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Research · head to head

Obsidian vs TetraScience

Obsidian logo

Obsidian

Research

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
TetraScience logo

TetraScience

Research

Scientific data cloud that harmonises instrument output across the lab estate

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Obsidian has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Obsidian sync is a paid add-on at $4 per month billed annually rather than part of the app; TetraScience pricing is scoped on connected instruments and data engineering effort rather than a published unit, so the cost of adding a new laboratory or an acquired site is impossible to forecast without going back to the vendor.
  • They diverge on capability: Obsidian covers Bidirectional linking, TetraScience covers Instrument connectors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Obsidian and TetraScience actually diverge.

Attributes where Obsidian and TetraScience differ
AttributeObsidianTetraScience
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidWeb, Cloud, API
Founded2020Unknown

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 Obsidian

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

Only in TetraScience

  • Instrument connectors
  • Tetra Data harmonisation
  • Cloud-native data platform
  • GxP package
  • Scientific applications
  • Data provenance
  • Open access
  • AWS Marketplace availability

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

TetraScience

  • A pharmaceutical company trying to make twenty years of chromatography data usable for modelling rather than trapped on instrument workstationsnot Obsidian
  • A biotech building machine learning models on assay data that currently requires manual export from every instrumentnot Obsidian
  • A quality control laboratory needing instrument data captured with provenance and audit trail for regulated usenot Obsidian
  • A company consolidating data from acquired sites where each site runs a different instrument vendor and informatics stacknot 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

TetraScience

  • Pricing is scoped on connected instruments and data engineering effort rather than a published unit, so the cost of adding a new laboratory or an acquired site is impossible to forecast without going back to the vendor.
  • Value depends entirely on connector coverage for your actual instrument estate; an instrument type without an existing productised connector becomes a services engagement with its own timeline and cost.
  • The GxP package is a separate annual subscription rather than an included capability, so a company that starts in research and later needs regulated use faces an additional commercial line and a validation exercise.
  • It is infrastructure with no end-user application of its own, so the business case rests on downstream analytics and AI work that has to be resourced and delivered separately before anyone sees a benefit.
  • Deployment is a multi-year programme touching instruments, networks, validated systems and site IT, and organisations consistently underestimate the internal effort required from people who also have day jobs running the laboratory.

Pricing, plan by plan

Obsidian

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

TetraScience

On request
  • Tetra Scientific Data Cloud$undefined/year
    • Priced on number of instruments connected and scope of data engineering
    • Contract entitles a specified quantity of use for its duration
    • Multi-year enterprise agreements are the norm
  • Tetra GxP package$undefined/year
    • Separate annual subscription executed within the licence agreement
    • Audit trail, data provenance, control matrices and software hazard analysis
    • Disaster recovery provisions

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 TetraScience if

  • You need instrument connectors.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, API.
  • You also want tetra data harmonisation.
TetraScience review

Questions people ask

Is Obsidian or TetraScience better?
Neither clearly leads. Obsidian starts at Free and TetraScience at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Obsidian or TetraScience?
Obsidian has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Obsidian and On request for TetraScience.
Does Obsidian or TetraScience run on more platforms?
Obsidian runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. TetraScience runs on Web, Cloud, API.
Can I use Obsidian for free?
Yes. Obsidian has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. TetraScience starts at On request.
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 TetraScience is typically brought in for.
What can Obsidian do that TetraScience cannot?
Obsidian covers Bidirectional linking, Graph view visualization, Markdown support, Local file storage. TetraScience covers Instrument connectors, Tetra Data harmonisation, Cloud-native data platform, GxP package.

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
TetraScience: What is the pricing unit?

Connected instruments and the scope of data engineering, over a fixed contract term. There is no published per-seat or per-gigabyte rate.

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
TetraScience: Does it replace my ELN or LIMS?

No. It sits underneath them, harmonising instrument data and making it available to whatever applications you already run.

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
TetraScience: Is it usable in a GxP environment?

Yes, with the separately subscribed Tetra GxP package. It reduces validation effort substantially but does not eliminate your validation obligation.

TetraScience: Can I get the harmonised data out?

Yes. Tetra Data is designed to be accessible to your own analytics tools rather than confined to the platform.

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