Your note-taking app is your second brain. Client notes, project documentation, brainstorming, learning – it all flows through it. Yet so many entrepreneurs still juggle a messy mix of Google Docs, sticky notes, and email drafts.
I’ve used all three of these tools seriously. Obsidian has been my company’s knowledge base for over a year, I ran Notion for study projects, and I explored Logseq when I was looking for an open-source alternative. Here’s an honest comparison of what works for whom.
If you’re in a hurry: For solo entrepreneurs or small teams, Obsidian is the best pick. If you need a team collaboration tool with visual databases, go with Notion. If you want something completely free and open source and don’t mind a bit of tinkering, Logseq will pleasantly surprise you.
Notion – everything in one place
Notion is the most well-known and versatile of the three. It’s a cloud service where you can build practically anything: notes, databases, Kanban boards, wikis, project management, and even simple websites.
Pros
Notion shines because everything lives in the same workspace. You can create a client database, link it to project pages, and track progress in a Kanban view – all without leaving the app. Real-time collaboration works smoothly: share a link and someone else can edit the same page simultaneously.
Ready-made templates speed things up significantly. The Notion Gallery library has thousands of templates, from business plans to CRM systems. A new user can be up and running in minutes.
AI features are now built into the Business plan. You can summarize long memos, generate text, and ask questions directly from your databases. The AI supports both GPT-4 and Claude models.
Cons
Notion requires an internet connection. There is an offline mode, but it’s limited – if you want to write on a flight, you might run into surprises. Data ownership is in the hands of the cloud service: your notes live on Notion’s servers.
Pricing has gone up. In May 2025, Notion removed the AI add-on and moved AI features exclusively to the Business tier ($20/mo per user). The Plus plan ($10/mo) only gives you 20 AI trials – one-time uses, not monthly renewals. For a solo entrepreneur, that means full features cost $240 per year.
With large databases, Notion starts to slow down. This is a common complaint among long-time users: the more content you have, the slower pages load.
Pricing
| Plan | Price (annual billing) |
|---|---|
| Free | $0 – single user, 5 MB file upload limit |
| Plus | $10/mo – unlimited pages and blocks, 20 AI trials |
| Business | $20/mo – full AI, 90-day version history, SSO |
| Enterprise | Contact sales |
Who it’s for
Notion is the best choice for teams and entrepreneurs who need collaboration features, database views, and an all-in-one workspace. If you work with others daily and value visual structure, Notion is hard to beat.
Obsidian – your second brain
Obsidian is a locally-run Markdown note-taking app. Your notes are plain .md files on your own machine – no cloud, no lock-in, no monthly fees for core features.
Pros
Speed is Obsidian’s biggest strength. The app opens in seconds and notes load instantly because everything is stored locally. Even a vault with thousands of notes runs smoothly.
Data ownership is absolute. Markdown files work in any text editor. If Obsidian disappeared tomorrow, your notes wouldn’t go anywhere. This is a big deal for the long term.
The plugin ecosystem is massive. Over a thousand community plugins extend Obsidian into practically anything: a Kanban board, a calendar, a database view, a flashcard app, or even a writing assistant. The recently popular Bases features bring Notion-style dashboard views directly into Markdown files.
Bidirectional links and graph view make Obsidian an excellent “second brain.” When you link notes to each other with [[double brackets]], a knowledge network forms where you discover connections you never planned. Graph View visually shows how your ideas connect.
In early 2025, Obsidian removed the commercial license requirement – you can now use it for business completely free of charge.
Cons
The learning curve is steeper than Notion’s. You need to know at least basic Markdown, and in the plugin jungle you can easily spend more time tweaking your setup than doing actual work.
Collaboration features are essentially nonexistent. Obsidian is designed for single-user use. If you need real-time editing with a team, this is not your tool.
Syncing between devices is not free. Obsidian Sync costs $4–8/mo depending on the plan. Alternatively, you can use iCloud, Google Drive, or Git for free, but that requires more setup.
The mobile app is slow to launch, especially with many plugins loaded. The Android version still lacks PDF export.
Pricing
| Service | Price (annual billing) |
|---|---|
| Obsidian (app) | $0 – all core features free |
| Sync Standard | $4/mo – 1 vault, 1 GB storage |
| Sync Plus | $8/mo – 10 GB, unlimited vaults |
| Publish | $8/mo – publish notes as a website |
| Commercial license | Voluntary (previously $50/yr) |
Who it’s for
Obsidian is the best choice for solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, or anyone who wants full data ownership and values speed. If you write a lot, do research, or are building a personal knowledge base, Obsidian is unmatched. Especially great for developers and anyone working in tech.
