Confinity vs Obsidian.
Obsidian is a local-first knowledge tool — plain-text markdown files on your own disk, linked into a graph, maintained by a small independent company.IHonest summary
Obsidian's values are close to Confinity's: local-first, plain format, no venture hype, lifetime pricing available. The difference is the user. Obsidian is for a single person structuring their thinking in markdown. Confinity is for a household — a shared archive where one parent can write in Geist, the other in their voice, the grandparents can post a photo without a plugin, and the whole thing binds into a Yearbook. We overlap on ethos; we diverge on who it's for.
IIReal differences
- Primary user
- One person (PKM)Confinity: a family.
- Shared writing
- Via Obsidian Sync, manualConfinity: built-in, consent-tiered.
- Voice / photos
- Via pluginsConfinity: first-class.
- Printed artefact
- NoneConfinity: annual Yearbook.
- Price
- Free (paid for sync/publish)Confinity Family: £14.99/mo.
'A graph of notes is not the same as a home for people.'— Confinity principle
IIIWho should pick which
When Obsidian is the right pick
If you're a single-user PKM writer, want markdown on disk, love plugins and customisation, Obsidian is superb. Keep it.When Confinity is the right pick
If the people who will write with you include someone who would never learn to use Obsidian — your mum, a grandparent, a partner who wants to write but not configure — that is what Confinity is for.