Obsidian vs Recall Notes
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
Recall Notes
This app helps you find notes by understanding the meaning behind your search queries, not just keywords. It uses on-device AI for instant, offline searches and keeps all your data private. Ideal for students, developers, and writers who need to quickly locate information.
- Search by meaning with on-device AI
- Contextual and concept-based search
- Instant and offline search functionality
- Private by design, no cloud or tracking
- Export notes as text files
- Distraction-free interface
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Finally find that note you're looking for. Search by concept, not keywords. Type "red fruit" → find notes about apples, strawberries, or that farmer's market visit Type "bug fix" → find debugging sessions, error logs, or solution snippets Recall understands what you meant, not just what you typed. SMART SEARCH THAT ACTUALLY WORKS - Find notes by meaning using on-device AI - Searches understand context and related concepts - Works instantly, even offline - No exact keywords needed PRIVATE BY DESIGN - Everything stays on your device - No accounts, no cloud, no tracking - Your thoughts remain yours alone - Export notes anytime as text files ZERO FRICTION - Start writing immediately - no setup - One infinite note - no folders needed - Search finds everything instantly - Works offline, always PERFECT FOR - Students: Find lecture notes by topic, not exact phrases - Developers: Locate code snippets by what they do - Writers: Rediscover research by theme - Thinkers: Capture ideas without organizing SIMPLE BY CHOICE - Clean, distraction-free interface - Customizable themes and fonts - Fast, native iOS experience - Built for iPhone and iPad Stop losing thoughts in folders and tags. Let Recall remember so you don't have to. Download now and never lose a note again.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Recall Notes at 5.0 against Obsidian's 4.5. Obsidian's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (2.7K vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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. Recall Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Obsidian asks for nothing beyond the download.
Recall Notes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Obsidian has 2.7K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and July 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Obsidian | Recall Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2.7K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.7K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #126 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 38 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dynalist Inc. | Manuel Lampert |
Customer experience
Obsidian
Recall Notes
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
Recall Notes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Obsidian
No in-app purchases
Recall Notes
- Text Export$0.99
