Small businesses face the critical choice of which productivity and knowledge management tool will best suit their needs. This article pits Notion against Obsidian, helping decision-makers understand the unique offerings of each platform.

Obsidian: A Vault for Your Knowledge

Key Features:

• Markdown-based note-taking for simplicity and portability
• Graph view for visualizing connections between notes
• Backlinking and block references to create a network of thoughts
• Offline-first approach, with your data stored locally
• Extensive plugin system for customization
• Sync service and Publish service available for collaboration and sharing

Pricing:

Obsidian offers a free version for personal use. Optional services like Obsidian Sync and Obsidian Publish are available at additional costs. Commercial use requires a Catalyst license starting at $25, granting you early access to new features and the ability to support development.

Pros:

• Data sovereignty with all information stored on the user's device
• Powerful linking capabilities for a web of knowledge
• Customizable with various community plugins

Cons:

• Less intuitive for those not familiar with Markdown or non-linear note-taking
• Primarily an individual tool with collaboration possible but not as a core feature

Reasons to prefer Obsidian:

Obsidian is the choice for businesses and individuals that prize data privacy and want to build a sophisticated and interlinked knowledge base on their local devices.

Notion: Comprehensive Workspace for Teams

Key Features:

• Flexible workspace combining notes, databases, and kanban boards
• Powerful template system for tailoring workflow solutions
• Real-time collaboration for team projects and documentation
• Integrations and API for connecting with external tools
• Rich multimedia support for dynamic content

Pricing:

Notion offers a free Personal plan and various paid options, with Team plans starting at $8 per user per month. To find tailored Notion systems for small businesses, head to landmarklabs.co/notion-templates.

Pros:

• Centralized workspace for a variety of business functions
• Strong collaborative features for team alignment and productivity
• Large selection of community-contributed templates to optimize business systems

Cons:

• Online-dependent, with limited offline functionality
• Can be complex to set up and requires some time to adapt and organize optimally

Reasons to prefer Notion:

Notion excels for small businesses needing a centralized system that combines project management, documentation, and collaboration, enabling a scalable approach to growing business demands.

Conclusion

Between Notion and Obsidian, the decision is largely influenced by your business's approach to knowledge management and collaboration. Obsidian offers a powerful, locality-based repository for an interconnected knowledge base, suitable for individuals or teams who prioritize data control. Notion stands out as an all-in-one solution for businesses that value a versatile, collaborative workspace for managing various operations. Landmark Labs can help kickstart your Notion experience with ready-to-use business system templates at landmarklabs.co/notion-templates.