How much does Obsidian cost?

Paid plans start at $5/mo, going up to $10/mo for larger teams. There's also an Enterprise tier with custom pricing. You can get started on the free plan before committing.

Is there a free plan?

Yes. The "Free" plan is free forever, not just a trial. It's enough to evaluate the product before upgrading.

Can I try it before paying?

There's no trial per se, but the free plan lets you use the product indefinitely with some limits.

Is there a discount for annual billing?

Yes — you save up to 20% if you pay annually instead of month-to-month. They also mention: "40% discount on Obsidian Sync and Publish for students, faculty members, and nonprofit employees."

Obsidian Pricing (2026)

This isn't per-seat SaaS pricing — the core app is free forever, and you're paying à la carte for optional add-ons: cloud sync ($5/mo), hosted web publishing ($10/mo), an early-access badge (Catalyst, $25 one-time), and a business use license (Commercial, $50/user/year). It's less 'pay for the product' and more 'pay for the infrastructure and licensing you need on top of it.'

From $5/mo 4 plans hybrid Free plan

Sync: $5/mo
Publish: $10/mo
Catalyst: Contact Sales
Commercial: Contact Sales

Verified Jul 26, 2026 Official pricing page

Screenshot of Obsidian's pricing page showing its plans and prices — Their pricing page, captured Jul 26, 2026

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Sync

$5/mo $4/mo annual

Sync notes across devices
End-to-end encryption
Version history
Collaborate on shared vaults
Priority support

Publish

$10/mo $8/mo annual

Publish notes to the web
No technical knowledge required
Customizable theme
Graph and full text search
Priority support

Catalyst

Contact Sales

Early access to beta versions
Community badges
VIP channel

Commercial

Contact Sales

Support development
Become a featured organization

AI Pricing Analysis

Pricing Model

Tier Strategy

Individual note-takers stay on the free tier indefinitely and only add Sync or Publish if they specifically want cross-device syncing or a public-facing wiki/site. Catalyst is for power users who want to fund development and get beta builds early, while Commercial is the one non-optional tier — any company using Obsidian at work needs it, so the upgrade trigger is legal/organizational, not feature-driven.

Competitive Positioning

Against Notion, Roam, or Craft, Obsidian is the budget option by a wide margin — the core product costs nothing, and even fully loaded with Sync and Publish you're at $15/mo. They're winning privacy-conscious, local-first power users and note-taking nerds who resent subscription lock-in, not teams looking for an all-in-one collaborative workspace.

Growth Lever

Expansion doesn't come from feature-gating inside the app — the plugin ecosystem and core functionality stay free — it comes from wanting convenience (Sync), wanting to publish publicly (Publish), or crossing into commercial use (Commercial license). The real growth lever is habit and dependency: once your vault and workflow are entrenched, syncing across devices stops feeling optional.

Obsidian Pricing FAQ

How much does Obsidian cost?: Paid plans start at $5/mo, going up to $10/mo for larger teams. There's also an Enterprise tier with custom pricing. You can get started on the free plan before committing.
Is there a free plan?: Yes. The "Free" plan is free forever, not just a trial. It's enough to evaluate the product before upgrading.
Can I try it before paying?: There's no trial per se, but the free plan lets you use the product indefinitely with some limits.
How does the pricing work?: This isn't per-seat SaaS pricing — the core app is free forever, and you're paying à la carte for optional add-ons: cloud sync ($5/mo), hosted web publishing ($10/mo), an early-access badge (Catalyst, $25 one-time), and a business use license (Commercial, $50/user/year). It's less 'pay for the product' and more 'pay for the infrastructure and licensing you need on top of it.'
Is there a discount for annual billing?: Yes — you save up to 20% if you pay annually instead of month-to-month. They also mention: "40% discount on Obsidian Sync and Publish for students, faculty members, and nonprofit employees."
Which plan makes sense for me?: Individual note-takers stay on the free tier indefinitely and only add Sync or Publish if they specifically want cross-device syncing or a public-facing wiki/site. Catalyst is for power users who want to fund development and get beta builds early, while Commercial is the one non-optional tier — any company using Obsidian at work needs it, so the upgrade trigger is legal/organizational, not feature-driven.

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Comparing Obsidian to something specific? Try Obsidian vs Akiflow, Obsidian vs Any.do, or Obsidian vs Capacities.

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