Comparison

Side Notes vs Actions For Obsidian

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Side Notes

This app helps you organize thoughts by viewing multiple notes simultaneously. It offers layouts for comparing options, conducting analyses, or structuring complex ideas. Focus on your thinking with a clean, intuitive interface and privacy-focused design.

Highlights
  • Side-by-side note viewing
  • Multiple layout options (Dual, Four, Single)
  • Visual comparison of ideas
  • SWOT analysis and Eisenhower Matrix support
  • Rich text editing
  • Offline functionality
  • Export notes as PDF or text
Features
Read full description

See both sides of every decision at once. Side Notes shows several notes on one screen, so your pros and cons, two options or a SWOT analysis sit side by side instead of hiding in separate lists. Pick a template, start typing, and compare at a glance. Free, with no ads and no account. START FAST WITH TEMPLATES • Pros & Cons: two columns, one clearer answer • Option A vs Option B: compare two choices side by side • SWOT analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in one grid • Eisenhower matrix: sort tasks by urgent and important • Retrospective: went well, to improve, ideas, actions • Blank board: any layout, your own structure THREE LAYOUTS FOR THE WAY YOU THINK • Dual: two notes side by side • Four: a 2x2 grid for matrices and frameworks • Single: one full note when you need room to write Tap any note to edit it full screen, then swipe to move to the next one. MADE FOR REAL DECISIONS Should you take the job offer? Which apartment, which laptop, which city? Put every argument where you can see it. Run a SWOT on a business idea or a career move, plan your week with the Eisenhower matrix, and close a project or a sprint with a retrospective. ON ALL YOUR DEVICES, NO SIGN UP Your boards sync with iCloud across iPhone, iPad and Mac. There is no account to create and nothing to log in to. WRITE, THEN FIND IT AGAIN • Rich text formatting such as bold and italic (iOS 26 and later) • Word count on every note • Search board titles and note content, filter by Today or This week • Swipe to duplicate or delete a board, or long press for more options SHARE YOUR THINKING Export any board as a PDF or share it as text, ready for a meeting, a teammate or your future self. MAKE IT YOURS Light or dark mode and the Ink accent color, with Brick, Forest and Ocean in Side Notes Plus. A calm, paper-like design with serif titles. GREAT ON IPAD AND MAC More room to see every note at once, plus keyboard shortcuts on iPad and Mac (Apple silicon). Fully translated into 34 languages and redesigned for the latest iOS with Liquid Glass. GO FURTHER WITH SIDE NOTES PLUS Everything above stays free. Side Notes Plus is an optional upgrade for when you want more: • Advanced templates: weighted decision matrix, OKR, weekly review, 5 whys • Your own templates: save any board as a template • Lock a board with Face ID or Touch ID • All accent colors: Brick, Forest and Ocean • Markdown export to Notion, Obsidian or any editor Choose a yearly plan with a 1-week free trial, a monthly plan, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Side Notes is free, with no ads and no account. Just a clear space to think things through. Side Notes Plus is an optional auto-renewable subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account; it renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://side-notes.app/en/privacy

About

Actions For Obsidian

This app bridges your personal knowledge management notes with Apple's automation tools. It offers over 40 actions to integrate your notes with other applications, enabling seamless data flow between your vaults and the wider Apple ecosystem.

Highlights
  • Create and manipulate notes
  • Search and organize notes
  • Work with files and folders
  • Integrate with Dataview
  • Utilize note properties
  • Execute Obsidian commands
Features
Read full description

Actions For Obsidian integrates the personal knowledge management tool Obsidian with Apple's automation ecosystem. With 40+ Shortcuts actions, it brings your notes and automations together, making Obsidian a first-class citizen in Apple's Shortcuts app. Use it to bring information from other apps into your notes, or to bring information from your vaults into other apps. Some of the possibilities it adds: - Creating, manipulating, searching, opening, organizing notes, including daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly ones - Working with files - Working with Dataview - Working with note properties - Working with your vault's files and folders - Working with Obsidian commands For a full list and detailed description, please click the "Website" link to the right or visit https://actions.work/actions-for-obsidian. ——— This application is not affiliated with or endorsed by Obsidian.md.

Screenshots

Side Notes4 screens
Actions For Obsidian2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Actions For Obsidian at 4.8 against Side Notes's 3.9. Actions For Obsidian also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 57%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Side Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Actions For Obsidian sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Side Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Actions For Obsidian holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 40 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Side Notes's written reviews are positive against 88% of Actions For Obsidian's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Side Notes ships an update every 2 months, Actions For Obsidian every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Side Notes versus Actions For Obsidian: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSide NotesActions For Obsidian
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (22 ratings)4.8 (40 ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.1% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2240 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.4
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStraw TechnologiesCarlo Zottmann

Customer experience

Side Notes

All ratings22 ratings
Positive68.2%
Neutral9.1%
Negative22.7%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral28.6%
Negative14.3%

Actions For Obsidian

All ratings40 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral2.5%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral3.1%
Negative9.4%

Bugs and requests

Side Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Actions For Obsidian

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App returns to Actions app instead of staying in Obsidian
  • Black screen when opening Obsidian on completion
  • Continuous pop-up asking for money
  • Splash screen opens on iOS every time Shortcut runs
  • Lists removed vaults
Show 1 more
  • No shortcuts appear in Apple Shortcuts after installation

Requested features

4 requests
  • Better handling of app switching after action completion
  • Option to clear removed vaults
  • Native Apple Watch support for commands
  • Open source the entire app

In-app purchases

None

Side Notes

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Actions For Obsidian

One-time10
  • macOS+iOS License Upgrade (S)$6.99
  • macOS-only License (S)$8.99
  • iOS-only License (S)$8.99
Show 7 more
  • macOS+iOS License Upgrade (M)$8.99
  • macOS-only License (M)$11.99
  • iOS-only License (M)$11.99
  • iOS-only License (L)$14.99
  • macOS + iOS License (S)$14.99
  • macOS + iOS License (M)$19.99
  • macOS + iOS License (L)$22.99

Questions

Is Side Notes free?
Side Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Actions For Obsidian free?
Actions For Obsidian is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Side Notes or Actions For Obsidian?
Actions For Obsidian is rated higher. Side Notes averages 3.9 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while Actions For Obsidian averages 4.8 from 40 ratings.
Do Side Notes or Actions For Obsidian have ads?
Neither Side Notes nor Actions For Obsidian shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Side Notes or Actions For Obsidian?
Side Notes ships an update every 2 months, and Actions For Obsidian every 3 weeks. Most recently, Side Notes was updated on November 3, 2026 and Actions For Obsidian on November 3, 2026.

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