Logseq – the open-source dark horse
Logseq is a completely free, open-source outliner note-taking app. It stores everything locally as Markdown or Org-mode files. Think of it as a blend of Obsidian and Roam Research – but without the price tag.
Pros
The price is simple: zero. Logseq is fully free and open source. No subscriptions, no surprise price hikes, no features being moved to more expensive tiers. Open Collective funding (over $649,000 raised) keeps development alive.
The journal-first approach is Logseq’s best feature. Every day starts with a blank journal page where you write your daily notes. Tag something with #projectX and it automatically shows up in the right context later. No need to think about “which folder does this belong in” – you write first, and the structure emerges on its own.
The block-based structure means every bullet point is an independent unit. You can reference a single block from anywhere, rearrange hierarchies by dragging, and build complex knowledge structures naturally. This is excellent for research notes, article planning, or tracking project progress.
Built-in flashcards are a nice bonus. You can turn any block into a flashcard and review knowledge using spaced repetition – no need for a separate Anki app.
The whiteboard feature is surprisingly good: shapes, arrows, drawing tools, and text. It outperforms Obsidian’s Canvas feature in versatility.
Cons
Real-time collaboration is missing, just like in Obsidian. Logseq is a solo worker’s tool.
Stability is a recurring complaint in the user community. Logseq isn’t as polished as Obsidian – minor bugs and slowdowns pop up, especially with larger databases. The DB version (database-backed Logseq) is still in alpha.
The plugin selection is smaller than Obsidian’s. The basics are covered, but more specialized needs require compromises.
Syncing between devices is handled via Git sync, Syncthing, or cloud folders – all free but requiring setup. The official Logseq Sync is still in beta for Open Collective supporters.
The mobile app is in testing and the user experience doesn’t match Obsidian or Notion yet.
Pricing
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Logseq (app) | $0 – all features free |
| Logseq Sync | Beta – available for Open Collective supporters ($5/mo) |
| Logseq Pro | Coming soon – pricing TBD |
Who it’s for
Logseq is the best choice for users who value openness and privacy and don’t want to pay a cent. If the journal-first workflow resonates – write first, organize later – Logseq feels liberating. Especially great for researchers, students, and anyone who wants spaced repetition review built into their note-taking app.
Comparison table
| Feature | Notion | Obsidian | Logseq |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (solo) | $0–20/mo | $0 (Sync $4–8/mo) | $0 |
| Data storage | Cloud (Notion servers) | Local (.md files) | Local (.md/.org files) |
| Offline use | Limited | Full | Full |
| Collaboration | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Real-time | ❌ None built-in | ❌ None built-in |
| Speed | Slows with large data | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lightning fast | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fast, occasionally buggy |
| Learning curve | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Low | ⭐⭐ Medium-high | ⭐⭐⭐ Medium |
| Plugin ecosystem | Integrations (Slack, GDrive) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1000+ plugins | ⭐⭐⭐ Growing |
| AI | Built-in (Business) | Plugin-based | No official support |
| Bidirectional links | ✅ Basic | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent |
| Databases | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Full-featured | ⭐⭐⭐ Bases (new) | ⭐⭐ Queries |
| Open source | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Mobile app | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ (beta) |
My recommendation
Choose Notion if teamwork is part of your daily routine, you need databases and visual views, and you want an all-in-one workspace where even new users can get started quickly. Be prepared to pay $10–20/mo.
Choose Obsidian if you work mostly alone, write a lot, and want to fully own your data. Speed, the plugin ecosystem, and the Markdown foundation make it an excellent “second brain.” Core use is free – Sync only costs money if you need automatic syncing between devices.
Choose Logseq if you don’t want to pay anything, you value open source, and the journal-first workflow feels natural. Flashcards and the whiteboard are nice extras. Accept that the polish isn’t on the same level as the other two.
Personally, I use Obsidian. I was able to build my startup documentation, study notes, and personal knowledge base into a single vault that runs lightning fast. Knowing Markdown isn’t a problem when you’re used to coding, and owning your data on your own machine just feels right.
But if I were starting with a team today, I’d pick Notion. The collaboration features are simply on another planet.
This article was last updated in February 2026. Prices and features may change – check each service’s website for the latest information.
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