Obsidian is the better fit when…
- You write and link notes by hand, and love it
- You want plugins, graphs and canvases
- You also work on Windows, Linux or Android
iki vs obsidian
Same belief in files. Different job.
Obsidian proved that a folder of markdown can hold a whole mind. IKI agrees about the files and adds the reading, transcribing and answering, on your iPhone.
ObsidianIKI
Reads videosNo: Videos stay attachmentsYes: Yes
Transcribes voiceNo: Records audio; no transcription built inYes: Yes
Picks up screenshotsNo: NoYes: Yes
Answers with sourcesNo: Only with community pluginsYes: Yes
Runs on the phoneNo AI built inYes: Yes
Obsidian is a markdown editor and a thinking tool: links between notes, a graph, canvases and a plugin ecosystem that turns it into almost anything. It’s free, commercial use included, local-first, and never asks for an account unless you buy Sync or Publish. Out of the box it doesn’t read what you save. There’s no transcription of voice or video, no text from screenshots and no answers. IKI covers that half. Because both use plain markdown, they can share a folder: keep IKI’s library in iCloud Drive and open it as a vault in Obsidian on your Mac.
IKI is the better fit when…
- You save more than you write: links, screenshots, voice and reels
- You want them transcribed, read and answerable without plugins
- You want that AI to run on your phone
side by side
The details.
| Question | Obsidian | IKI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, commercial use included; Sync $4/mo billed annually ($5 monthly); Publish $8/mo billed annually ($10 monthly) | Free; Pro $6.99/mo or $49/yr; Founder $99 once (500 seats) |
| Voice | Records audio (core plugin); no transcription built in | Recorded and transcribed on the device |
| Video | Stored as attachments | Speech and on-screen text become searchable |
| Screenshots | Stored as attachments | The text on them is read and searchable |
| Answers | Through community plugins | Built in, with sources |
| AI | None built in; community plugins | Apple’s on-device model, built in |
| Files | Markdown in a folder you choose | Markdown plus the original, visible in the Files app |
| Account | None for local vaults; needed for Sync and Publish | None |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Safari on Mac |
Checked in September 2026 on obsidian.md/pricing. Sources: Obsidian pricing.
credit where it’s due
Where Obsidian wins.
Writing and linking
Backlinks, graph view and canvas. IKI has none of it, on purpose.
Plugins
Thousands of community plugins make it whatever you need, AI included if you wire it up.
Every platform
Every desktop and mobile OS. IKI is Apple-only.
moving over
How to move over.
- 1Nothing has to move. Keep both.
- 2In IKI, store the library in iCloud Drive (Settings › iCloud Drive). On your Mac, open iCloud Drive › IKI › Library as a vault in Obsidian. IKI reads and files, and Obsidian links and edits the same markdown.
- 3To bring existing notes into IKI instead, share the .md files in or drop them into the library folder.
Start with one save.
It’s free to start, and every save is a file you own.
Free · iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac · Made for iOS 27
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