Obsidian

What it is for

Obsidian is a local Bases desk: you filter a table of notes, and the app itself is $0 (no sign-up). Use it when the job is a vault table you start at a public $, not when you need a $20 chat seat.

What makes it unique: the cover is Obsidian’s official Bases still (Bases/bookskills, To-read 30 results, A Pattern Language / Christopher Alexander / 1977 / Architecture, Daily Rituals / Mason Currey, Death's End / Liu Cixin, Properties menu with Title / Author / Year / Genre) from the help still — not a pricing card. The rows themselves are ops of Bases.

Key features

• Bases — a table over notes you filter, sort, and property-toggle (cover still; help). One desk. Cover To-read / 30 results / Christopher Alexander sit here. Properties / Filter / Sort / New sit here as CTAs, not a sixth desk.
• Editor — the markdown note you open from a Bases row (help). A note, not the table.
• Graph view — a vault map of linked notes (help). A graph, not a Bases row.
• Backlinks — mentions of the open note (help). A pane, not the table.
• Search — a vault-wide query next to Bases (help). A query, not a property column.

New / Filter / Sort / Properties on the cover are CTAs (not desks). Sync / Publish / Catalyst / Commercial tiles are add-on SKUs / the meter, not a desk we fold into Bases. The core app prints Free without limits.

Who it's for

Best fit: individual 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.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from obsidian.md/pricing. Figures below are the printed USD tiles. Yearly vs monthly both print on Sync and Publish.

• App (Free without limits) — $0. No sign-up. No strings attached.
• Sync — $4/user/month billed annually ($5 monthly). Sync notes across devices. End-to-end encryption. Version history. Collaborate on shared vaults. Priority support.
• Publish — $8/site/month billed annually ($10 monthly). Publish notes to the web.
• Catalyst — $25 one-time. Early access / community badges. Non-refundable.
• Commercial — $50/user/year. Encouraged for work in an organization.

Students, faculty, and nonprofit employees print a 40% discount on Sync and Publish. Sync / Publish refunds within 7 days; Catalyst, Commercial, and Credit are non-refundable on the same page. Confirm checkout; taxes follow your location.

Limitations / costs

• The $0 tile is the local app. Multi-device encrypted sync is the $4 Sync yearly mark.
• A Bases desk, not Mem’s Chat composer. For that composer see Mem.
• Commercial use is a license, not a cloud. The $50/user/year tile does not host your vault.

Alternatives

• Mem — a Chat composer when you want Mem’s Free $0 / Plus $9, not a local Bases table.
• Ghost — a publication when you want Ghost’s public $, not Obsidian Publish at $8/site.
• Linear — an issue review when you want Linear’s Free $0 / Basic $10, not To-read 30 results.

Official tutorial

We searched the official Obsidian channel (@obsdmd on obsidian.md). The films we oEmbedded are plugin-dev / October talks (Critique your plugin, Templater 101, Dataview) — not a first-party Bases walkthrough. We did not embed a third-party “how I use Obsidian” film. @obsidianmd resolved to an unrelated PKM channel; @Obsidian 404; @ObsidianApp is unofficial.

Written path: obsidian.md/pricing plus the Bases still.

Website

https://obsidian.md

Repository

https://github.com/obsidianmd

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is Obsidian’s official Bases still (To-read 30 results + Christopher Alexander / Mason Currey / Liu Cixin). Dollars checked on obsidian.md/pricing (app $0; Sync $4 yearly / $5 monthly; Publish $8 / $10; Catalyst $25; Commercial $50/user/year). Official channel @obsdmd has no Bases tutorial we would embed.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.