Choosing the perfect digital space to keep all your thoughts and projects is a big decision for students and professionals. Two strong choices, Obsidian vs AFFiNE Pro, offer powerful, unique ways to organize your knowledge and stay productive every single day.
Obsidian is known for its incredible ability to link notes and give you full control over your files, focusing on creating a deeply connected personal knowledge map. AFFiNE Pro, on the other hand, is a newer all-in-one workspace that beautifully blends documents, databases, and visual whiteboards.
What is Obsidian?
Obsidian is a lightning-fast, highly customizable application that lets you build your own “second brain” using plain text files stored right on your computer. It uses a special linking system to connect ideas, which you can then visualize as a massive, interactive map of all your knowledge.
This app is the top choice for people who love the idea of non-linear thinking and total data ownership, because all files remain yours. Its massive library of community-made plugins means you can add almost any feature you can imagine making the tool fit your exact needs.
What is AFFiNE Pro?
AFFiNE Pro is a modern, flexible workspace designed to be a single place for writing, planning, and organizing complex projects and notes. This open-source platform uses a block-based editor and offers a unique feature to switch instantly between a structured document view and an infinite visual canvas.
It is ideal for users who need the power of a database like Notion but also want the freedom of a digital whiteboard like Miro. AFFiNE Pro is built to handle team collaboration, project management, and creative brainstorming all within one smooth, unified environment.
Conclusion
The choice between Obsidian and AFFiNE Pro comes down to what you value most in a knowledge tool. Obsidian is the king of personal knowledge management, offering total privacy and deep customization via its local Markdown files and extensive plugin system. AFFiNE Pro is the better all-in-one solution, providing powerful database features, a beautiful visual canvas, and a unified platform ideal for both individual work and team collaboration.
FAQs Obsidian vs AFFiNE Pro
1. Does AFFiNE Pro have an open-source option?
Yes, AFFiNE is built on an open-source core, which means its code is public for anyone to inspect and contribute to. This allows users to self-host the application, giving them more control over their data, much like Obsidian.
2. Can I use Obsidian and AFFiNE Pro offline?
Obsidian is fundamentally a local-first application and works fully offline since your files are stored on your device. AFFiNE Pro also supports offline mode, allowing you to view and edit your data even when you are not connected to the internet.
3. Which app is better for visual brainstorming?
AFFiNE Pro has a native and unique feature called the Edgeless Canvas, which is an infinite whiteboard built right into the app. This makes AFFiNE Pro the stronger choice for visual brainstorming, mind maps, and arranging ideas freely.
4. What is the Graph View in Obsidian used for?
The Graph View in Obsidian visually displays every note in your vault as a dot and every link between them as a line. This is a powerful tool for discovering hidden connections, seeing clusters of ideas, and understanding how your knowledge is growing.
5. Does AFFiNE Pro offer database features?
Yes, AFFiNE Pro includes robust, native database capabilities that let you create tables, Kanban boards, and different views for managing projects and structured data. Obsidian requires community plugins, like Data view, to achieve similar functionality.
6. Which app is easier for a new user to start with?
AFFiNE Pro often has a lower barrier to entry for beginners because its interface is more polished, modern, and structured like common “all-in-one” tools. Obsidian has a steeper learning curve due to its focus on customization and linking concepts.
7. Where are my files stored in Obsidian?
Obsidian stores all your notes as simple Markdown text files in a local folder on your computer. This local storage approach is the key to its privacy focus and ensures that you retain complete ownership of your data.
8. Does AFFiNE Pro support real-time collaboration?
Yes, a major advantage of AFFiNE Pro is its built-in support for real-time collaboration. This allows multiple users to edit the same documents, whiteboards, or databases simultaneously, which is excellent for team work.
9. Can I customize the look of these apps?
Obsidian is incredibly customizable with thousands of community-made themes and plugins to change its appearance and functionality. AFFiNE Pro also offers customization options but is generally more limited compared to Obsidian’s deep flexibility.
10. How do these apps handle media like images or videos?
Both apps support embedding and linking to media. Obsidian links to media stored in your local vault, while AFFiNE Pro handles media uploads directly within its unified, block-based documents and canvases.
