Obsidian vs QuillPad
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Obsidian
Local-first knowledge base on a folder of Markdown files
VS
QuillPad
Minimal note-taking app with notebooks and tags
| Feature | Obsidian | QuillPad |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | Proprietary | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Kotlin |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 20,632 | ★ 1,354 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Notion, OneNote | Google Keep, OneNote |
Why pick each one
Choose QuillPad if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Kotlin
Frequently asked questions
Is Obsidian or QuillPad 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 Obsidian and QuillPad free and open-source?
Yes. Obsidian is licensed under Proprietary and QuillPad under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Obsidian and QuillPad with Docker?
Obsidian: check the project docs for container support. QuillPad: check the project docs for container support.