Side by side
Obsidian vs Roam Research
Plans read from both vendors' own pricing pages, with the same seats and billing applied to each. Roam Research is a verified alternative to Obsidian: it does the same main job for a similar customer.
Obsidian is a private note-taking app that stores notes locally on your device, allowing offline access and ensuring data privacy. It supports extensive customization through thousands of plugins and themes, and uses open file formats to avoid vendor lock-in.
- Starting price
- From $4.17/mo per seat
- Price clarity
- Price clarity grade C, 67 out of 100 67 of 100
- Category
- Productivity
- Platforms
- Not confirmed
- Good fit for
- Users who want full control over their private notes stored locally with offline access.. Users who want extensive customization and plugin support to tailor their note-taking workflow.
- Limitations
- Commercial use is allowed without payment but purchasing a commercial license is encouraged for organizational use.
Roam Research is a note-taking tool that combines the ease of use of a word document with the power of a graph database for organizing and connecting ideas. It supports real-time collaboration and local data storage, helping users organize research and thoughts effectively.
- Starting price
- From $15/mo
- Price clarity
- Price clarity grade C, 62 out of 100 62 of 100
- Category
- Productivity
- Platforms
- Desktop apps for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, Linux (deb and ARM deb), mobile apps for iOS and Android, and a Chrome browser extension
- Good fit for
- Researchers and knowledge workers who need to organize and connect ideas
- Limitations
- Trial only valid if you've never had a plan
What each one costs your team
THE COST FOR YOUR TEAM
Go beyond the starting price.
Published plan prices for your team size and usage. Results update as you type. Taxes, currency conversion and unlisted add-ons are excluded, and anything the source did not state is called out rather than guessed.
Cheapest fit for 1 person, all 2 tools
$19.17/month
$230.04 a year on these plans.
Some figures carry conditions the vendor did not state — see the notes beside each plan.
| Tool / plan | Monthly | Per year | What this assumes |
|---|---|---|---|
CommercialCheapest fit Per person · 1 billed | $4.17 | $50 |
Automatically extracted from the linked pricing source. Seat allowances, usage limits, taxes and terms are not confirmed — check them with the provider. |
ProCheapest fit Flat subscription | $15 | $180 | Automatically extracted from the linked pricing source. Seat allowances, usage limits, taxes and terms are not confirmed — check them with the provider. |
Obsidian
Best fit
Users who want full control over their private notes stored locally with offline access.; Users who want extensive customization and plugin support to tailor their note-taking workflow.
Trade-offs
Commercial use is allowed without payment but purchasing a commercial license is encouraged for organizational use.
Integrations / export
Supports themes and CSS snippets for interface customization., Includes a Web Clipper browser extension to save web content to Obsidian., Notes are stored in open file formats, ensuring long-term data ownership and no vendor lock-in.
Roam Research
Best fit
Researchers and knowledge workers who need to organize and connect ideas
Trade-offs
Trial only valid if you've never had a plan
Integrations / export
Not confirmed
More alternatives to Obsidian →More alternatives to Roam Research →Add a third tool