Evernote vs Obsidian (2026): Which Note App Should You Use?

A factual comparison of Evernote and Obsidian covering pricing, features, data ownership, and migration steps for small teams.

Updated 2026-09 · 2026

Evernote

Cloud note-taking with web clipping and search across devices

14.99user/month (Personal plan, billed monthly)

Strengths

+Powerful web clipper that captures full pages, articles, and PDFs
+OCR search inside images, scanned documents, and handwritten notes
+Mature apps across Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and web

Weaknesses

-Free tier is heavily limited (single device sync, small monthly upload cap)
-Notes are stored in Evernote's proprietary format, not plain files
-Price has increased significantly over the years for core features

Best for

Individuals and small teams who want a polished, cloud-synced app for clipping web content and mixed media without any setup.

Obsidian

Local-first markdown notes with linking, graph view, and plugins

0free for personal use; $50/user/year for commercial use

Strengths

+Free for personal use, with notes stored as plain markdown files on your device
+You own your data — files work with any text editor, no lock-in
+Huge plugin ecosystem for tasks, kanban, calendars, and automation

Weaknesses

-No built-in real-time collaboration — it's single-user by design
-Sync and Publish are separate paid add-ons ($4-$16/month)
-Steeper learning curve for non-technical users (markdown, plugins)

Best for

Individuals and small technical teams who want full data ownership, markdown files, and heavy customization via plugins.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Evernote	Obsidian
Note format	Proprietary (ENML), locked to Evernote apps	Plain markdown (.md) files
Storage location	Cloud only	Local disk, cloud sync optional
Offline access	Yes, with sync on reconnect	Yes, fully offline by default
Web clipper	Built-in, mature Evernote Web Clipper	Official Obsidian Web Clipper (browser extension)
Search	Full-text + OCR on images/PDFs	Full-text search, no built-in OCR
Organization	Notebooks, tags, stacks	Folders, tags, backlinks, graph view
Collaboration	Shared notebooks (Teams plan)	None natively; requires third-party sync/plugins
Mobile apps	iOS and Android, full-featured	iOS and Android, full-featured
Extensibility	Limited integrations (Slack, Google Drive, Salesforce)	1000+ community plugins
Free tier	1 device sync, 50 notes/month upload limit	Unlimited notes, all core features, personal use only
Data ownership	Data lives in Evernote's servers/format	Data is local markdown files you control
Pricing model	Subscription per user, no free commercial use limit	Free personally; $50/user/year for commercial use

The Verdict

Evernote wins if you want a ready-to-use cloud app with a strong web clipper and don't mind paying monthly for storage and sync. Obsidian wins if you want to own your notes as plain files, customize heavily with plugins, and avoid subscription lock-in — but you'll need to build your own sync/collaboration setup for a team. For solo users and small technical teams, Obsidian is the cheaper and more future-proof choice long-term.

How to switch from Evernote to Obsidian

1In Evernote, go to File > Export Notes and export each notebook (or all notes) as an .enex file — this is Evernote's native export format.
2Install the community 'Importer' plugin in Obsidian, then use it to import the .enex files directly; it converts notes into markdown files and preserves notebooks as folders and tags.
3Review converted notes for formatting issues (tables, embedded images, and checklists sometimes need manual cleanup after ENEX-to-markdown conversion).
4Replace Evernote's Web Clipper by installing the official Obsidian Web Clipper browser extension and configuring it to save clips into your vault.
5If you need multi-device sync, enable Obsidian Sync ($4-$8/month) or set up your vault folder in an existing cloud storage service like iCloud or Dropbox.
6Run Evernote and Obsidian in parallel for 2-4 weeks, keeping Evernote read-only as a backup, before fully cutting over and canceling the Evernote subscription.

Evernote vs Obsidian: common questions

How do I export my notes from Evernote to Obsidian?+

In Evernote, select a notebook (or all notes) and use File > Export Notes, choosing the .enex format. Obsidian doesn't read .enex natively, so use the community 'Importer' plugin inside Obsidian, which supports direct Evernote .enex import and converts notes to markdown automatically.

What features do I lose moving from Evernote to Obsidian?+

You lose built-in OCR search on images and scanned PDFs, since Obsidian has no OCR. You also lose native real-time collaboration and shared notebooks — Obsidian is single-user unless you add third-party sync or a plugin-based workaround.

Is Obsidian's free plan enough for a small team?+

The free tier is personal-use only under Obsidian's license terms; any team or business use requires a Commercial License at $50/user/year. Even then, Obsidian has no built-in multi-user editing, so most small teams pair it with Obsidian Sync ($4-$8/month) or a shared vault via Dropbox/iCloud.

Does Obsidian integrate with the same tools as Evernote?+

Not directly out of the box, but plugins fill most gaps: the official Obsidian Web Clipper replaces Evernote's clipper, and community plugins connect to Google Calendar, Zotero, and Readwise. There's no native Salesforce or Slack integration like Evernote offers on paid plans.

Is Obsidian actually cheaper than Evernote over time?+

Yes, for individuals: Evernote Personal costs about $180/year while Obsidian is free for personal use. For a 5-person team, Obsidian's $50/user/year commercial license plus $4-8/month Sync per user (~$300-$500/year total) is still generally cheaper than Evernote Teams at $24.99/user/month (~$1,500/year for 5 users).