Joplin vs Obsidian
Obsidian takes the higher SoftwareScore, 70 to 62. That's a clear gap that holds up across most use cases. Both are scored on the same public formula. See how.
Both are open and privacy-friendly. Joplin is free, encrypted, and syncs through backends you choose, which is great if end-to-end encryption is the priority. Obsidian is more polished with a richer plugin ecosystem and linking, but sync is a paid add-on. Pick Joplin for encrypted, no-cost portability; pick Obsidian for a nicer experience and extensibility.
Joplin vs Obsidian: our take
Obsidian takes the higher SoftwareScore, 70 to 62. That's a clear gap that holds up across most use cases.
Joplin doesn't out-score Obsidian on any single axis in this matchup, so it mainly makes sense if you already live in its ecosystem.
Obsidian pulls ahead on Features and Sync (Features 9 vs 6), which makes it the stronger pick for privacy and data control.
The clearest divide is Features (Joplin 6, Obsidian 9). If that axis is central to how you work, let it settle the choice.
On price they're close: Joplin is Free · $3/mo Cloud and Obsidian is Free · $4/mo Sync, so cost is unlikely to decide it.