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Research · head to head

Obsidian vs Tana

Obsidian logo

Obsidian

Research

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tana logo

Tana

Productivity

The everything app for your personal workspace

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; Tana the free plan hosts only 5 meetings a month with AI transcripts and summaries
  • They diverge on capability: Obsidian covers Bidirectional linking, Tana covers Outliner interface.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Obsidian and Tana actually diverge.

Attributes where Obsidian and Tana differ
AttributeObsidianTana
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidWeb, Desktop
CategoryResearchProductivity

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2020).

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 Tana

  • Outliner interface
  • Supertags
  • Live queries
  • AI integration
  • Graph views
  • Email capture
  • API
  • Zapier

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 Tana
  • Linking notes into a personal knowledge graphnot Tana
  • Syncing a vault across devices with end-to-end encryption on the paid add-onnot Tana
  • Publishing a public site from a vaultnot Tana
  • Extending the editor with community pluginsnot Tana

Tana

  • Structured note taking with a graph based supertag data modelnot Obsidian
  • Automatic meeting capture with AI transcripts and summariesnot Obsidian
  • Turning notes into queryable structured databasesnot 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

Tana

  • The free plan hosts only 5 meetings a month with AI transcripts and summaries
  • The free plan connects only 1 calendar and allows 50 AI queries
  • Pro is $30 per user per month at standard price, with $20 shown as an early bird rate
  • Max is $120 per user per month at standard price, with $80 shown as an early bird rate
  • Integrations and full MCP require the Pro plan
  • Dedicated support and onboarding, and unlimited agents, skills and types, require the Max plan
  • The Business plan is custom priced, billed yearly and has no published rate
  • The free trial runs 30 days

Pricing, plan by plan

Obsidian

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

Tana

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Core features
    • Supertags
    • Searches
  • Pro$10/month
    • Advanced AI
    • Priority support
    • Extended history

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 Tana if

  • You need outliner interface.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Desktop.
  • You also want supertags.
Tana review

Questions people ask

Is Obsidian or Tana better?
Neither clearly leads. Obsidian starts at Free and Tana at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Obsidian or Tana?
Obsidian starts at Free and Tana at Free.
Does Obsidian or Tana run on more platforms?
Obsidian runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. Tana runs on Web, Desktop.
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 Tana is typically brought in for.
What can Obsidian do that Tana cannot?
Obsidian covers Bidirectional linking, Graph view visualization, Markdown support, Local file storage. Tana covers Outliner interface, Supertags, Live queries, AI integration.

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
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
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
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