Our take
Pick iA Writer if writers who will run the free trial while they finish a first Focus Mode page — then Mac at US$49.99 (and iPhone/iPad US$29.99 if they want that SKU), not Obsidian Sync $4 first unless they want a graph vault, and not if they need a PKM backlink graph (iA Writer is a focused page, not a wiki). Pick Obsidian if individual writers who will stay on the $0 app while they open a first Bases table, then
Best for
iA Writer A sentence you start at a public $
Obsidian A vault table you start at a public $
Free plan
iA Writer No free plan
Obsidian $0 · no sign-up. No strings attached
Lowest paid
iA Writer iPhone / iPad $29.99
Obsidian Sync $4/user/mo yearly
Next step up
iA Writer Mac $49.99
Obsidian Publish $8/mo yearly
Watch out
iA Writer Major updates may cost
Obsidian The $0 tile is the local app
Last checked
iA Writer 2026-10-23 · ia.net/writer/buy
Obsidian 2026-10-23 · obsidian.md/pricing
writers who will run the free trial while they finish a first Focus Mode page — then Mac at US$49.99 (and iPhone/iPad US$29.99 if they want that SKU), not Obsidian Sync $4 first unless they want a graph vault, and not if they need a PKM backlink graph (iA Writer is a focused page, not a wiki).
Read the iA Writer pageindividual writers who will stay on the $0 app while they open a first Bases table, then Sync at $4/user/month yearly ($5 monthly) when they want encrypted vaults on other devices.
Read the Obsidian page
