Obsidian

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.

The app is free with no limits and no sign-up. Sync is $4 per user a month billed annually and covers encrypted syncing, version history and shared vaults. Publish is $8 per site a month billed annually and puts notes on the web. Catalyst is a $25 one-time payment for beta access and community perks, and a commercial licence is $50 per user a year for people using it for work at a company. Students, faculty and nonprofit employees get 40 percent off Sync and Publish, and the page says there are no other discounts.

A creator who keeps ideas, research and drafts for years and wants them to outlive whichever app is fashionable. The plain-file format is the whole argument, and it is worth nothing to somebody who never leaves the tool they started in. Anyone who wants real-time collaborative editing should look elsewhere, since that is not what this is shaped for.