Notion vs Obsidian vs Logseq vs Capacities
Four note-taking / personal-knowledge-management apps with very different free tiers — the recognized all-in-one blocks-and-database workspace free forever with unlimited blocks but a guest cap, a local-first Markdown knowledge base free forever with unlimited notes and devices, an open-source self-hostable local-first knowledge graph, and a modern object-first PKM free forever with unlimited objects but a storage cap — compared on free notes/blocks/objects, storage, Markdown, self-hosting, and plugins.
| Notion | Obsidian | Logseq | Capacities | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier note | The all-in-one blocks-and-database workspace most people recognize — the Free plan gives unlimited blocks and pages for personal workspaces, 10 guest collaborators, unlimited sync across iOS/Android/desktop, 5 MB file uploads, and 7-day page history. The old 1,000-block cap was removed for the Free plan. Plus from ~$10/seat/mo adds unlimited file uploads, 30-day history, and unlimited team members. | A local-first Markdown knowledge base built on plain .md files in a folder on your device — free for personal use forever with unlimited notes, unlimited devices, the full plugin + theme ecosystem, links/backlinks/graph view, and canvas/whiteboards. No account required; your notes outlive the app. Sync (encrypted across devices) is ~$4/mo and Publish (share notes as a site) is ~$8/mo as paid add-ons; commercial use needs a license. | An open-source (AGPL-3.0) local-first knowledge graph on plain Markdown or org-mode files — free forever with unlimited pages, blocks, backlinks, daily-journal, PDF annotations, whiteboards, and a query system; fully self-hostable (your data stays on disk). Logseq Sync (encrypted cross-device) and Pro are paid add-ons; the local app is unlimited free. | A newer object-oriented personal-knowledge-management app where every note is a typed object (book, person, idea) with backlinks — the free plan gives unlimited objects, unlimited pages, daily notes, and AI features with a 100 MB file-storage cap for 1 user. Pro from ~€7/mo unlocks unlimited storage, queries, advanced AI, and unlimited object references. |
| Bandwidth | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Builds | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Requests | Unlimited blocks and pages (personal use), 5 MB file uploads, 7-day page history | Unlimited notes + unlimited devices, local Markdown files | Unlimited pages + blocks, local-first Markdown/org-mode | Unlimited objects, 100 MB file storage, 1 user |
| Custom domains | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Paid from | $10/mo | $4/mo | $5/mo | $8/mo |
| Generosity ★ | 24 | 30 | 29 | 26 |
| Last verified | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 |
| Visit site | Notion ↗ | Obsidian ↗ | Logseq ↗ | Capacities ↗ |
Data verified 2025-09-01.