AFFiNE Pro vs Obsidian: Choose Your Brainstorming Tool in 2025!

utworzone przez | Last updated Nov 23, 2025

Winner
affine pro
4.0
  • Notatki
  • Drawing
  • Organized Planner
  • AFFiNE Pro AI
  • Presentation Maker
  • Free plan available
  • Paid Plans from $6.75/month
Runner Up
Obsidian
3.5
  • Internal Linking
  • Visual Graph
  • Cool Canvas
  • 1000+ Plugins
  • Collaboration
  • Free plan available
  • Paid Plan Starts at $4/month
AFFiNE pro vs Obsidian 1

Ever feel like your ideas are scattered?

You’ve got a million thoughts, but is there no good way to organize them?

Imagine losing that brilliant idea because you couldn’t find it in your jumbled notes.

Or spending hours trying to connect different pieces of information.

You need a tool that helps you think clearly, not makes things harder. 

That’s where AFFiNE Pro vs Obsidian come in.

These tools are arranged to help you organize your thoughts and boost your productivity.

But which one is right for you? Let’s break down AFFiNE Pro vs Obsidian and help you choose the best brainstorming tool for 2025.

Overview

We’ve rigorously tested both AFFiNE Pro and Obsidian, diving deep into their features and usability.

Our hands-on experience, coupled with user feedback, forms the basis of this comprehensive comparison, designed to help you make an informed choice.

AFFiNE Pro
4out of 5

Supercharge your workspace! 92% of AFFiNE Pro users report increased productivity.

Pricing: It has a free plan. The paid plan starts at $6.75/month

Key Features:

  • Whiteboard Integration
  • Database Blocks
  • Markdown Support
Obsidian
3.5out of 5

Join over 1 million users who’ve transformed their note-taking! Start today!

Pricing: It has a free plan. The premium plan starts at $4/month.

Key Features:

  • Local Markdown files.
  • Graph view.
  • Extensive plugin ecosystem.

What is AFFiNE Pro?

AFFiNE Pro is like a digital playground where you can brainstorm, organize, and create all in one spot.

Think of it as your all-in-one productivity hub.

AFFiNE Pro

Nasze podejście

AFFiNE Pro

Build flexible workspaces and collaborate visually with AFFiNE Pro. See a 20% increase in team project clarity. Explore the open-source power today!

Kluczowe korzyści

  • Combines multiple tools.
  • Open-source and customizable.
  • Good for visual collaboration.
  • Strong focus on flexibility.
Youtube Video

Wycena

  • FOSS + Basic: Free Forever
  • Pro: $6.75/month
  • Team: $10/per seat/month
AFFiNE Pro pricing

Zalety

  • Incredibly flexible and versatile.
  • Feature-rich and powerful.
  • Local-first and privacy-focused.
  • Active community and regular updates.
  • A unique blend of notes and canvas.

Wady

  • It can have a steep learning curve.
  • Mobile apps are still in beta.
  • Limited offline functionality.
  • Some features are still under development.

What is Obsidian?

Obsidian is a bit different. It’s built for folks who love linking their notes.

Think of it as your knowledge base. 

You create notes, connect them, and watch your ideas grow. It’s all about building connections.

obsidian homepage

Nasze podejście

Obsidian

Transform your note-taking. Harness the power of interconnected ideas with Obsidian. Join over 100,000 users who are building their digital “second brain.” Start your knowledge journey today, for free.

Kluczowe korzyści

  • Your notes are stored locally.
  • You can connect your notes together.
  • The graph view shows these connections.
  • It’s highly customizable with many plugins.

Wycena

  • Sync: $ 4 USD per user, per month, billed annually.
  • Publish: $ 8 USD per user, per month, billed annually.
obsidian pricing

Zalety

  • Unleashes your creativity.
  • Boosts your productivity.
  • Deepens your understanding.
  • Connects your ideas seamlessly.

Wady

  • Requires an Obsidian subscription.
  • It can be overwhelming for beginners.
  • AI features are still evolving.

Feature Comparison

We’re doing a quick comparison to help you choose the best note-taking tool for 2025. 

Let’s dive in and see what makes each one special.

1. Workspace Organization

AFFiNE Pro is like a big, organized room. It combines whiteboard, database, and documents into one workspace.

Obsidian, on the other hand, focuses on linking notes. It’s more like a library of your thoughts.

AFFiNE Pro aims to be a full alternative, while Obsidian is a personal knowledge management system.

2. Markdown Editing

Both use markdown, but in different ways. Obsidian loves plain markdown files that live on your computer.

AFFiNE Pro uses markdown blocks inside its bigger workspace. So, Obsidian is more traditional, and AFFiNE Pro is more integrated.

3. Database Power

AFFiNE Pro has strong database features. It can create tables, views, and filter data, which makes it great for project management.

Obsidian needs plugins for similar stuff. AFFiNE Pro’s database is more native.

AFFiNE Pro

4. AI Integration

AFFiNE Pro is pushing for AI assistance in its workspace. It aims to help with content creation and organization.

Obsidian’s AI comes through plugins. AFFiNE Pro has more built-in potential.

5. Offline Access & Sync

Obsidian works fully offline; it saves files locally. Syncing requires an extra service.

AFFiNE Pro also offers offline work and sync services. Obsidian’s system is more direct.

6. Template and PDF Handling

AFFiNE Pro offers many different templates for many tasks. It is also good to have PDF annotation directly in the app.

Obsidian relies on plugins to help with templates, and they have varied experiences with PDF handling.

Obsidian

7. Task Management and Calendar

AFFiNE pro contains task management and calendar capabilities. They aim to allow users to plan seamlessly inside the application. 

Obsidian requires plugins for these functions. AFFiNE pro aims for tighter productivity integration.

