ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors vs Obsidian
Both are free office & productivity tools. Here is how they actually differ.
ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors and Obsidian at a glance
| Feature | ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Ascensio System SIA | Obsidian |
| Licence | Open Source | Free |
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile | No | Yes |
| Source code | Public | Closed |
ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors: what it's good at
ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors are built around the Office Open XML formats natively, which typically gives the most faithful rendering of complex .docx and .xlsx files of any free suite. The interface is also the closest to modern Microsoft Office.
- Native .docx, .xlsx and .pptx handling
- Ribbon interface familiar to Office users
- Works offline; optional cloud collaboration
- Open source
Obsidian: what it's good at
Obsidian stores your notes as ordinary Markdown files in a folder on your own disk, then layers linking, backlinks, graph views and a large plugin ecosystem on top. Free for personal use, with no lock-in — your notes remain readable in any text editor.
- Plain Markdown files stored locally
- Bidirectional links and graph view
- Large community plugin ecosystem
- Free for personal use
Which should you choose?
Both are free, so the honest answer is that you can install either and decide for yourself — that is the advantage of free software over a paid trial.
Both run on Windows, macOS, Linux. Only Obsidian supports Android, iOS. If open source matters to you, ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors publishes its source code and Obsidian does not.
We deliberately do not publish a star rating for either. We have no way to verify a rating that would be honest at scale, and an invented one would be worse than none — so we give you the facts and let you decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors better than Obsidian?
Neither is universally better. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors the office suite with the closest Microsoft Office compatibility, while Obsidian linked note-taking over plain Markdown files you own. The right pick depends on your platform and workflow.
Are both really free?
ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors is open source and Obsidian is free. Both can be downloaded without paying.
Can I install both?
Yes. Since neither costs anything, installing both and comparing them on your own files is usually the fastest way to decide.