Obsidian vs. Logseq - A High Level Overview

Summary

This video compares two popular note-taking and personal knowledge management apps, Obsidian and Logseq. Both offer mobile and desktop apps, customizable features, and integration with third-party tools like Readwise. Obsidian is a closed-source, paragraph-focused tool, great for long-form note-taking, while Logseq is open-source and uses an outline-based approach. The video highlights their sync services, community support, and file organization. It suggests users try both apps for a week to determine which best suits their workflow, emphasizing that both are excellent choices for managing personal knowledge.

Takeaways

• 📱 Both Obsidian and Logseq offer mobile and desktop apps with paid sync services or custom sync options using tools like Dropbox or Google Drive.
• 🎨 Both applications are highly customizable and have strong communities of developers and users who extend functionality and design.
• 🤝 Obsidian's community is known for being warm and supportive, contrasting with the toxic shift experienced in other note-taking communities.
• 🔗 Both applications have strong integrations, with Obsidian and Logseq supporting Readwise for importing highlights and other apps like Todoist.
• 🔒 Both Obsidian and Logseq offer end-to-end encrypted sync services, ensuring user privacy as only the users hold the encryption keys.
• 💻 Obsidian is closed-source, while Logseq is open-source, allowing users to view, modify, and contribute to the app's development.
• 📝 Obsidian is more paragraph-oriented, making it suitable for long-form notes, while Logseq is an outliner, better for short bullet points and hierarchical notes.
• 📅 Logseq has a stronger focus on daily notes and a chronological approach, while Obsidian offers a more free-form organization of content.
• 📄 Obsidian generates clean markdown text files, whereas Logseq's outline-based format includes extra markup that might complicate file readability outside the app.
• 🔁 The recommendation is to try both apps for a couple of weeks, as migrating notes between them is relatively easy due to their file-based architecture.

Q & A

What are the main similarities between Obsidian and Logseq?

Both Obsidian and Logseq are highly customizable note-taking and personal knowledge management applications with thriving communities. They offer mobile and desktop apps, paid sync services, and the option to use third-party sync tools like Dropbox or Google Drive. They also feature strong integrations and end-to-end encrypted sync services, making them flexible and secure for users.

How do the customization and community aspects of Obsidian and Logseq compare?

Both applications have vibrant developer communities that actively extend the software by creating plugins, themes, and additional functionality. Users can customize the look and feel of the applications and enhance their workflow. These communities are supportive, with Obsidian's community particularly noted for being warm and welcoming.

What are the main differences between Obsidian and Logseq in terms of their source code?

Obsidian is a closed-source application, meaning the code is only available to the developers and owners, while Logseq is open-source, allowing users to view, modify, and contribute to the code. This transparency in Logseq fosters trust, particularly for users concerned about telemetry or data privacy.

What are the benefits of Obsidian’s integration capabilities?

Obsidian offers a variety of integrations, including a popular plugin for Readwise, which allows users to pull highlights from Kindle books and articles into their vault. It also integrates with productivity tools like Todoist, giving users the ability to extend functionality based on their needs.

What note-taking style is best suited for Obsidian?

Obsidian is ideal for long-form, paragraph-oriented note-taking, such as Zettelkasten-style atomic notes. It’s designed to be a writing tool, making it effective for organizing longer pieces of text or breaking up notes into smaller files that are easy to manage and connect.

How does the note-taking style differ in Logseq compared to Obsidian?

Logseq is primarily an outliner, meaning it focuses on bullet-point-based note-taking. Users can zoom in and out of bullets and collapse them for a more structured overview. This format works well for users who prefer jotting down quick notes or organizing their thoughts in a hierarchical manner.

What role does chronology play in Logseq compared to Obsidian?

Logseq has a strong emphasis on chronological note-taking, with a built-in Daily Journal feature where users capture notes and link them from there. Obsidian offers a more flexible approach, allowing users to organize their notes by subject, maps of content, or any system they prefer.

Which application is better for managing external files?

Obsidian manages external files more cleanly since it uses plain markdown files without extra markup, making them easier to handle outside the application. Logseq, due to its outlining nature, adds extra markup to denote outlines, which can make navigating these files outside the app more cumbersome.

How does the sync service in Obsidian and Logseq work?

Both Obsidian and Logseq start with local files on your computer that can be synced using any third-party tool. Additionally, both offer paid, end-to-end encrypted sync services, ensuring that only the user holds the decryption keys, offering more security for sensitive notes.

What factors should users consider when choosing between Obsidian and Logseq?

Users should consider whether they prefer an open-source (Logseq) or closed-source (Obsidian) application, their preferred note-taking style (paragraph vs. outline), and how they want to manage their files outside the app. Obsidian is ideal for long-form writing, while Logseq is better suited for outlining and chronology-focused workflows.