# Forward vs Obsidian

The clearest difference is price: Obsidian at Free against Forward's $4.99. Obsidian also leads on ratings volume (2.8K vs 5) and chart position (#118 vs unranked). Forward's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 62%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.5). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Obsidian is free to download; Forward costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Forward holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Obsidian has 2.8K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Forward's written reviews are positive against 62% of Obsidian's.

Forward ships an update every 2 weeks, Obsidian every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Forward | Obsidian |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/forward/id1238689873/reviews)** | [4.5 (2.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/obsidian-connected-notes/id1557175442/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 5 | **2.8K** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 61.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | — | **#118** |
| Size | 24 MB | 39 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [westlink](https://appshunter.io/developer/1238689872) | [Dynalist Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1195392807) |

## What reviewers say

### Forward

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/forward/id1238689873)

Capture ideas and tasks to be delivered to you at a future date, up to a week in advance. This app acts as a rapid note-taking tool and a time-independent reminder system.

**Highlights:** Quickly capture ideas, Schedule notes for future dates, Set reminders up to a week ahead, Time-independent reminders, Rapid note taking

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Obsidian

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/obsidian-connected-notes/id1557175442)

**Currently charting:** #118 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Organize your thoughts and ideas with a powerful knowledge base that stores your notes as plain text Markdown files. Access your personal second brain on any device, with extensive customization options and community-driven plugins.

**Highlights:** Local Markdown file storage, Customizable toolbar, Graph view, Community plugins, Themes, Sidebar pinning, iCloud vaults

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful features
- 👍 Customizable and flexible
- 🔒 Secure and private
- 💡 Innovative note-taking approach
- 🚀 Smooth mobile experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sync issues and unreliable iCloud integration
- 🔋 Slow startup and performance issues on mobile
- 👎 Steep learning curve for new users
- 👎 Limited sorting and organization options
- 👎 Lack of WYSIWYG editing on mobile

**Reported bugs**

- Sync issues leading to data loss
- Freezing and crashing on mobile devices
- Editing bugs and text input issues

**Requested features**

- Improved sorting and organization options
- WYSIWYG editing on mobile
- Better integration with other cloud storage services
- More intuitive onboarding process for new users
- Native mobile widgets and share sheet integration


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Forward free?

Forward costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Obsidian free?

Obsidian is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Forward or Obsidian?

Forward is rated higher. Forward averages 5.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Obsidian averages 4.5 from 2.8K ratings.

### Do Forward or Obsidian have ads?

Neither Forward nor Obsidian shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Forward or Obsidian?

Forward ships an update every 2 weeks, and Obsidian every 3 weeks. Most recently, Forward was updated on October 29, 2026 and Obsidian on November 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*