Novlr vs Obsidian Comparison 2026
Novlr is a distraction-free space to draft a book, with goals, streaks and version history built around the page: free to start, then Starter at $8 a month billed yearly for unlimited projects and 30 days of history. Obsidian keeps notes as plain Markdown files on your own disk with links and a graph between them, the app itself free at any size with no cap, and paid add-ons only for syncing devices at $4 a month or publishing to the web at $8. Pick Novlr for goal tracking built around finishing a draft. Pick Obsidian for research and notes that need to outlive the app.
A writing app with a free plan that writes
Notes that stay as plain files on your own disk
At a glance
- Obsidian starts cheaper, at $4.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Novlr | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $8 | From $4 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Not stated |
| Free trial | None | Not stated |
| API | Not stated |
Novlr
A writing app with a free plan that writes
Novlr is a distraction-free place to write a book, with goals, streaks and version history around the page rather than on top of it. The free plan is a working writing tool rather than a locked demo. Paying adds the proofreader and the longer history, and it is billed yearly.
Our note
Start on the free plan and only pay when version history or the proofreader becomes the thing you miss. At $8 a month the Starter tier is the cheapest serious writing subscription in the catalog.
Only on this side
- Covers self-publishing
Obsidian
Notes that stay as plain files on your own disk
Obsidian keeps a vault of Markdown files on the local disk and builds links, backlinks and a graph over them. For a creator that means the idea list, the script drafts and the research notes outlive the app: no export, no account, nothing to be locked out of. The app itself is free without a sign-up. Sync and Publish are paid add-ons rather than the product, and a commercial licence is asked for only when notes are used for work at a company.
Why people weigh these two
- Obsidian instead of Novlr
- Obsidian keeps the manuscript as plain files on your own disk instead of in Novlr's hosted account, for a writer who wants to own the files directly.
- Novlr instead of Obsidian
- Novlr is a writing app with a free plan that writes, paid from $8, aimed at the draft rather than the note archive.
Which one should you pick
Choose Novlr if you are drafting a book and want word-count goals, streaks and version history built into the writing surface itself, not bolted on. The free plan is a genuine working writing tool, and Starter at $8 a month billed yearly adds unlimited projects, 30 days of version history and the goal and streak tracking. Nothing here builds a graph of linked notes, so research and worldbuilding sprawled across many documents is better served elsewhere.
Choose Obsidian if the writing is research, scripts and ideas spread across many linked notes rather than one manuscript with a word-count target: the app is free with no limits at any size, and paid add-ons like Sync at $4 a user a month billed annually only cover syncing across devices. There is no goal tracking, no streaks and no proofreader built in, so a novelist who wants those specific prompts should use Novlr instead.
Common questions
- Which has the more useful free plan?
- It depends what you are writing. Novlr's free plan is a genuine writing tool but adds unlimited projects, version history and goal tracking only once you pay $8 a month billed yearly for Starter. Obsidian's free app has no limits at all, at any size, though it has none of Novlr's book-specific goal or streak features regardless of plan.
- Does Obsidian track word-count goals or writing streaks like Novlr?
- No. Obsidian is a general note-taking system built around links, backlinks and a graph, with nothing for goals or streaks. That tracking, plus a built-in proofreader on Novlr's Pro plan at $16 a month billed yearly, is the reason a novelist would pick Novlr instead.
- Can Novlr organize research the way Obsidian does?
- Not in the same way. Novlr is built around drafting inside projects, without the links, backlinks and graph view that let Obsidian connect notes to each other. A writer whose process leans on scattered research notes will find Obsidian's structure the better fit.
- Do either of these charge by seat or by project?
- Neither. Novlr's Starter and Pro plans are flat monthly rates billed yearly, $8 and $16, covering unlimited projects rather than charging per one. Obsidian's optional Sync add-on is priced per user a month billed annually, but the core app has no per-project or per-seat cost at all.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.