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HomeNote-taking & PKM › Craft vs Obsidian

Craft vs Obsidian

Obsidian takes the higher SoftwareScore, 70 to 67. That's close enough that fit matters more than the number. Both are scored on the same public formula. See how.

Reviewed by Rick Castro, Founder & lead analyst · Last updated July 2026
Craft
Free · $8/mo · ★4.8 (6.7k)
ValueEaseFeaturesSyncOwnershipCollabAI
67
SoftwareScore
View Craft →
Obsidian
Free · $4/mo Sync · ★4.5 (2.4k)
ValueEaseFeaturesSyncOwnershipCollabAI
70
SoftwareScore
View Obsidian →
The bottom line

Craft is the polished, beautiful writing app with easy sync and clean export; Obsidian is the local-first, plugin-powered knowledge base you fully own. Choose Craft if you want a gorgeous, low-friction writing experience. Choose Obsidian if data ownership, linking, and extensibility matter more than polish.

Craft vs Obsidian: our take

Obsidian takes the higher SoftwareScore, 70 to 67. That's close enough that fit matters more than the number.

Craft pulls ahead on Ease and Collab (Ease 8 vs 5), which makes it the stronger pick for heavy multi-device use.

Obsidian pulls ahead on Ownership and Value (Ownership 10 vs 5), which makes it the stronger pick for privacy and data control.

The clearest divide is Ownership (Craft 5, Obsidian 10). If that axis is central to how you work, let it settle the choice.

On lock-in, Obsidian is the safer bet: it scores 10/10 on data ownership to Craft's 5, so weigh how easily you could move your notes out later.

Axis by axis

Value (price vs features) 6 9
Ease of use 8 5
Feature depth 7 9
Cross-platform & sync 8 7
Data ownership / privacy 5 10
Collaboration 6 3
AI capability 6 4
Axis (◆ = data ownership, our under-served focus) Craft Obsidi
Not sure which fits you? Get matched in 60 seconds. The quiz reweights these axes to your priorities and picks for you.