Flatnotes vs Obsidian
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Flatnotes
Self-hosted, database-less note-taking web app
VS
Obsidian
Local-first knowledge base on a folder of Markdown files
| Feature | Flatnotes | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | Proprietary |
| Language | Vue | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,230 | ★ 21,797 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Simplenote | Evernote, Notion, OneNote |
What are Flatnotes and Obsidian?
Flatnotes
Flatnotes is a self-hosted web application for taking notes, with a focus on simplicity and storing all notes as flat Markdown files. It has no database and keeps notes easy to back up and access.
- Flat Markdown file storage
- No database required
- Full-text search
- Clean minimal interface
Obsidian
Obsidian is a powerful personal knowledge base that works on a local folder of plain Markdown files. While the app is proprietary, your notes remain fully local and portable, and self-hosted sync is possible via plugins.
- Plain Markdown file storage
- Bidirectional links and graph view
- Large community plugin ecosystem
- Local-first and private
Flatnotes vs Obsidian: key differences
Flatnotes is written in Vue, while Obsidian is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Flatnotes versus Proprietary for Obsidian. Flatnotes is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Obsidian. Obsidian has the considerably larger community, at 21,797 GitHub stars versus 3,230. Flatnotes lists first-class Docker deployment; Obsidian does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Flatnotes if…
- Trivial to back up
- Very lightweight
Watch out for
- Basic feature set
- Single-user oriented
Choose Obsidian if…
- Notes stay portable and local
- Highly extensible
Watch out for
- Core app is closed source
- Official sync is a paid service
Frequently asked questions
Is Flatnotes or Obsidian better?
Neither is universally better. Obsidian has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Flatnotes and Obsidian free and open-source?
Yes. Flatnotes is licensed under MIT and Obsidian under Proprietary. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Flatnotes and Obsidian with Docker?
Flatnotes: yes. Obsidian: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Flatnotes or Obsidian?
Flatnotes has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Obsidian. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.