| Fact |  DEVONthink 4Research database for documents, mail and scans that stays yours |  ObsidianLocal-first markdown vault, free with no feature gates |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $99 | Free |
| Licence | Paid upgradesMajor versions cost again | FreewareNothing to buy |
| The catch | Updates stop after a year unless you pay to extend; the version you have keeps working forever | Multi-device sync is $48 a year unless you wire up iCloud or git yourself |
| Against a subscription | 10 monthsAgainst Readwise at $120 a year | Replaces Notion$120 a year |
| Seats | 2 Macs | 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 direct | 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
DEVONthink 4
A full-text-searchable database for PDFs, scans, web archives, email and notes, with OCR and related-document suggestions. One payment, two Macs, and a licence that is never deactivated.
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.