{"id":270,"date":"2025-06-22T22:04:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T02:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/?p=270"},"modified":"2025-06-22T22:04:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T02:04:58","slug":"why-i-left-evernote-and-switched-to-obsidian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/22\/why-i-left-evernote-and-switched-to-obsidian\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Left Evernote and Switched to Obsidian"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Evernote<\/a>For years, I was a loyal Evernote user. It was my digital filing cabinet, my task tracker, and my go-to app for jotting everything down. I stuck with it through clunky updates, layout changes, and new features I never asked for. But earlier this year, I finally made the switch to Obsidian \u2014 and I haven\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n

The decision wasn\u2019t sudden. It was more like a slow buildup of frustrations that eventually hit a tipping point.
\nThe Breaking Point: Price and Ownership Uncertainty
\nMy dissatisfaction began when Evernote raised its subscription costs. What used to be a reasonable annual fee suddenly almost tripled. As a longtime user who hadn\u2019t needed many of the new “Premium” features, the cost hike felt like I was being priced out of my workflow.<\/p>\n

Then came the acquisition by Bending Spoons. While I\u2019ll admit that some of the app\u2019s performance has improved under the new ownership, the sudden leadership change only added to my hesitation. What direction was Evernote heading in? Would it become even more commercialized and bloated with features I didn\u2019t need?<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just the cost that pushed me away \u2014 it was the sense that I was losing control over something I had grown to rely on.
\nFinding Obsidian: A Simpler, Smarter Alternative
\nEnter Obsidian, a Markdown-based note-taking app that stores everything locally by default. I had heard about it, but I assumed it would be too technical for me to understand. Surprisingly, it wasn\u2019t. Obsidian made more sense to me than any other note-taking app I\u2019d tried. It clicked.<\/p>\n

Obsidian is built around a simple idea: your notes are plain text files, written in Markdown, stored on your machine. No proprietary formats. No cloud lock-in. You choose how and where your notes live. That alone was a relief.<\/p>\n

I quickly found myself enjoying the minimalist writing environment and the way Obsidian stays out of your way. It just works \u2014 and it works well.
\nThe Power of Plugins
\nWhat truly sets Obsidian apart, though, is its plugin ecosystem. The community around this app is not just active \u2014 it’s inspiring. There are plugins for everything, including kanban boards, calendar views, task management, backlink visualization, spaced repetition flashcards, and more.<\/p>\n

I was able to build a workflow that mirrored my needs, not someone else\u2019s idea of productivity. Daily notes, project dashboards, and even a web viewer, all linked through thought networks. The app evolved from a simple note-taker into a powerful productivity platform, completely tailored to my needs.<\/p>\n

Compare that with Evernote, which increasingly felt like a rigid structure trying to mold me to its system.
\nMarkdown and the Beauty of Portability
\nAnother reason I prefer Obsidian is its support for Markdown. At first, I was intimidated by the syntax \u2014 asterisks for bold? Hashes for headers? But within a day, it became second nature. The payoff? My notes are future-proof. Markdown is widely supported and human-readable even without a dedicated app. If Obsidian were to disappear tomorrow, I\u2019d still have access to everything, readable and usable.<\/p>\n

Evernote, on the other hand, keeps your content in a proprietary format. Exporting is possible, but it\u2019s messy and not something I want to deal with for hundreds (or thousands) of notes.
\nPrivacy, Speed, and Simplicity
\nObsidian\u2019s local-first approach also gives me peace of mind. My notes aren\u2019t sitting on someone else\u2019s server unless I choose to sync them using my preferred method. It\u2019s faster, too \u2014 no lag, no waiting for notebooks to load, no mysterious syncing issues.<\/p>\n

And best of all? Obsidian is free for personal use. There are optional add-ons like Obsidian Sync or Publish if you want them, but there\u2019s no pressure to subscribe \u2014 no constant nudging to upgrade.
\nConclusion
\nTo be fair, Evernote still has its strengths. Its web clipper is excellent, and it\u2019s an accessible choice for many users who want a cloud-first solution with countless integrations. But for me, the cost, complexity, and creeping sense of vendor lock-in outweighed the benefits.<\/p>\n

Obsidian gave me back control. It reminded me that productivity doesn\u2019t need to be expensive or complicated. Sometimes, all it takes is a clean writing space, a little Markdown, and the freedom to build something that works for you, not the other way around.<\/p>\n

If you’re feeling boxed in by subscription models or burned out by bloated apps, I\u2019d encourage you to give Obsidian a try. You might be surprised how much better note-taking feels when it\u2019s truly your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For years, I was a loyal Evernote user. It was my digital filing cabinet, my task tracker, and my go-to app for jotting everything down. I stuck with it through clunky updates, layout changes, and new features I never asked for. But earlier this year, I finally made the switch to Obsidian \u2014 and I … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Why I Left Evernote and Switched to Obsidian”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[52,54,53,51],"class_list":["post-270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-productivity","tag-evernote","tag-markdown","tag-obsidian","tag-productivity"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":272,"href":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270\/revisions\/272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/einsteinsaloon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}