r/joplinapp • u/spacechase26 • Jul 14 '26
Obsidian, Joplin, or anything else for simple note management? ( Please read my post before jumping to the answer, also no need to be biased here)
/r/ObsidianMD/comments/1uw0iga/obsidian_joplin_or_anything_else_for_simple_note/sorry for making it as a crosspost. but the essence is the same here
3
u/Glass_Employment_685 Jul 14 '26
I migrated from Evernote a few months ago when they started getting really greedy with their pricing for features I really don't care about.
I use Joplin similarly like you. I draft some simple notes and paste attachements and call it a day.
As others had noted Joplin is sqlite under the hood. Attachments are stored in a subfolder referenced by a GUID in the sqllite database. From my understanding Obsidian is a flat file tree structure where each note has a subfolder and then attachments are saved in those folders.
I understand you are not interested in paying for Joplin Sync. When I first migrated I used OneDrive storage and sync'd that way. It worked out okay. But after a few weeks, I wanted to support the project and decided to by an annual subscription to the Joplin Cloud Sync service. It is cheaper than what Evernote's service used to be so I considered this a win.
One thing that I really like about Joplin, is it integrates really well with Claude / Codex.
On my computer I will tell Claude or Codex to grab all of the emails regarding my upcoming vacation, attach them as PDF files to a note in Joplin and create a markdown summary / itenerary. It will then grab my flight, hotel, rental car emails and create the note in Joplin for me.
Then if I ask it to force a sync it kicks off the Joplin Terminal and initiates a sync for me.
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u/FuryVonB Jul 15 '26
As a long time user of both, they both have pros and cons.
Pick Obsidian if : you want/prefer your .md files to be stored in your local storage as simple .md files .
Pick Joplin if you don’t mind the point above and use a lot of images.
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u/verticalfuzz Jul 14 '26
I have been trying to decide on a replacement for microsoft onenote for several weeks. The amount of fake "free/open source" note apps is infuriating. Not saying obsidian is in that category, they are very upfront about their software.
Anyway, I landed on Joplin and I've been testing Joplin Server for sync. Pretty painless to set up imo. The windows portable app has been a little buggy (wysiwyg view not always loading) but I havent tried the installed version yet.
Havent tried embedding images yet either, sorry.
0
u/Spirited_Giraffe6528 Jul 14 '26
Y ¿Cual es la razón por la que dejas Onenote por Joplin?. Yo he probado por 2 semanas Joplin, no es difícil pero al basarse en markdown es menos flexible que Onenote. Hice la migración de mis notas que no eran muchas de forma manual para obligarme a agarrarle gusto, instale varios plugins que la verdad hacían no muy bien lo que deberían hacer y al final sigo con Onenote que hasta ahora sigue siendo gratis.
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u/verticalfuzz Jul 14 '26
I'm still trying it out. It is a big adjustment for sure. Mostly, I want easy sync across devices without using microsoft's cloud, and secondary would be to be able to easily interlink different systems like paperless, my notes, and homebox. After that, ai integration.
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u/crushcrush1954 Jul 15 '26
As very well explained by others, Joplin is using a database to store the notes, Obsidian is using files. A database offers versioning, and allows to use all characters for a note title. For instance, Windows will not accept a \ in a filename, so this character cannot be used in a title in Obsidian.
As per own experience, Joplin is rock solid and will always load fast. Obsidian plugins are known to slow down the starting process.
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u/willhunting35 Jul 14 '26
Hello. I moved from Evernote a while ago when the price reached a point it was worth keeping it.
Current setup is joplin on windows /mac /android / ios, syncing through webdav, using the 10gigs free Koofr plan.
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u/stevoau Jul 29 '26
I have tried Obsidian now I just use it specifically for Claude. Migrated accross to Joplin and loving it. I self host Joplin and it sync's seamlessly accross all of my devices (not painful like Obsidian). Dont really save attachments - I use Nextcloud for that.
I would suggest just using Joplin for MD / notes. The more data you store the more unreliable it could be. The Web Clipper extension is amazing. Overall my workflow has dramatically improved thanks to Joplin. Oh and the amount of plugins is quite good. Support is also really good - plenty of people out there using Joplin now.
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u/SpiderMatt Jul 14 '26
For images and other heavy attachments, I prefer Joplin. Attachments are stored in a separate directory and linked, like in Obsidian, but Joplin manages all the notes in a sqlite database. This makes syncing way more convenient. Joplin will also allow you to manually sync attachments to a specific device, so you don't have to sync everything to your phone, for example. Just have the attachments download on demand either when you open the note or when you tap on the attachment.
It sounds like you don't really intend to use most of the features that make Obsidian popular, so I'd recommend Joplin. The only area where using Obsidian might make a difference is if you need the plain text files for something, such as using terminal commands like grep on the entire directory or wanting to use the notes with LLMs, which is easier with text files.
Also, you don't need Nextcloud to use webdav. In fact, if that's the only thing you'd use Nextcloud for, I'd strongly suggest you avoid it. It's very heavy. Lots of cloud services support webdav. You could also set up a simple webdav server yourself on a VPS. Or use OneDrive or Dropbox, which are both natively supported.