What to Look For When Choosing a Brainstorming Tool?

  1. “Hyper-Fused” Architecture: The tool must be an all in one workspace or hyper fused platform that is a unique combination of document, database, and whiteboard feature. It must allow you to seamlessly switch between structured docs whiteboards and visual modes to brainstorm ideas.
  2. AI and Intelligent Assistance: Prioritize affine ai or similar intelligent assistance that offers all the features to boost productivity. The AI should not just write, but also generate mind maps, summarize, and retrieve knowledge from your personal knowledge base.
  3. Privacy and Flexibility: Check if the platform is an open source project and privacy focused with a local-first approach. This gives you control over your knowledge and the ability to contribute to the community, allowing you to shape the tool to your specific needs.
  4. Project and Knowledge Management: The platform needs to handle various tasks, allowing you to manage projects and track progress. Its structure should facilitate better organization so you can easily stay organized and turn ideas into actionable project planning.
  5. Scaling and Collaboration: Ensure the tool can grow from individual use to supporting established organizations and next gen startups. It needs strong features to collaborate in real-time and should be a feature rich alternative to different tools.
  6. Cross-Platform Support: Look for the latest version to be consistently available across all platforms. The tool must work well on any operating system so you can access your knowledge wherever you are, supporting both structured work and visual drawing and creativity.

Final Verdict

After our feature comparison, the final verdict is clear. For a robust, all-in-one workflow,

AFFiNE Pro takes the lead. It’s built for project management and team collaboration.

While using Obsidian offers a solid local-first approach with markdown files, AFFiNE Pro’s ease of use and real-time collaboration is hard to beat.

If you want a tool that can truly allow users to work together seamlessly, AFFiNE Pro is the better choice.

We’ve tested both apps like these extensively, and for a modern, collaborative experience, AFFiNE Pro wins.

Its key features and customization options make it a top pick for note-taking and beyond.

More of AFFiNE pro

Let’s see how AFFiNE pro stacks up against these other workspace apps:

  • AFFiNE pro vs Notion: AFFiNE pro tries to put docs, whiteboards, and databases together in one app and keeps your info private. Notion is a cloud-based workspace for notes, projects, and more.
  • AFFiNE pro vs ClickUp: AFFiNE pro wants to be an all-in-one workspace. ClickUp is mainly for teams to manage projects with lots of features.
  • AFFiNE pro vs Anytype: Both AFFiNE pro and Anytype aim to keep your info private on your computer and help you link different kinds of information.
  • AFFiNE pro vs Coda: AFFiNE pro combines different tools in one place. Coda lets you build documents that act like apps with tables and automation.
  • AFFiNE pro vs XTiles: Both AFFiNE pro and XTiles focus on keeping your info private and letting you connect notes and tasks.
  • AFFiNE pro vs Capacities: AFFiNE pro wants to be an all-in-one workspace. Capacities helps you see connections between your ideas in a visual way.
  • AFFiNE pro vs Craft: AFFiNE pro tries to combine different tools for productivity. Craft focuses on making nice-looking documents that you can link.
  • AFFiNE pro vs Obsidian: Both AFFiNE pro and Obsidian keep your info on your computer and let you link your thoughts. Obsidian uses plain text files and has many extra tools you can add.

More of Obsidian

Let’s see how Obsidian stacks up against these other note-taking and knowledge management apps:

  • Obsidian vs Notion: Obsidian keeps your notes as local text files and focuses on linking them together. Notion is a cloud-based workspace for notes, projects, and databases.
  • Obsidian vs ClickUp: Obsidian is for your personal knowledge base with linked notes. ClickUp is mainly for teams to manage projects with note-taking features.
  • Obsidian vs Anytype: Both Obsidian and Anytype keep your info private on your computer and let you link your thoughts. Anytype uses a different way to structure info with objects.
  • Obsidian vs Coda: Obsidian uses linked text files to build your knowledge. Coda lets you make documents that act like apps with tables and buttons.
  • Obsidian vs XTiles: Both Obsidian and XTiles focus on keeping your notes private and letting you connect them. Obsidian uses plain text files and has many extra tools you can add.
  • Obsidian vs Capacities: Obsidian uses linked text files to show how your ideas connect. Capacities uses a more visual way with objects and links to build your knowledge graph.
  • Obsidian vs Craft: Obsidian uses simple text files to create linked notes. Craft focuses on making nice-looking documents that you can also link.
  • Obsidian vs AFFiNE pro: Both Obsidian and AFFiNE pro let you keep your notes local and link them. AFFiNE pro also lets you edit in blocks like Notion and has a whiteboard.

Często zadawane pytania

What makes Obsidian AI better than a general ChatGPT or AI chatbot?

Obsidian AI uses ai powered plugins and retrieval augmented generation to access your entire vault. This gives you context aware answers and relevant information based on your vault notes, acting as a personalized trusted sidekick.

How can I use local models and local machine learning for privacy?

You can set up local models or a local llm via plugins to keep your data private. This means large language models process your obsidian vault on your machine, preventing your own thoughts from being sent to the web or external providers.

How do ai tools assist with generating structured content and finding relevant information?

AI tools like the text generator and copilot use powered templates to help create structured content from your atomic notes. Plugins like Smart Connections find relevant information and links that help you learn faster and achieve more brilliance.

What advanced features are offered in the plugins overview for different workflows?

The plugins overview showcases features like real time calculations with math maestro and metadata insertion with date magic. You can manually adjust various global settings profiles (global settings profiles and settings profiles) for different vaults within your account.

How can I interact with my notes using the chat mode and find context?

The ai chatbot or copilot feature allows you to chat in a chat mode using vault chat about your selected text or the entire vault. This creates an organized conversation history where you can ask ai questions and find context from youtube videos or any linked article.

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