Obsidian is a powerful knowledge management and note-taking tool — if you know how to use it. If you're like me and jumped in with minimal knowledge about the app, then your mileage may vary.

I installed Obsidian a while back to see if I could use it as a note-taking tool for my meetings, while also keeping records of things like my freelance expenses. But nearly two months later, I'm still struggling to get much use out of the app and I find myself avoiding it. So I'm waving the white flag and have decided to uninstall it, while switching to Notion as an alternative.

I prefer Notion's free cloud-syncing

It's free and easy to use with Android

There are ways to sync Obsidian to the cloud for free, as well as the paid feature Obsidian Sync. Since I don't want to pay for cloud syncing, and syncing on Android requires a variety of third-party services, I feel like my notes are bound to the device I create them on.

I like to be able to quickly switch between devices to view my notes. I usually write short notes on my smartphone and view and edit them on my computer. This works fine with Notion, but I don't get this type of flexibility with Obsidian unless I'm willing to pay for it, use an Apple device, or install additional apps to assist with syncing.

Many users like the fact that Obsidian is focused on creating local offline files. Notion, on the other hand, can't be used without an internet connection. However, since I already prefer web apps over desktop apps, the requirement to connect to the internet isn't a big drawback for me.

The learning curve for Obsidian is a bit too steep

I found myself flailing

While both Notion and Obsidian have steep learning curves, I found that it's a bit more difficult to get the hang of Obsidian. I also feel like Notion gives a lot more guidance when it comes to getting started in the note-taking software, whereas Obsidian presents you with a completely blank canvas. This makes it a bit more difficult to figure out templates and other features you can use in Obsidian.

Since I started using the app, I did a bit of research to see exactly what I could do. But as a result, Obsidian was becoming a major time-sink, which is one of the drawbacks of productivity apps that I don't like.

Using Notion also involves research and getting acquainted with the features, but I've found I'm able to learn the platform's fundamentals a bit more easily than Obsidian. I've spent similar amounts of time in each app, and I feel that I know a lot more about Notion than Obsidian.

I tried out a few Obsidian plugins to see if I could get more use out of the app, but they just don't feel as powerful as Notion's integrations. The use of Markdown over a more visual editor also proved to be a repeated stumbling block for me.

I prefer Notion's approach to templates

It's more beginner-friendly

I find both Obsidian and Notion overwhelming, but I was able to use templates to make Notion easier to use. Obsidian also has templates, which you can create using the Templates plugin. However, you have to manually create these templates, so they will be greatly dependent on your familiarity with Markdown. With the plugin, an existing folder is used for templates, and the notes within create the different templates you can use.

There are also Community plugins for templates, like Templater. However, Templater requires you to create your templates using JavaScript scripts, which is simply a skill I do not have.

On the other hand, using Notion templates is easy. I don't have to create these templates myself, and I can easily access them from within Notion. These templates are created by people who have a much better grasp of Notion and its built-in features than me, so I often discover new features and integrations thanks to them.

You can technically also download Obsidian templates from GitHub, but that option and the setup required don't appeal to me — they just make everything feel more intimidating.

This doesn't mean Notion is without flaws

While I plan to replace Obsidian with Notion, this doesn't mean I'm unaware of Notion's flaws. I find its databases to be less intuitive than using Excel spreadsheets and a lot of features are locked behind a premium subscription. The app's performance can also be a bit slower than Obsidian.

But when I weighed the two options, I decided that I preferred Notion in the end. I've reached a point where it's time to cut my losses and admit that Obsidian wasn't helping me be more productive.