MyNotes vs Obsidian

Two opposite philosophies. Obsidian: a local-first vault of markdown files you own and curate. MyNotes: a hosted notebook you sign into and write into. Both have devoted users for good reason.

In one paragraph

Obsidian stores notes as markdown files on your disk. You install the desktop app, you point it at a folder, you write. That's the moat — your notes are plain files, portable forever, owned absolutely. The cost: you handle the syncing yourself (Obsidian Sync at $4/month, iCloud, Syncthing, Dropbox), you configure plugins, and "just open the app on a borrowed laptop" is not a workflow. MyNotes is the opposite — a server holds the notes, the URL is the same on every device, no install, no vault setup. If file ownership and graph features matter to you, Obsidian wins. If you want to type and not curate, MyNotes wins.

Pricing — side by side

Aspect	MyNotes	Obsidian
App	Free for 10 notes; $19/year for 1,000	Free for personal use
Cross-device sync	Built-in — there's only one server-side copy; every device is just a browser tab	Obsidian Sync — $4/month annual ($48/year), or BYO via iCloud / Dropbox / Syncthing
Public publishing	Per-note public share link — included on every paid tier	Obsidian Publish — $8/month annual ($96/year)
Commercial use	Same flat tiers regardless of personal vs commercial use	$50/year/user encouraged

Obsidian prices verified from obsidian.md/pricing as of April 2026.

What MyNotes does that Obsidian doesn't

Sign in, write, done. No install, no vault setup, no markdown file structure to maintain. The same URL on every device.
Built-in REST API for automation. Cron jobs, CI runners, and AI agents can append to named notes via curl. /docs.
Rich-text editor by default. Bold/italic/lists work without learning markdown syntax. (Plain-text mode exists for users who want it.)
No plugin maintenance. The product surface is fixed. Nothing to update, nothing to break.
Public share links for free. Toggle a note shareable; you don't pay extra for "publishing."
First-time use is <30 seconds. Sign up, see a welcome note, click New note, type. No vault, no folder picker, no settings to read.

Pick MyNotes if you don't want to think about syncing, configuring, or maintaining a vault. If "open browser, write" is the workflow you actually want — that's the design center.

Switching between the two

Both directions are possible. MyNotes' full-account export gives you .txt / .docx / .pdf — the .txt copies drop straight into an Obsidian vault. Going the other way: zip your vault and upload it via the in-app importer at /options — .md files come across as MyNotes notes (rich-text in everyday mode, plain-text in code mode), with folder structure mirrored over. Some users keep both — a local Obsidian vault for long-form writing, MyNotes for quick captures and script outputs.

Try MyNotes — no vault, no plugins, just notes

10 notes free, forever. No card, no trial clock — just sign up and write.