Laverna 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.
Obsidian
Local-first knowledge base on a folder of Markdown files
| Feature | Laverna | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 24 · At risk | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Proprietary |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,171 | ★ 21,797 |
| First released | 2014 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Simplenote | Evernote, Notion, OneNote |
What are Laverna and Obsidian?
Laverna
Laverna is an open-source, web-based note-taking application with Markdown support and client-side encryption. It can store notes locally or sync via Dropbox or remoteStorage and can be self-hosted as a static app.
- Client-side encryption
- Markdown editor
- Offline support
- Static self-hosted app
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
Laverna vs Obsidian: key differences
Both projects are written in JavaScript. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Laverna versus Proprietary for Obsidian. Laverna is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Obsidian. Laverna is the more established project (first released 2014), while Obsidian arrived in 2020. Obsidian has the considerably larger community, at 21,797 GitHub stars versus 9,171.
Why pick each one
Choose Laverna if…
- Strong privacy focus
- No backend required
Watch out for
- Development has stalled
- Aging codebase
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 Laverna 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 Laverna and Obsidian free and open-source?
Yes. Laverna is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Obsidian under Proprietary. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Laverna and Obsidian with Docker?
Laverna: check the project docs for container support. Obsidian: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Laverna or Obsidian?
Laverna 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.