Grasmere vs Obsidian

This isn’t a fair fight in either direction, because the two apps are for different things that happen to use the same files. Obsidian is for notes that link to each other. Grasmere is for a long piece of writing that has to be finished. Many people need both, and they can share a folder.

In a sentence each

Obsidian is a free, extensible app for a vault of linked Markdown notes, on every platform, with a thousand community plugins. Grasmere is a Mac app for writing a book, thesis or paper in Markdown files, with sources, citations, Word review and publishing built in.

Side by side

ObsidianGrasmere
Runs onMac, Windows, Linux, iOS, AndroidMac, macOS 26 or later
PriceFree. Sync from $4 a month, Publish from $8$14.99 once
Your filesMarkdown in a vault folderMarkdown in any folder, including a vault
Linking notesWiki links, backlinks, graph, canvasOrdinary Markdown links. Wiki links converted on request
Chapters into a manuscriptCommunity plugins such as LongformBuilt in: cards, order, Publish stage
Sources and citationsCommunity pluginsBuilt in: DOI, ISBN, web pages, Zotero import; four styles
ReviewNoneWord round trip with tracked changes and comments
OutputPDF of a note, on desktopPDF in manuscript or book form, Word, website. LaTeX in 1.6
Extending itPlugins, themes, CSS, its own scriptingNone

Obsidian’s facts are from its own site and help, read on 9 November 2026. Prices in US dollars.

Where Obsidian is better

  • Thinking in notes. Backlinks, the graph, daily notes, canvas, and the whole practice of a second brain. Grasmere doesn’t try.
  • Everywhere, for nothing. Free on five platforms, with your vault synced however you like.
  • Plugins. Whatever you want, somebody has made. Including, in Longform and the citation plugins, rough versions of what Grasmere does.

Where Grasmere is better

  • Finishing. A folder of chapters becomes one PDF in standard manuscript format or typeset as a book, or one Word document, in a click. Obsidian exports a note at a time.
  • Citations without assembly. Add a paper by DOI, cite it, choose a style on export. In Obsidian this takes two or three plugins, a .bib file and Pandoc, maintained by you.
  • Review. Tracked changes and comments from a Word file, back onto your text, to accept or reject. Nothing in Obsidian does this.
  • Reading sources. Web pages and PDFs saved into the project, read and highlighted beside your draft, with a highlight quoted into the text with its citation.

Using both

Open the vault in Grasmere. The notes are unchanged, and the book folder inside it gets chapter cards, a Publish stage and the rest. Obsidian keeps working on the same files, with each app showing the other’s edits as they’re saved. Project ▸ Convert Wiki-Links turns [[links]] into Markdown links where you want the chapters to stand on their own. The longer account is from Obsidian notes to a finished manuscript.

Download for macOS Free for 14 days, then $14.99 once · macOS 26+

Which to choose

Keep Obsidian for the notes. Add Grasmere when a book, thesis or paper has to come out of them and you’d rather not build the machinery from plugins. If you’re on Windows or Linux, Obsidian with Longform and Pandoc is the way, and Zettlr is worth a look.

Last updated .