Obsidian
RoamAbout Logseq
Logseq is a privacy-first outliner for networked thought — daily journals, backlinks and block references, all stored as plain markdown files you keep on your own disk. There's no proprietary format locking your notes in.
Every note is a block that can be referenced from anywhere else, so a graph of linked ideas builds up naturally as you write. It's free, fully open source under AGPL-3.0, and extensible with a growing plugin ecosystem.
What makes it different
Every line is a block you can fold, reference and reuse anywhere else in your notes.
A running daily journal is the default entry point, encouraging lightweight, consistent capture.
See every place a note or tag is referenced, visualized as a connected graph.
Notes are stored as ordinary markdown files on your device — no proprietary database.
ClojureClojureScript
ElectronThe honest read
- Notes stored as plain markdown files you fully own
- Powerful backlinking and graph view for networked thought
- Free and open source under AGPL-3.0
- Growing plugin ecosystem
- Works fully offline
- Clojure codebase is less approachable for outside contributors
- Mobile app is less mature than desktop
- Sync between devices needs a paid plan or manual setup
- Outliner model has a learning curve if you're used to plain documents
Quick answers
Yes — Logseq is free and open source under AGPL-3.0. An optional paid sync service is available if you don't want to set up your own.
As plain markdown files on your own device, inside a folder you choose — there's no proprietary database.
Both are local-first markdown tools, but Logseq is outliner-first (every line is a block) and fully open source, while Obsidian uses a more traditional document view and a partly closed-source core.
Yes — Logseq is local-first and works fully offline; sync is optional.
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