Obsidian vs iPDF local
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Obsidian
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.
- Local Markdown file storage
- Customizable toolbar
- Graph view for connections
- Community plugins
- Themes
- iCloud sync
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Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files. It is a second brain, for you, forever. Now available on the go for iOS! Features include: - Customizable toolbar - Pull down quick actions - Graph view - Community plugins - Themes - Sidebar pinning for tablet - iCloud vaults
iPDF local
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Edit and sign PDFs directly on your iPhone, iPad or Mac with Apple silicon. Scan documents using the camera on your iPhone or iPad. iPDF local is your private PDF workspace for everyday document tasks. Open PDFs, add text, highlight content, draw, manage pages or scan documents with a modern interface and without unnecessary cloud dependency. EDIT PDFs WITH EASE • Add text and edit your own text objects • Draw with a pen or highlight content • Add circles, rectangles and stamps • Adjust color, opacity, background and line width • Move, rotate, resize or delete objects • Rotate, reorder, add and remove PDF pages • Create new PDFs • Scan documents with the camera on supported iPhones and iPads • Export and share PDFs PRIVATE AND LOCAL The local PDF editor does not require an account with us. Documents and drafts are stored locally. You decide when to export them or process them with a server you configured yourself. No unnecessary cloud. No data collection by iPDF local. Your documents stay under your control. PRO FOR POWERFUL WORKFLOWS With Pro, iPDF local also becomes a powerful frontend for your own document infrastructure. STIRLING PDF Connect your own Stirling PDF server for advanced tools including: • Merge and split PDFs • Compress files • OCR • Crop and rotate pages • Protect PDFs • Add watermarks • Convert documents • Sanitize PDFs • And more Stirling PDF tools NEXTCLOUD Browse files in your private Nextcloud, open documents directly in iPDF local and return finished files to your own workflow. PAPERLESS-NGX Search your Paperless-ngx archive, open documents in iPDF local and send finished documents back to your document system. FOR EVERYONE — AND POWER USERS You do not need your own server to use iPDF local as a PDF editor. But if you already use Stirling PDF, Nextcloud or Paperless-ngx, iPDF local grows into an exceptionally powerful mobile document workflow. Start for free. Basic includes local editing, page controls and single-page scans. Pro adds handwritten signatures, editable sharing, multi-page scans, non-PDF imports and server integrations. Conversions and server tools require the corresponding service you configure. Unlock Pro Lifetime once — no new subscription required. The current price for your region is shown before purchase. The editor adds PDF content; it does not reconstruct existing PDF body text. Handwritten signatures are not qualified digital signatures. iPDF local is an independent app and is not affiliated with Stirling PDF, Nextcloud or Paperless-ngx.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Obsidian at none against iPDF local's 4. Obsidian also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and chart position (#120 vs unranked). On price, 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
Both are free to download. iPDF local sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Obsidian asks for nothing beyond the download.
Obsidian ships an update every 3 weeks, iPDF local every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Obsidian | iPDF local |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2.8K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 61.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.8K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #120 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dynalist Inc. | Thomas Rhode |
Bugs and requests
Obsidian
Reported bugs
3 issues- Sync issues leading to data loss
- Freezing and crashing on mobile devices
- Editing bugs and text input issues
Requested features
5 requests- 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
iPDF local
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Obsidian
No in-app purchases
iPDF local
- Weekly$0.997 Days
- Monthly Plan$2.991 Month
- Annual Subscription$17.991 Year
- Lifetime Purchase$8.99









