Strawberry Notes vs Obsidian
Obsidian is a free app for typed notes you link together, saved as plain Markdown files on your device. With community plugins it can do almost anything. Strawberry Notes links notes and maps them too, but it's built for handwriting and studying, with everything built in and nothing to set up.
Go with Obsidian if…
- You type your notes and want plain files you own forever
- You like tinkering with plugins and themes
- You need Linux, or Windows or Mac right now
- You want it free
Go with Strawberry Notes if…
- You take notes by hand with an Apple Pencil, on infinite pages with infinite zoom
- You want flashcards, PDF markup, and AI built in, with no plugins to set up
- You want notes, flashcards, and tasks in one simple app, with docs and a calendar coming soon
- You want AI quizzes, study guides, and games made from your notes
Side by side
Checked against Obsidian’s own website in September 2026.
| Feature | Strawberry Notes | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| Works on | ||
| Works on | iPad and iPhone. Android, Windows, and Mac coming soon | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, and Android |
| Price | ||
| Price | $19.99 a year (7 days free), $4.99 a month, or $39.99 once | Free. Sync is $5 a month, or $4 a month billed yearly |
| Handwriting | ||
| Handwriting | Yes:Smooth, realistic-looking ink with pens, pencil, highlighter, study tape, and shape recognition | Partly:Only with the community Excalidraw plugin |
| Page style | ||
| Page style | Yes:Infinite notebook or infinite whiteboard, with infinite zoom and templates | Typed Markdown notes, plus an infinite Canvas board |
| Write on PDFs | ||
| Write on PDFs | Yes:Write on PDFs and scans, or read side by side | Partly:Built-in viewer. Writing on PDFs needs plugins |
| Typed notes | ||
| Typed notes | Yes:Text boxes mixed in with your handwriting. Full typed docs coming soon | Yes:Its specialty, in Markdown |
| Record audio | ||
| Record audio | No:Not yet | Yes:Records audio into your notes. No transcription |
| Flashcards | ||
| Flashcards | Yes:Built in, with FSRS spaced repetition, image occlusion, and Anki import | Partly:Only with community plugins |
| AI study tools | ||
| AI study tools | Yes:Chat, summaries, study guides, games, and quizzes with matching, fill-in-the-blank, and ordering questions. Free starter credits, then pay only for what you use | Partly:Only through community plugins |
| Tasks | ||
| Tasks | Yes:Tasks and reminders for every class, with a calendar coming soon | Partly:Checkboxes, plus community plugins |
| Organize and link | ||
| Organize and link | Yes:Subjects, folders, subnotes, tags, links, backlinks, and Sky View, a map of your notes | Yes:Its specialty: links, backlinks, and a graph view |
| Works offline | ||
| Works offline | Yes:Yes. Everything saves on your device first, then syncs to your other devices through iCloud | Yes:Fully offline |
| Where your notes live | ||
| Where your notes live | Yes:Your device, plus your own iCloud if you want it. Back up your whole library as one file anytime. We can't read your notes | Yes:Your device, as plain files. Sync is optional |
| Share and work together | ||
| Share and work together | Partly:Publish a note, or export it as a .sbnote file, to share it. Live editing isn't here yet | Partly:Shared vaults with Sync, but no live editing |
Why Strawberry Notes
Everything for school, in one simple app
Notes, flashcards, and tasks live together, and docs and a calendar are on the way. Every subject, folder, and subnote gets its own notes, flashcards, and tasks, so nothing gets lost between apps.
- Notes
- Flashcards
- Tasks
- Docs (soon)
- Calendar (soon)
Notes that connect like your brain does
Link any note to any other, nest subnotes as deep as you like, and zoom in forever. Sky View shows it all as a map. You're free to think your way instead of going page by page.
Private by design
Your library lives on your devices, and we can't read it. iCloud sync is optional: keep everything on one device if you like, and export your whole library as one file anytime to back it up or bring it back in. Handwriting recognition runs on your device. AI only sees what you choose to share, and we don't store your chats.
Coming from Obsidian?
Obsidian notes are plain text, so nothing gets lost if you try something new. Keep typing in Obsidian if you like, and use Strawberry Notes for your handwriting, PDFs, and flashcards.
DownloadQuestions people ask
If you love Obsidian's linking but take notes by hand, yes. Strawberry Notes has links, subnotes, and Sky View, a map of your notes, plus handwriting, PDF markup, flashcards, and AI built in. If you type in Markdown and love plugins, Obsidian is hard to beat.
Not out of the box. The community Excalidraw plugin adds drawing, but Obsidian is built for typing. Strawberry Notes is built for Apple Pencil, with an infinite notebook and whiteboard, infinite zoom, and links between everything you write.
Not out of the box. Community plugins add flashcards with spaced repetition, written in Markdown, and image occlusion needs yet another plugin. Strawberry Notes has flashcards, image occlusion cards, and Anki import built in, all scheduled with FSRS.
More comparisons
- vs Notability
- vs Goodnotes
- vs Notion
- vs RemNote
- vs Anki
- vs Quizlet
- vs Knowt
- vs OneNote
- vs Apple Notes
- vs Evernote
- vs Notewise
- vs Freenotes
- vs CollaNote
- vs Ahmni
Sources: Obsidian pricing, Obsidian core plugins, Obsidian Sync collaboration. Prices are in US dollars and can change, so check before you buy.
Obsidian is a trademark of Dynalist Inc., and Strawberry Notes isn't affiliated with them. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.