Best Note Taking Apps · head-to-head
Craft vs Obsidian
A sourced, side-by-side comparison for note taking apps. Craft has the lower entry price. Every figure links to the vendor's own page and the date we captured it.
At a glance
- Price: Craft $0/mo vs Obsidian $0/mo — Craft is cheaper to start.
- Free tier: Craft Yes; Obsidian Yes.
- HIPAA: Craft No; Obsidian —.
Side by side
| Craft | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $0/mo (Starter (Free)) | $0/mo (Free) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA (BAA) | No | — |
| SOC 2 | Yes | — |
| GDPR | Yes | — |
| Best for | Apple-ecosystem power users (Mac, iPhone, iPad) | Privacy-focused knowledge workers |
Sources — Craft: support.craft.do (verified 2026-06-13). Obsidian: obsidian.md (verified 2026-06-13).
Key features
Craft: Unified docs, tasks, calendar, and whiteboards in one app; AI writing assistant (Write with AI); MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other AI clients; 200+ community templates; Document publish and web sharing; Daily notes; Deep Apple platform integration (Mac App of the Year); Data encryption at rest and in transit; Continuous vulnerability scanning and third-party penetration tests
Obsidian: Local-first Markdown files stored on device (no vendor lock-in); Bidirectional linking and graph view; Large community plugin ecosystem (1,000+ plugins); AES-256 end-to-end encrypted Sync; Web publishing via Obsidian Publish (custom domains, full-text search, graph); No account required for core app; Open format (plain .md files); Regular third-party security audits (Cure53, Trail of Bits); Canvas (infinite whiteboard); Daily notes and templates