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Research · head to head

Obsidian vs Slab

Obsidian logo

Obsidian

Research

A powerful knowledge base on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Slab logo

Slab

Documentation

Internal knowledge base for teams, organised by topic rather than folders, with search across connected tools

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Obsidian sync is a paid add-on at $4 per month billed annually rather than part of the app; Slab it is built for internal knowledge, so public product documentation on a custom domain with versioning is outside what the product does.
  • They diverge on capability: Obsidian covers Bidirectional linking, Slab covers Topics instead of folders.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Obsidian and Slab actually diverge.

Attributes where Obsidian and Slab differ
AttributeObsidianSlab
Pricing modelUnknownPer user per month
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategoryResearchDocumentation
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Obsidian

  • Bidirectional linking
  • Graph view visualization
  • Markdown support
  • Local file storage
  • Plugin ecosystem
  • Custom CSS themes
  • Templates
  • Search and tags

Only in Slab

  • Topics instead of folders
  • Unified search
  • Post verification
  • Quill editor
  • Permissions
  • Free tier for small teams

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Obsidian

  • Local-first markdown note taking with no account requirednot Slab
  • Linking notes into a personal knowledge graphnot Slab
  • Syncing a vault across devices with end-to-end encryption on the paid add-onnot Slab
  • Publishing a public site from a vaultnot Slab
  • Extending the editor with community pluginsnot Slab

Slab

  • Building an employee handbook and onboarding path that new starters can actually findnot Obsidian
  • Replacing a folder-based wiki where nobody agrees which folder a document belongs innot Obsidian
  • Companies whose knowledge is already spread across Drive, Slack and GitHub and needs one search boxnot Obsidian
  • Documenting process and decisions for teams that do not want a project management tool attachednot Obsidian

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

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

Slab

  • It is built for internal knowledge, so public product documentation on a custom domain with versioning is outside what the product does.
  • There is no docs-as-code workflow, no git synchronisation and no markdown files on disk, so engineering-owned technical documentation ends up somewhere else anyway.
  • Hierarchy is shallow by design, and organisations that genuinely need deep nested structure find topics an awkward substitute rather than an improvement.
  • There is no offline mode, so a knowledge base that includes incident runbooks is unavailable during exactly the incident where the network is the problem.
  • Pricing is per user per month, so organisations where most staff only read a handbook twice a year still pay a seat for each of them.

Pricing, plan by plan

Obsidian

Free
  • Obsidian Sync$4/month
    • Sync notes across devices
  • Obsidian Publish$8/month
    • Turn notes into a website

Slab

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to ten users
    • Unlimited posts
    • Core integrations
  • Slab$undefined/month
    • Priced per user per month with annual billing
    • Unlimited users and history
    • Full integration set and unified search

Which should you pick?

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.
Obsidian review

Choose Slab if

  • You need topics instead of folders.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want unified search.
Slab review

Questions people ask

Is Obsidian or Slab better?
Neither clearly leads. Obsidian starts at Free and Slab at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Obsidian or Slab?
Obsidian starts at Free and Slab at Free.
Does Obsidian or Slab run on more platforms?
Obsidian runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. Slab runs on Web.
Can I use Obsidian for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Obsidian best used for?
Obsidian is most often used for local-first markdown note taking with no account required, linking notes into a personal knowledge graph, syncing a vault across devices with end-to-end encryption on the paid add-on, publishing a public site from a vault. Of those, local-first markdown note taking with no account required and linking notes into a personal knowledge graph are not what Slab is typically brought in for.
What can Obsidian do that Slab cannot?
Obsidian covers Bidirectional linking, Graph view visualization, Markdown support, Local file storage. Slab covers Topics instead of folders, Unified search, Post verification, Quill editor.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Source
Slab: Can I publish documentation publicly with Slab?

Posts can be shared by link, but it is not a product documentation platform. There is no custom domain publishing, versioning or API reference tooling.

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.

Source
Slab: What does the free plan actually cover?

Up to ten users with unlimited posts and core integrations. It is a real free tier rather than a trial, and it is enough for a small company handbook.

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.

Source
Slab: How does it compare with a general workspace tool?

Slab does less on purpose. There are no databases, boards or task views, which makes it faster to write in and much harder to turn into an unmaintained sprawl.

Slab: Does search really cover other tools?

Yes, connected sources are indexed and appear in results. That integration is the main reason to choose it, so verify your specific tools are supported before committing.

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