Websites using Obsidian

Okay, let s break down Obsidian, covering its overview, revenue model (or lack thereof), alternatives, pricing, and customer care.

Obsidian Overview

Obsidian is a powerful, flexible, and free personal knowledge management (PKM) application. It s known for its:

• Markdown-based Notes: Uses plain text Markdown files, making your notes portable and future-proof.
• Local Storage: Stores all your data on your local computer, giving you full control and privacy.
• Graph View: A unique feature that visually displays the connections between your notes, helping you uncover hidden patterns and relationships in your thinking.
• Bidirectional Linking (Wikilinks): Allows you to create links between notes in both directions, facilitating a web of interconnected ideas.
• Extensibility: Highly customizable with plugins and themes created by the community.
• Focus on Building Connections: Designed to help you build a second brain by linking related concepts and thoughts.
• Cross-Platform: Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

In essence, Obsidian is designed for individuals who:

• Want to own and control their data.
• Prefer a flexible and customizable environment.
• Value the power of linking and interconnected thinking.
• Are comfortable with Markdown.
• Want a future-proof solution for their notes.

Revenue Model

Obsidian is primarily free for personal use. The developers have chosen a sustainable model that relies on:

• Commercial Licenses: Required for teams and commercial use cases. This is the primary source of revenue.
• Optional Add-ons:
  • Sync: Obsidian offers an official Obsidian Sync service to synchronize notes across devices. This is a paid service.
  • Publish: Allows you to publish your notes as a public website. This is also a paid service.
  • Catalyst Supporter: A paid option for users who want to directly support the developers.

Key takeaway: The core functionality of Obsidian is completely free for individual use. You only pay if you choose to use their premium services or need it for commercial purposes.

Alternatives

Here are some popular alternatives to Obsidian, categorized by their primary focus:

Similar Functionality (Local-First, Markdown):

• Logseq: An outliner-based PKM tool with similar features to Obsidian, including local-first storage, Markdown, and bi-directional linking.
• Foam: An open-source VS Code extension for personal knowledge management using Markdown.
• Notable: Another Markdown-based local-first note-taking app with a focus on simplicity and organization.
• Joplin: A free, open-source note-taking app with sync options and Markdown support.

Cloud-Based, Note-Taking:

• Notion: A popular all-in-one workspace with robust database features, task management, and team collaboration tools.
• Evernote: A classic note-taking application known for its powerful search capabilities and clipping features.
• Bear: A beautifully designed Markdown-based note-taking app, exclusive to Apple devices.
• Roam Research: A powerful, web-based PKM tool that pioneered the concept of bi-directional linking but comes with a higher cost.

Outliner-Focused:

• Workflowy: A streamlined outliner for lists and project management.
• Dynalist: Another powerful outliner with strong organization and linking capabilities.

Choosing an Alternative:

• Obsidian: Great for local storage, flexible linking, and extensive customization.
• Logseq: A good alternative if you prefer an outliner structure.
• Notion: A better choice for teams, complex projects, and databases, but you ll give up local control.
• Evernote: A good option for heavy research and note clipping.
• Roam Research: Consider if you value the idea of bi-directional linking but don t mind the cloud-only environment and higher price.

Pricing

• Free (Personal Use): The core application is free to download and use on all platforms.
• Commercial License: Pricing varies based on the number of users. You need to contact Obsidian s team for a quote.
• Obsidian Sync: Subscription-based service for syncing your notes across devices.
  • Pricing is generally based on storage and usage, with monthly or annual subscriptions available. Check their website for the most up-to-date pricing.
• Obsidian Publish: Subscription-based service for publishing your notes to the web.
  • Pricing is also subscription-based and varies depending on your needs. Check their website for the most up-to-date pricing.
• Catalyst Supporter: A one-time payment to support development.

Customer Care Details

• Community Forum: The official Obsidian Forum is the main hub for support. Users can ask questions, share tips, and interact with the developers and the community.
• Discord: The Obsidian Discord server is also highly active and great for more casual discussions and real-time support.
• Help Documentation: Obsidian provides detailed help documentation on their website, covering all the features and functionalities.
• Email Support: You can reach out to Obsidian s support team via email for issues related to licensing or paid services. They tend to be responsive with paid customer support.
• No Formal Phone Support: Obsidian does not offer phone-based customer support.
• Community-Driven Support: Much of the support comes from the active community of users.

Key Takeaway on Support: While there s no formal phone support, the active and supportive community, combined with the official resources, means most issues get resolved quite quickly.

In summary, Obsidian is a free and powerful PKM tool, offering flexible linking, local storage, and extensive customizability. Its revenue model relies on commercial licenses and optional paid add-ons. Its support is largely community-driven, providing great access to helpful people.

This comprehensive overview should give you a good understanding of what Obsidian is, its alternatives, its pricing, and customer care setup. Let me know if you have any other questions.