidian doesn't document AI features.

Which one stores notes as local files?

Obsidian stores notes as local plain-text Markdown files; AFFiNE's storage model is described as local-first but its paid plans are built around cloud storage tiers ranging from 10GB (free) to 1TB (lifetime Believer plan).

What does commercial or organizational use cost?

Obsidian requires a separate Commercial License at $50/user/year for organizational use; AFFiNE offers a Team plan at $10/seat/month (10+ seat minimum) and a custom Enterprise tier with commercial licensing.

Can I self-host either tool?

AFFiNE documents an MIT-licensed self-hosted editor option; Obsidian's facts don't document a self-hosting option — it's a local desktop/mobile app with optional paid cloud Sync and Publish add-ons.

Read the full Affine review · Read the full Obsidian review