# Zotero vs Obsidian

Zotero and Obsidian both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 78% of Zotero's written reviews are positive against 62% of Obsidian's. Obsidian's advantage is chart position (#128 vs unranked) and ratings volume (2.7K vs 425). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Zotero against 4.5 for Obsidian. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Obsidian has 2.7K ratings behind it against 425, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Zotero's written reviews are positive against 62% of Obsidian's.

Zotero ships an update every 2 weeks, Obsidian every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Zotero | Obsidian |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (425 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zotero/id1513554812/reviews)** | [4.5 (2.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/obsidian-connected-notes/id1557175442/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 425 | **2.7K** |
| Positive reviews | **77.9% of reviews** | 62.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | **#128** |
| Size | 197 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Zotero](https://appshunter.io/developer/1513554811) | [Dynalist Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1195392807) |

## What reviewers say

### Zotero

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zotero/id1513554812)

This research tool helps you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share your academic and professional work. Save articles, books, and webpages, add notes and highlights, and generate bibliographies in thousands of styles. Collaborate with others and sync your library across devices.

**Highlights:** Collect research from various sources, Organize with collections and tags, Annotate PDFs and webpages, Generate citations and bibliographies, Collaborate in group libraries, Sync across devices

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and powerful
- 🚀 Convenient and useful
- 🚀 Seamless syncing across devices
- 🚀 Excellent reference management
- 👍 Great annotation and PDF reading experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Syncing issues with WebDAV
- 🐛 Metadata not automatically extracted from PDFs
- 🐛 Annotation tools could be improved
- 🐛 Limited sorting and filtering options

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to unzip PDF snapshots
- Annotations disappearing or moving unexpectedly
- Dark mode not working as expected
- Inability to add citations directly from the app

**Requested features**

- Eraser tool for annotations
- More color options for pen and highlighter
- Ability to open PDFs in external apps
- Bookmarking and table of contents support
- Improved search functionality


### Obsidian

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

**Currently charting:** #128 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 Zotero free?

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

### Is Obsidian free?

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

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

Zotero is rated higher. Zotero averages 4.6 out of 5 from 425 ratings, while Obsidian averages 4.5 from 2.7K ratings.

### Do Zotero or Obsidian have ads?

Neither Zotero nor Obsidian shows ads.

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

Zotero ships an update every 2 weeks, and Obsidian every 3 weeks. Most recently, Zotero was updated on September 24, 2026 and Obsidian on September 27, 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.*