Notion vs Obsidian vs Cabinet
Three popular ways to run a knowledge base, three very different trade-offs. Notion is a polished cloud wiki. Obsidian is a local, single-player Markdown vault. Cabinet keeps your whole knowledge base as files you own, with team collaboration, live apps, and AI agents. Here is how they compare.
Notion
Polished cloud wiki, managed and multiplayer.
Obsidian
Local-first Markdown vault for one person.
Cabinet
A knowledge base you own, with agents and apps.
Side by side
The features that decide it
| Feature | Notion | Obsidian | Cabinet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Files on disk you own | Not included | Included | Included |
| Self-hosted | Not included | Included | Included |
| Built for teams | Included | Partial | Included |
| AI agents that act on your knowledge | Partial | Partial | Included |
| Scheduled routines | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Bring your own AI keys | Not included | Partial | Included |
| Visualize web apps and dashboards | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Real-time multiplayer editing | Included | Partial | Partial |
| Plugin ecosystem | Partial | Included | Partial |
| Open source | Not included | Not included | Included |
| No vendor lock-in | Not included | Included | Included |
| Managed, zero-setup | Included | Partial | Partial |
Who each is for
Pick by what you need
Notion
Teams that want a polished, managed cloud workspace and live multiplayer, and are fine with their knowledge living in the cloud.
Obsidian
Solo note-takers who want the lightest local Markdown vault and a deep plugin ecosystem.
Cabinet
Teams that want to own their knowledge as files, with agents acting on it, live apps, and self-hosting.
The verdict
So which should you choose?
If you want zero setup and live multiplayer above all, Notion is the easy pick, as long as you accept that your knowledge lives in their cloud.
If you work alone and want the fastest, most hackable local editor, Obsidian is hard to beat.
If you want to own your knowledge, give a team and its AI agents one place to work, and render live apps over it, Cabinet is the one of the three you actually control.
Questions
Answered
Notion vs Obsidian vs Cabinet, which should I choose?
Pick Notion for a managed cloud workspace with multiplayer, Obsidian for a personal local vault, and Cabinet if you want to own your knowledge as files with a team and AI agents working in it.
Which is best for teams?
Notion and Cabinet are both built for teams. Choose Cabinet if owning your files and having agents act on them matters; choose Notion for the most polished managed multiplayer.
Which is open source?
Cabinet is open source under the MIT license. Obsidian's core app is free but not open source, and Notion is closed source.
Which lets me own my files?
Obsidian and Cabinet both store Markdown on disk you own. Notion keeps your pages in its cloud and proprietary format.
Own your knowledge. Keep your AI. Start free.
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