Obsidian vs SilverBullet
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
VS
SilverBullet
Hackable note-taking for the self-hosted web
| Feature | Obsidian | SilverBullet |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 96 · Excellent | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | Proprietary | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 21,797 | ★ 6,142 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Notion, OneNote | Notion, Obsidian |
What are Obsidian and SilverBullet?
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
SilverBullet
SilverBullet is an extensible, Markdown-based note-taking web app that you can run on your own server and access from any browser. It targets users who want a programmable personal knowledge tool. It is deployed via Docker or Deno.
- Markdown-based with live queries
- Extensible via Space Script
- Works offline as a PWA
- Plain file storage
Obsidian vs SilverBullet: key differences
Obsidian is written in JavaScript, while SilverBullet is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Proprietary for Obsidian versus MIT for SilverBullet. SilverBullet is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Obsidian. Obsidian is the more established project (first released 2020), while SilverBullet arrived in 2022. Obsidian has the considerably larger community, at 21,797 GitHub stars versus 6,142. SilverBullet lists first-class Docker deployment; Obsidian does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Obsidian if…
- Notes stay portable and local
- Highly extensible
Watch out for
- Core app is closed source
- Official sync is a paid service
Choose SilverBullet if…
- Highly hackable
- Lightweight
- Files stay portable
Watch out for
- Niche and DIY-oriented
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Obsidian or SilverBullet 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 SilverBullet free and open-source?
Yes. Obsidian is licensed under Proprietary and SilverBullet under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Obsidian and SilverBullet with Docker?
Obsidian: check the project docs for container support. SilverBullet: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Obsidian or SilverBullet?
SilverBullet 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.