Notelet vs Obsidian

Obsidian is a knowledge base of Markdown files you own, with links between notes, a graph, a canvas and thousands of plugins. Notelet is a simpler thing: notes and reminders with nothing to set up, on the same five systems.

Checked 20 October 2026.

Choose Notelet if…

you want quick notes, lists and reminders with nothing to configure
you’d like sync without paying or wiring it up yourself
you want reminders with smart lists and repeats built in
you want locked notes that open with your face or fingerprint

Choose Obsidian if…

you link ideas together and want backlinks and a graph
you want plain Markdown files in a folder you control
you enjoy customising with plugins, themes and a canvas
you’re building a long-lived “second brain”

Feature by feature

Feature	Notelet	Obsidian
Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android	Apps (phones in beta)	Apps
Links between notes, backlinks, graph	No	Yes
Plugins and themes	No	Community plugins
Notes stored as	Notelet’s own library; any note exports to Markdown	Markdown files in a folder
Reminders	Built in: lists, smart lists, repeats, subtasks	Through plugins
Locked notes with biometrics	Yes	Not built in
Sync between devices	Free through your own S3, WebDAV or folder; or Notelet Cloud	Obsidian Sync ($4 a month, yearly), or a setup of your own
End-to-end encryption	With Advanced protection (default keeps a recovery key)	With Obsidian Sync
Setting up	Nothing to set up	More to learn as you add plugins
Price	Free	Free app; Sync and Publish are paid

Obsidian’s details from its own pages and the sources below, checked 20 October 2026. Notelet 0.10.12.

Links or lists

Obsidian is built for connecting ideas: type [[ to link one note to another, see every note that links back, and grow a vault over years. Its own fans also say it can feel like a lot when all you want is a shopping list. Notelet doesn’t try to be a knowledge base: it’s for the everyday notes, lists and reminders most people keep.

Paying for sync

Obsidian’s app is free; its Sync service is $4 a month billed yearly (or $5 monthly), end-to-end encrypted, or you can sync the vault folder yourself. Syncing through storage you already have (your own S3 or WebDAV server, or a folder Dropbox, iCloud Drive or OneDrive keeps in step on a computer) is free for good. Notelet Cloud gives the first 1,000 accounts 5 GB free for life; bigger plans (50 GB for £10 a year, 200 GB for £25 a year) open soon.

Moving between them

Notelet imports an Obsidian vault folder: folders, front matter (tags, dates, title), embedded pictures and files come across, and [[links]] become their words. Going the other way, File › Export To › Markdown saves a note as a file Obsidian can open (a note at a time, for now). More on the import page.

Common questions

Is Notelet a simpler alternative to Obsidian?

For everyday notes, lists and reminders, yes: there’s nothing to set up or configure. It has no links between notes, graph or plugins, so for a linked knowledge base Obsidian is the better choice.

Does Notelet store notes as Markdown files?

No. Notelet keeps its own library on your device. Any note can be exported to Markdown or PDF, a note at a time.

Sources

Spot a mistake? Write to hello@noteletapp.com.