nb Notes 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 | nb Notes | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Proprietary |
| Language | Shell | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,410 | ★ 21,797 |
| First released | 2019 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Notion | Evernote, Notion, OneNote |
What are nb Notes and Obsidian?
nb Notes
nb is a command-line and local web tool for plain-text note-taking, bookmarking, and archiving with Git-backed versioning and syncing. It works entirely in the terminal and supports encryption.
- Plain-text notes and bookmarks
- Git-backed sync
- Optional encryption
- Tagging and search
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
nb Notes vs Obsidian: key differences
Nb Notes is written in Shell, while Obsidian is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for nb Notes versus Proprietary for Obsidian. Nb Notes is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Obsidian. Obsidian has the considerably larger community, at 21,797 GitHub stars versus 8,410.
Why pick each one
Choose nb Notes if…
- Powerful for terminal users
- Versioned with Git
Watch out for
- Command-line only
- No graphical client
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 nb Notes 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 nb Notes and Obsidian free and open-source?
Yes. nb Notes is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Obsidian under Proprietary. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run nb Notes and Obsidian with Docker?
nb Notes: check the project docs for container support. Obsidian: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, nb Notes or Obsidian?
nb Notes has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Obsidian. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.