Obsidian pricing: Sync, Publish and the real total
Last checked: 3 November 2026
The Obsidian app is free. What people actually pay for are the two add-ons — Sync and Publish — and they are priced per person and per site. Prices checked 3 November 2026 on obsidian.md/pricing; re-check there before you budget.
The prices at a glance
$0
Obsidian itself is free for everyone. You pay nothing until you add Sync or Publish.
Sync — $4 or $5 / month
$4/month billed yearly, $5/month billed monthly — per person who needs it. A 5-person team on yearly billing pays $240/year for Sync alone.
Publish — $8 or $10 / month
$8 per site per month billed yearly, $10 billed monthly. Two sites on yearly billing: $192/year.
1 person, Sync + 1 site: $144 / year
$48 (Sync, yearly) + $96 (one Publish site, yearly) = $144/year. Switch to monthly billing and the same setup costs $180/year.
When leaving is cheaper — and when it isn't
Sync is priced per seat, while a self-hosted alternative runs on one flat VPS. Guides put a small VPS at $5–10/month, another 2026 guide at $10–20/month — sources conflict, so the honest range is wide. At $7/month ($84/year) a VPS already beats Sync once a second person needs it ($96/year). Solo, with no Publish site, staying costs $48/year — less than any VPS, and local-only with your own backup costs $0.
Run your own numbers — team size, billing period, Publish sites, VPS price — in the true-cost calculator. And remember the hidden line item: self-hosting bills you in evenings (updates, backups, fixes), not dollars.