Research · head to head
Dotmatics vs Obsidian
Dotmatics
Research
Research informatics group behind GraphPad Prism, SnapGene, Geneious and LabArchives, now owned by Siemens
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Obsidian
Research
A powerful knowledge base on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Obsidian has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Dotmatics the portfolio was assembled by acquisition and integration between the constituent products is uneven, so buying several Dotmatics brands does not deliver a single connected environment and often means the same manual export steps as before.; Obsidian sync is a paid add-on at $4 per month billed annually rather than part of the app
- They diverge on capability: Dotmatics covers Dotmatics platform, Obsidian covers Bidirectional linking.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Dotmatics and Obsidian actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Research).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Dotmatics
- Dotmatics platform
- GraphPad Prism
- SnapGene
- Geneious Prime and Biologics
- LabArchives
- Flow cytometry tools
- Protein Metrics
- Siemens ownership
Only in Obsidian
- Bidirectional linking
- Graph view visualization
- Markdown support
- Local file storage
- Plugin ecosystem
- Custom CSS themes
- Templates
- Search and tags
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Dotmatics
- A pharmaceutical company consolidating compound registration, assay data and biology screening onto one informatics layernot Obsidian
- A biotech that already owns Prism, SnapGene and Geneious separately and wants to understand what a group contract would covernot Obsidian
- A university licensing LabArchives across departments as an institutional electronic lab notebooknot Obsidian
- A biologics group needing sequence analysis, flow cytometry and proteomics tools from one supplier with a single procurement routenot Obsidian
Obsidian
- Local-first markdown note taking with no account requirednot Dotmatics
- Linking notes into a personal knowledge graphnot Dotmatics
- Syncing a vault across devices with end-to-end encryption on the paid add-onnot Dotmatics
- Publishing a public site from a vaultnot Dotmatics
- Extending the editor with community pluginsnot Dotmatics
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Dotmatics
- The portfolio was assembled by acquisition and integration between the constituent products is uneven, so buying several Dotmatics brands does not deliver a single connected environment and often means the same manual export steps as before.
- The Siemens acquisition completed in July 2025 with stated revenue synergy targets, which usually translates into pressure to move individually bought desktop licences into larger platform agreements, and small buyers of a single Prism or SnapGene seat should expect that pressure at renewal.
- Nothing about the enterprise platform is publicly priced, and even the individual applications are increasingly moved to subscription, so total cost across a research group is hard to establish before negotiation.
- Each acquired product retains its own licence terms, support channel and release cycle, so an organisation using four Dotmatics brands manages four different renewal dates, entitlement models and support experiences.
- Enterprise deployments require data migration and configuration services, and validated instances for regulated use add both cost and an ongoing customer revalidation duty after each release, so the informatics platform is a programme rather than a purchase.
Obsidian
- Sync is a paid add-on at $4 per month billed annually rather than part of the app
- Publishing to the web is a further $8 per month per site
- Commercial use asks for a $50 per user per year licence, though the vendor states it is not required
- Collaboration is limited compared with a hosted notes tool, since the vault is local files first
Pricing, plan by plan
Dotmatics
On request- Dotmatics platform$undefined/year
- Enterprise informatics platform priced per user per year on quotation
- Chemistry and biology registration, assay data and ELN modules scoped separately
- Implementation and data migration services quoted as a separate programme
Obsidian
Free- Obsidian Sync$4/month
- Sync notes across devices
- Obsidian Publish$8/month
- Turn notes into a website
Which should you pick?
Choose Dotmatics if
- You need dotmatics platform.
- You work on Web, Windows, macOS, On-premise.
- You also want graphpad prism.
Choose Obsidian if
- You need bidirectional linking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
- You also want graph view visualization.
Questions people ask
- Is Dotmatics or Obsidian better?
- Neither clearly leads. Dotmatics starts at On request and Obsidian at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Dotmatics or Obsidian?
- Obsidian has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Dotmatics and Free for Obsidian.
- Does Dotmatics or Obsidian run on more platforms?
- Dotmatics runs on Web, Windows, macOS, On-premise. Obsidian runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Obsidian for free?
- Yes. Obsidian has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Dotmatics starts at On request.
- What is Dotmatics best used for?
- Dotmatics is most often used for a pharmaceutical company consolidating compound registration, assay data and biology screening onto one informatics layer, a biotech that already owns prism, snapgene and geneious separately and wants to understand what a group contract would cover, a university licensing labarchives across departments as an institutional electronic lab notebook, a biologics group needing sequence analysis, flow cytometry and proteomics tools from one supplier with a single procurement route. Of those, a pharmaceutical company consolidating compound registration, assay data and biology screening onto one informatics layer and a biotech that already owns prism, snapgene and geneious separately and wants to understand what a group contract would cover are not what Obsidian is typically brought in for.
- What can Dotmatics do that Obsidian cannot?
- Dotmatics covers Dotmatics platform, GraphPad Prism, SnapGene, Geneious Prime and Biologics. Obsidian covers Bidirectional linking, Graph view visualization, Markdown support, Local file storage.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Dotmatics: Who owns Dotmatics?
Siemens, which completed a 5.1 billion dollar acquisition on 1 July 2025. Dotmatics now sits inside Siemens Digital Industries Software.
Obsidian: Is Obsidian free?
Yes. The core Obsidian application is 100% free for personal and commercial use with no limitations. You can use unlimited vaults and every core feature without payment.
SourceDotmatics: Is GraphPad Prism a Dotmatics product?
Yes. So are SnapGene, Geneious, LabArchives, FCS Express, OMIQ, Protein Metrics, SoftGenetics and nQuery.
Obsidian: What file format does Obsidian use?
Obsidian stores every note as a plain Markdown file. Because it uses standard Markdown instead of a proprietary format, your notes remain portable and can be edited with many other Markdown editors.
SourceDotmatics: Do the products work together?
To varying degrees. They were acquired separately and integration across the portfolio is uneven, so verify the specific pair you care about before assuming it.
Obsidian: Can I collaborate with others in Obsidian?
The core application does not include built-in team collaboration features. However, Obsidian offers optional add-ons and can be used with version control systems or cloud storage for collaboration.
SourceDotmatics: Is enterprise pricing published?
No. The informatics platform is quoted per user per year with modules and services scoped separately.
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