Obsidian has been my go-to note-taker for a while, basically completely replacing Notion in my workflow, but it might have a bit of competition. Anytype is an alternative to both Obsidian and Notion. Like those two, it's an open-source application, but Anytype essentially combines the best features of both applications and, in some ways, improves upon them. Although I appreciate Obsidian's graph function, it can be chaotic and difficult to follow. Anytype provides a more coherent visual representation of data.

Anytype is what would happen if Obsidian and Notion got together and had a lovechild after a steamy digital tryst. While not perfect — and not yet a replacement for Obsidian, in my opinion — Anytype is a great option that has started strong and will likely only improve.

Anytype puts privacy front and center

For when you want to keep data all to yourself

One of Anytype's most touted features is its focus on privacy. The application uses peer-to-peer (P2P) connections and end-to-end encryption. There are no central servers or intermediaries, so your data never leaves your control. And because Anytype offers free encrypted syncing, it's an excellent option for those who work primarily offline. It gives you complete data ownership without relying on cloud providers. That said, there is a free cloud backup that will store up to 100MB of data.

That's not to say you can't have backups. You can locally store your data and self-host it however you like, leaving it open for integration with tools like Kopia or other backup options. Anytype also loads faster than many other applications because it is stored locally, which means no waiting for an online connection to catch up with what you're doing. And with its cross-platform compatibility (on both iOS and Android, as well as PC, macOS, and Linux), you can keep your notes synced across all of your devices.

The graph view is actually helpful for connecting ideas

It's not a chaotic jumble

As much as I love Obsidian's graph view, it's practically unusable without third-party plugins. The default state is just a jumble of connected notes, and the way they're connected is completely insensible. Anytype also has a graph view, and while it can get messy (as any collection will with enough items), it's much easier to navigate through. Each note type has its own icon, and hovering your cursor above an item on the graph will show all connected paths. If the item is a bookmark or video, a text box appears that provides information about the entry; for example, a bookmark might display the meta description for the page.

You can access the graph from almost any page, but if you're investigating connections to a specific note, there's another feature: the flowchart. After you enter the graph view, selecting Flow at the top of the screen will show how that item is connected to those immediately branching off it.

Anytype is incredibly beginner-friendly

The learning curve is gentle

I have tested a lot of different applications. Anytype is one of the easiest to get started with, thanks to its drag-and-drop interface. Most creation is visual, so users can get started by selecting one of the premade templates and filling in the necessary information. Images can be dropped into notes from your machine or through a URL, and Anytype supports embedding content from a wide variety of different platforms.

Anytype does have advanced features. Its Query function makes it easy to aggregate notes that share types and properties for easier organization, especially if you have a lot of notes. You can also embed notes within notes; for instance, a collection (Anytype's answer to a database) can be dropped into an existing note, or you can nest a task within a task for multi-step projects.

The downside? It's incredibly limited in other ways

Plugins? What plugins?

For all that Anytype does right, it's still severely limited compared to tools like Notion and Obsidian. Anytype doesn't have a true database function, although you can rig one together through the use of types and properties. If you need databases for your work, Notion is a better choice. There are also no plugins to speak of; Anytype just received an API that will allow the community to create plugins if they want, but it's still new (and by new, I mean within the last week).

You can find an "Experience Gallery" online and inside the app that contains a variety of community-made templates, but even these don't compare to the kind of templates you'll find on other note-taking apps. That said, I expect Anytype to improve significantly in the years to come as its community grows.

If you want basic, private note-taking, Anytype is a good choice

But avoid it if you want advanced functionality

Anytype isn't for everyone. I appreciate its focus on privacy, but I prefer to be able to customize and integrate other tools into my notes, which just isn't possible with Anytype. On the other hand, if you're looking for something that's relatively easy to use, a breeze to set up, and works across all of your devices, Anytype can provide what you need without the steep learning curve.

It's not an Obsidian killer yet

I won't be ditching my Obsidian setup for Anytype for now, but the application has a lot of promise. It's one I'll be watching as it develops further and grows more serviceable (and I'll be looking for an Obsidian plugin to emulate its flowchart feature.)