# Milanote vs Obsidian

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Obsidian at none against Milanote's 2. Obsidian also leads on chart position (#129 vs unranked). Milanote's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Milanote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.49 per month. Obsidian asks for nothing beyond the download.

Milanote holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.8K and 2.7K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 59% of Milanote's written reviews are positive against 62% of Obsidian's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Milanote ships an update every 5 days, Obsidian every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Milanote | Obsidian |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (3.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/milanote/id1433852790/reviews)** | [4.5 (2.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/obsidian-connected-notes/id1557175442/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.8K** | 2.7K |
| Positive reviews | 59.4% of reviews | **62.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | — | **#129** |
| Size | 100 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Milanote](https://appshunter.io/developer/1433852789) | [Dynalist Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1195392807) |

## What reviewers say

### Milanote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/milanote/id1433852790)

Organize your creative projects with this visual workspace. Combine notes, images, videos, and sketches to capture inspiration and see the big picture. Collaborate with your team or keep ideas private, with content synced instantly across all devices.

**Highlights:** Combine notes, images, videos, and sketches, Organize projects visually, Collaborate with teams, Save content from any app, Instant syncing across devices, Sketching with Apple Pencil

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Professional Monthly | $12.49 | per month |
| Professional Annual | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent for planning and organizing
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🎨 Great for creatives and visual thinkers
- 💻 Seamless sync between desktop and mobile
- 📚 Helpful for students and academics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Limited free version with only 100 items
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 📱 Mobile app lacks functionality of desktop version
- 🖼️ Issues with uploading and managing images
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when trying to open certain boards
- Issues with deleting or rearranging notes
- Image uploads not working consistently

**Requested features**

- Add iPad app with full desktop functionality
- Improve mobile app experience and parity with desktop
- Increase free version storage limit
- Implement offline mode and better file management
- Add more customization options for boards and notes


### Obsidian

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

**Currently charting:** #129 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Organize your thoughts and ideas with a powerful knowledge base that utilizes local Markdown files. This app acts as your personal second brain, accessible on your mobile device for seamless note-taking and idea connection.

**Highlights:** Local Markdown file storage, Customizable toolbar, Graph view for connections, Community plugins, Themes, iCloud sync

**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 Milanote free?

Milanote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Obsidian free?

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

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

Milanote is rated higher. Milanote averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.8K ratings, while Obsidian averages 4.5 from 2.7K ratings.

### Do Milanote or Obsidian have ads?

Neither Milanote nor Obsidian shows ads.

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

Milanote ships an update every 5 days, and Obsidian every 3 weeks. Most recently, Milanote was updated on September 25, 2026 and Obsidian on September 24, 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.*