All three are local-first — your notes live on your device, not a company's server — and all three are effectively free. The differences are about ecosystem maturity and what "sync" costs.
| Cost | Storage model | State in 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | free (incl. commercial since early 2026); Sync $4/mo, Publish $8/mo | plain Markdown files on disk | mature, huge plugin ecosystem |
| Logseq | free, open source; Sync optional paid | Markdown (OG) or a database (2.0) | mid-transition — see below |
| Anytype | free core; Explorer $5/mo for more storage | local + P2P/encrypted-relay sync | encrypted sync built in, no plugin scene |
Obsidian became free for commercial use in early 2026, removing the one real cost for a lot of professionals. Your notes are plain Markdown files you fully own, the plugin ecosystem is by far the largest and most stable, and you only pay if you want Obsidian's own $4/month Sync (you can sync the folder yourself for free).
Logseq is in an awkward spot. The original Markdown-based app is now "Logseq OG" in maintenance mode; the rebuilt database version (Logseq 2.0 / DB) is in beta with sync and mobile still stabilizing. It's a great outliner when it works, but this is not a settled moment to adopt it.
Anytype was built to fix Obsidian's pain points directly: no sync bill (encrypted sync is included), native end-to-end encryption, and an object model instead of flat files. The trade-off is essentially no plugin ecosystem and a smaller community.
Want the safest, most extensible option with files you'll be able to open in a decade: Obsidian. Want encrypted sync included and don't need plugins: Anytype. Logseq: brilliant idea, wait for the 2.0 transition to finish before you commit.