Why I Finally Chose Obsidian for My Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) solution
For years, I bounced between different note-taking apps, each promising to be the one—the ultimate solution for capturing, organising, and retrieving my thoughts. I tried everything from Evernote to Notion to Apple Notes, but nothing quite clicked.
Then I found Obsidian.
It wasn’t love at first sight. At first glance, Obsidian looked… basic. No cloud syncing out of the box, no flashy interface, no AI-powered auto-suggestions. But once I started using it, I realised: this is the note-taking app I’ve been searching for all along.
Here’s why I finally chose Obsidian for my Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)—and why it might be the right fit for you too.
1. It’s Free
First things first: Obsidian is free.
Sure, there are paid options if you want cloud sync or advanced publishing features, but if you just need a solid, local-first note-taking app, it costs exactly £0.
Most other note-taking apps come with subscription fees or storage limits. Notion, for example, locks away offline access unless you pay. Evernote? That used to be my go-to, but the free tier became so limited it was unusable.
Obsidian, on the other hand, gives me unlimited notes, unlimited storage, and full control—all without a monthly fee. That’s a big win.
2. It’s Safe (Because It’s All Local)
One of the biggest reasons I switched to Obsidian is security and control.
Most modern note-taking apps store your data in the cloud—which means your notes live on someone else’s servers. That’s fine for most people, but I’ve always had a lingering worry:
What happens if the company shuts down?
What if their servers get hacked?
What if they suddenly change their pricing and lock me out?
With Obsidian, everything is local. My notes live on my device, and I don’t need to worry about a company disappearing overnight and taking my data with it.
I can still back up my notes manually to iCloud, Dropbox, or an external drive, but the key point is: I’m in control.
3. Offline First = Always Available
Because everything is stored locally, Obsidian works 100% offline.
This was a game-changer for me.
I travel a lot, and sometimes I’m in places with unreliable internet. With Notion, if I lost my connection, my notes were inaccessible. Evernote improved its offline access, but syncing was slow and clunky.
With Obsidian, I can open my notes instantly, no matter where I am—on a plane, in a coffee shop with bad Wi-Fi, or deep in a signal-dead zone. My knowledge is always at my fingertips, and I don’t have to rely on an internet connection to get work done.
If you’ve ever been frustrated by a note-taking app refusing to load because you’re offline, you’ll appreciate this freedom from dependency.
4. The Plugins & Community
At its core, Obsidian is a simple markdown-based note-taking app—but its real power comes from plugins.
The Obsidian community has built hundreds of free plugins that let you customise it to fit your workflow. Some of my favourites:
Daily Notes – Automatically creates a new note each day, perfect for journaling or tracking progress.
Graph View – A visual map of how your notes connect, great for seeing the big picture.
Kanban Plugin – Turns notes into a Trello-style board for task management.
Readwise Plugin – Syncs my Readwise highlights into Obsidian, so all my best reading insights are in one place.
The beauty of Obsidian is that you can start simple and add complexity only if you need it. Want a minimal note-taking app? Just use it as-is. Want a second brain that connects everything you know? Install a few plugins.
The Obsidian community is also a huge plus. If you ever get stuck, there are forums, Discord groups, and YouTube tutorials filled with people eager to help. It’s an ecosystem that’s constantly improving, and that’s reassuring when investing in a long-term tool.
What Obsidian Has Replaced for Me
Since switching to Obsidian, I’ve completely stopped using:
Evernote – Too bloated, and the free plan became useless.
Apple Notes – Great for quick notes, but terrible for long-term knowledge management.
Notion – Still a fantastic tool that I use for my business records mainly due to its mathematical functions. When will you do basic maths Obsidian?!
Now, Obsidian is my central hub for all my notes, research, and writing. I use it to:
Capture ideas – Quick notes, random thoughts, and content ideas.
Organise knowledge – A growing library of everything I learn.
Plan projects – Structuring long-term work with folders and backlinks.
It’s simple, fast, and gets out of my way, letting me focus on what matters.
Will I Stick With It Forever?
Right now, Obsidian is the best tool for me. It’s free, private, offline-friendly, and customisable.
That said, I’ve learned not to get too attached to any single tool. The way I work evolves, and so does technology. If something better comes along, I’m open to change.
For now, though? Obsidian is exactly what I need.
If you’ve been struggling to find a reliable, private, offline-first note-taking system, I highly recommend giving it a shot.
You might just find that it finally clicks—just like it did for me.
Simon, I clicked on the link for Obsidian but it’s broken. Please advise?