# Notion VS Obsidian - Why I Use BOTH  ## Comparison of Notion and Obsidian - Notion and [[Obsidian (software) | Obsidian]] are two different tools that excel in their respective areas, and it's essential to use the right tool for the right job [(00:00:00)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=0s). - Notion emphasizes the use of folders, whereas Obsidian offers flexibility in organizing notes, allowing users to choose between folders, tags, links, or no organization system at all [(00:00:10)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=10s). - Obsidian's structure is more adaptable, enabling users to create a hierarchical folder system or use a bottom-up approach, whereas Notion encourages a top-down approach with more restrictive and streamlined options [(00:00:22)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=22s). - Notion's templates are designed for visually displaying information, whereas Obsidian's templates focus on automation and time-saving [(00:01:24)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=84s). - Obsidian offers multiple ways to discover notes, including folders, system-wide search, tags, links, and the graph view, which is particularly useful for knowledge management [(00:01:43)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=103s). - The local graph view in Obsidian allows users to see links coming into and out of a note, making it easier to rediscover and use existing notes [(00:01:59)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=119s). - [[Obsidian (software) | Obsidian]] is highly flexible, enabling users to create a vault as complex or simple as desired, with hundreds of available themes and community plugins that add functionality [(00:02:31)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=151s). - The community plugins in Obsidian are constantly evolving, adding new features and functionality to the app, such as AI-powered tools [(00:02:47)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=167s). - Notion and Obsidian differ in their AI implementation, with Obsidian allowing direct interaction with Open AI's API without middlemen, providing the latest features and full control at a lower cost [(00:02:59)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=179s). - Obsidian's plugin ecosystem offers hundreds of useful plugins, including the ability to interact with Open AI's API [(00:03:26)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=206s). - Notion excels in collaboration, making it easy to work with multiple people in the same workspace, leave comments, and share documents [(00:03:28)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=208s). - However, Notion's collaboration features come with drawbacks, including the requirement for notes to be stored on their servers, rather than locally, which raises concerns about future proofness and data ownership [(00:03:51)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=231s). - Obsidian's use of local markdown files means that notes are not tied to the app and can be easily backed up, whereas Notion's export process is more complicated [(00:04:03)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=243s). ## Brilliant.org and Learning Habits - Brilliant.org is a platform for learning math and science in an interactive way, making it easier to build a daily learning habit [(00:04:32)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=272s). ## Performance, Privacy, and Knowledge Management - [[Obsidian (software) | Obsidian]] has an advantage in terms of speed and responsiveness, as it runs locally and is not dependent on servers or internet connection, whereas Notion's cloud-based nature can lead to slower performance [(00:05:16)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=316s). - Obsidian prioritizes user privacy, with notes being stored locally and truly owned by the user, whereas Notion stores notes on their servers, raising concerns about data ownership [(00:05:49)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=349s). - Obsidian is better suited for personal Knowledge Management or a "second brain" due to its features like bi-directional linking, tags, and the graph view, making it more private and future-proof than Notion [(00:07:33)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=453s). ## File Versioning and Backups - Obsidian's local storage allows for more control over file versioning and backups, with the ability to set up a custom system based on individual storage capacity [(00:06:36)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=396s). - Notion, on the other hand, offers file versioning for 7, 30, or 90 days depending on the plan, with unlimited versioning only available on the Enterprise plan [(00:06:38)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=398s). - Obsidian's backup system can be customized to automatically back up to a NAS or other locations, whereas Notion backs up notes to the cloud and requires an export request for possession [(00:07:07)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=427s). ## Project Management and Collaboration - Notion is better suited for project and task management, as well as collaboration, due to its features like multiple workspace collaboration, commenting, and third-party app support [(00:08:07)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=487s). - Notion integrates seamlessly with [[Slack (software) | Slack]] and [[Google Drive]], making it ideal for small teams and [[Project management | project management]] [(00:08:18)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=498s). ## Combined Use of Obsidian and Notion - The use of both [[Obsidian (software) | Obsidian]] and Notion is beneficial, as Obsidian serves as a personal Knowledge Management app, while Notion is used for team collaboration and project management [(00:08:30)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=510s). - The choice between Obsidian and Notion ultimately depends on the specific use case, with Obsidian being ideal for personal knowledge management and Notion being better suited for project management and collaboration [(00:08:34)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=514s). ## Company Size, Funding, and Monetization - Notion is a larger and more established company, while Obsidian is growing exponentially with around a million users, significantly less than Notion's 30 million users [(00:08:55)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=535s). - Obsidian has no venture capitalist to answer to, allowing it to stay true to its core principles without outside pressure to reach specific user or revenue targets [(00:09:07)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=547s). - [[Obsidian (software) | Obsidian]] is free but offers paid options, including the sync feature, Obsidian Publish, Obsidian for Teams, and a support tier, providing a sustainable monetization model for continued development [(00:09:25)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=565s). ## Conclusion - The choice between Notion and Obsidian should be based on individual use cases rather than the apps themselves, as they serve different purposes [(00:09:45)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=585s). - Both Notion and Obsidian are solid options, and understanding their different purposes is key to making an informed decision [(00:09:51)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8I6OT_M3g&t=591s).