| Fact |  AgendaDate-based notes where unlocked features stay unlocked |  ObsidianLocal-first markdown vault, free with no feature gates |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $34.99 | Free |
| Licence | Lifetime tierA one-time plan of a subscription app | FreewareNothing to buy |
| The catch | The one-time unlock covers today's features plus one year of new ones, not everything after that | Multi-device sync is $48 a year unless you wire up iCloud or git yourself |
| Against a subscription | 4 monthsAgainst NotePlan at $99 a year | Replaces Notion$120 a year |
| Seats | No Mac count statedThe one-time unlock is a single purchase covering both the macOS and iOS apps on your Apple ID. | not established |
| Developer account | None needed | Optional |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Silicon | Native | Native |
| Free trial | Yes | does not apply |
| On Setapp | No | No |
| Buy on the App Store | Get it |
Both prices read 22 Sep 2026, on the pages these buttons open. Minimum macOS and App Store rating are not established for either app, so those rows are left out.
In their own right
Agenda
Notes organised along a timeline and tied to calendar events, with a premium unlock you keep permanently even if you never pay again.
Obsidian
A markdown editor over a folder of plain files on your own disk, with backlinks, a graph view, Canvas and a very large plugin ecosystem. Free for any use, personal or commercial, with no account required.