Obsidian alternative

An open-source Obsidian alternative with sync built in, for free

Koru is a free, open-source alternative to Obsidian for people who want their notes local and synced without a subscription. Obsidian keeps notes as Markdown files on your device, but its official sync costs from $4 a month and the app is not open source. Koru syncs directly between your devices for free, end-to-end encrypted.

Download Koru - free See the roadmap

Why people look for a Obsidian alternative

Sync is a paid add-on, or a project

Obsidian itself is free, but Obsidian Sync costs $4 a month billed yearly ($5 monthly) for one vault and 1 GB, or $8 a month ($10 monthly) for ten vaults and 10 GB. The free route is to sync the vault folder yourself with iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive, Syncthing or Git, which works but is yours to set up and fix.

Obsidian is not open source

Obsidian is free to use for any purpose, but its code is proprietary. You can read its privacy policy; you cannot read the app.

An account for the parts that sync

You can use Obsidian without signing up, but Sync and Publish need an Obsidian account.

Koru and Obsidian, side by side

Feature	Koru	Obsidian
Price	Free. No account and no trial.	Free for any use. Sync: $4/month billed yearly or $5 monthly (1 vault, 1 GB); Plus $8/month yearly or $10 monthly (10 vaults, 10 GB). Publish: $8/site/month yearly. Optional Commercial license $50/user/year.
Account	None required, including for sync.	None to use the app. An Obsidian account for Sync and Publish.
Where your notes live	In a local database on your device. Works fully offline, with no account required. Export to Markdown or TextBundle any time.	Plain Markdown files in a folder (vault) on your device.
Sync	Directly between your own devices, peer to peer and end-to-end encrypted, built on iroh. No Koru server required. Free.	Obsidian Sync (paid, end-to-end encrypted), or your own iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive, Syncthing or Git setup.
Encryption	Device-to-device sync is end-to-end encrypted.	Obsidian Sync is end-to-end encrypted with AES-256.
Version history	Saved, named versions you can compare.	With Sync: 1 month (Standard) or 12 months (Plus).
Platforms	Windows and macOS. No phone app yet.	Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
Open source	Open source under MPL-2.0, on GitHub.	No. Free to use, proprietary code.
Extensibility	Built-in MCP server for AI tools. Terminals as tabs, and on a Mac, coding agents as tabs. No plugin system.	Thousands of community plugins and themes.
Publishing and teams	No. Koru is for your own notes.	Obsidian Publish, and shared vaults with Sync.
Export	Markdown and TextBundle.	Notes already are Markdown files. PDF export built in.

Obsidian details as published on Obsidian's own pages, checked October 19, 2026. Plans change: check their site before you decide.

The differences that matter

Sync without a subscription or a setup

In Koru, linking a second computer takes a QR code or a short code. Your devices then sync directly, peer to peer, end-to-end encrypted, and changes made offline on each are combined when they reconnect. There is no account and nothing to pay.

Open source you can check

Koru's app is open source under MPL-2.0 on GitHub. Anyone can read what it does with your notes or build it themselves.

Files, or a workspace

Obsidian's best idea is that your notes are plain Markdown files in a folder you control, readable by any editor. Koru takes a different path: it keeps your workspace in a local database on your device, a structure built to combine edits from several devices.

You can export to Markdown or TextBundle at any time, but Koru does not edit a folder of .md files in place. If that matters most, stay with Obsidian.

Terminals and agents next to your notes

Koru opens terminal sessions as tabs beside your documents. On a Mac, coding agents you have installed, such as Claude Code or Codex, open as tabs too; on Windows they run in a shell tab for now. Koru's built-in MCP server lets AI tools read your notes locally.

Which one fits you

Koru is a good fit if

You want your computers in sync without paying for Obsidian Sync or maintaining Git or Syncthing.
You want an open-source app.
You keep terminals or coding agents open next to your notes.
You work on a Windows PC or a Mac and don't need a phone app.

Obsidian may suit you better, for now, if

You want your notes as plain Markdown files that any editor can open.
You rely on community plugins, themes, Canvas or graph view.
You need iPhone, iPad or Android apps today.
You publish notes to the web with Obsidian Publish.
You share vaults with a team.

Missing something you rely on? Tell us at hello@koru.do. What people ask for shapes the roadmap.

Moving from Obsidian to Koru

Koru imports Markdown offline. Your Obsidian vault stays where it is; nothing in it is changed.

In Koru, click the + beside the tabs, then Import…, then Markdown.
Pick the notes in your vault folder, one or several at a time, or drag them into the Koru window.
Your notes appear in the workspace you have open.

What comes across

Headings, lists, tasks, quotes, code blocks and tables
Links and common formatting
Front matter, kept as a YAML code block

What to know first

Markdown import takes files, not a whole folder at once.
[[Wikilinks]] come across as plain text, and embeds are not imported.
Plugin syntax such as Dataview or Templater stays as text, and Canvas files are not imported.

See all import options

Questions

Is Koru free?

Yes. Koru is free and open source under MPL-2.0, with no account. Sync between your own devices is included.

Is Koru open source?

Yes. Koru's app is open source under MPL-2.0. Obsidian is free to use but proprietary.

How does Koru sync without Obsidian Sync or Git?

Koru links your devices with a QR code or link code and syncs them directly, peer to peer, end-to-end encrypted. When two devices cannot connect directly, Koru's relay forwards the encrypted traffic and stores nothing. Both devices need to be online at the same time.

Does Koru store notes as Markdown files?

No. Koru keeps your workspace in a local database on your device so it can combine edits from several devices. You can export everything to Markdown or TextBundle at any time.

Can I import my Obsidian vault?

Yes, as Markdown files. Text, lists, tasks, tables, code and links come across. Wikilinks stay plain text, and embeds and plugin syntax do not carry over.

Does Koru have plugins or a phone app?

No. Koru has no phone app yet and no plugin system. If you depend on either, Obsidian is the better fit for now.