Does Evernote or Obsidian have a free plan?

Both do. Evernote and Obsidian each offer a free tier, so you can try either without paying.

Which is easier to use, Evernote or Obsidian?

In VERILO's editorial assessment Evernote is the easier of the two, scoring 4 out of 5 against 3 for Obsidian. That is a judgement about how quickly a new team gets productive, not a measured benchmark.

Evernote vs Obsidian

A side-by-side look at Evernote and Obsidian: what each costs to start, whether there is a free plan, how easy they are to pick up, and which features and integrations they cover.

Which should you choose?

Choose Evernote if

Users with large archives of clipped articles, receipts and scanned documents
People who rely on OCR search across mixed media
Long-time users invested in the Evernote ecosystem

Visit Evernote

Choose Obsidian if

Researchers, writers and developers building a personal knowledge base
Privacy-conscious users who want local-only data
Power users who like to customize their tools

Visit Obsidian

Cheapest to start

Not confirmed

Free plan

Evernote, Obsidian

Highest editor rating

Obsidian · 4.5

Comparison of Evernote and Obsidian
Compare	Evernote Visit site	Obsidian Visit site
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Starting price	From $14.99/mo	From $4/mo
Editor rating	3.7	4.5
Ease of use	Easy (4/5)	Moderate (3/5)
Category	Productivity	Productivity
Pricing model	Free plan capped at 50 notes and one notebook; Personal is $14.99 per month ($129.99 per year), Professional $17.99 per month ($169.99 per year) and Teams approximately $24.99 per user per month.	The app is free, including for commercial use. Optional add-ons: Sync from approximately $4 per month and Publish from approximately $8 per month, both billed annually (monthly billing costs slightly more).
Plans	Free — Free Personal — $14.99/mo Professional — $17.99/mo Teams — $24.99/user/mo	Free — Free Sync Standard — $4/user/mo Sync Plus — $8/user/mo Publish — $8/mo
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Browser extension, API	Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension
Integrations	Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook, Zapier	—
Best for	Users with large archives of clipped articles, receipts and scanned documents People who rely on OCR search across mixed media Long-time users invested in the Evernote ecosystem	Researchers, writers and developers building a personal knowledge base Privacy-conscious users who want local-only data Power users who like to customize their tools
Pros	Strong capture: Web Clipper, document scanning, audio and email-to-note Search reads text inside images and PDFs on paid plans Mature apps on every major platform with offline access Tasks and calendar integration inside the notes app	Notes are plain Markdown files you fully own and can back up anywhere Works completely offline with no account required Thousands of community plugins and themes Free for personal and commercial use Fast, keyboard-driven editor with graph view and backlinks
Cons	Among the most expensive note apps for individuals Free plan limited to 50 notes and one notebook Frequent pricing and policy changes since the 2023 acquisition Weak for structured data compared with database-style workspaces	No real-time collaboration or web app Sync and Publish are paid add-ons Plugin management and Markdown syntax add a learning curve Mobile apps are capable but less smooth than desktop
AI assistant	Yes	No
API access	Yes	No
App marketplace	No	Yes
Browser extension	Yes	Yes
Databases & tables	No	Yes
Desktop app	Yes	Yes
Import & export	Yes	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	Yes
Offline mode	Yes	Yes
Real-time collaboration	Yes	No
SSO / SAML	Yes	No
Templates	Yes	Yes
Two-factor authentication	Yes	No

Common questions

Does Evernote or Obsidian have a free plan?: Both do. Evernote and Obsidian each offer a free tier, so you can try either without paying.
Which is easier to use, Evernote or Obsidian?: In VERILO's editorial assessment Evernote is the easier of the two, scoring 4 out of 5 against 3 for Obsidian. That is a judgement about how quickly a new team gets productive, not a measured benchmark.

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