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ObsidianvsSimplenotevsNote Cargo

Obsidian vs Simplenote vs Note Cargo: Which is better? (2026)

Simplenote is a free minimalist note app. Obsidian is a local-first knowledge base with a rich plugin ecosystem.

TL;DRSimplenote is fast, free, and cross-platform but stores notes on Automattic's servers without end-to-end encryption. Obsidian is local-first with a powerful plugin ecosystem and offline support.

Note Cargo is web-based, stores standard Markdown in your own S3/R2 bucket, and always in sync.

Simplenote wins on simplicity and zero cost. Obsidian wins on plugins and offline. Note Cargo wins on data ownership and cloud sync without vendor lock-in.

18
Note Cargo wins
15
Obsidian wins
16
Simplenote wins
Feature
Obsidian Obsidian
Simplenote Simplenote
Note Cargo Note Cargo
Pricing
Starting price
$4/mo
Free
$4
Pricing model
Free + Paid Sync
Free
One-Time
Demo/Trial
✓
✓
✓
Data & Privacy
You own your storage
✓
✗
✓
Doesn't train on your notes
✓
✓
✓
Open source
✗
✓
✓
Sync All Devices
✓
✓
✓
Device Theft Resistant
✗
✓
✓
Unlimited Storage
✓
✓
✓
Platform
Web app
✗
✓
✓
Mobile app
✓
✓
✗
Desktop app
✓
✓
✗
Offline access
✓
✓
✗
Bloated Features
✓
✗
✗
MCP Support
✗
✗
✓
Markdown & Portability
Markdown support
✓
✓
✓
Export Data
✓
✓
✓
Notes Linking
✓
✗
✓
Codeblock
✓
✗
✓
Collaboration
Real-time collaboration
✗
✓
✗
Note sharing
✗
✓
✗
Self-Hosting
Self-hostable
✗
✗
✓
Low RAM usage
✗
✓
✓
Modifiable code
✗
✓
✓
No Database
✓
✗
✓
Zero Dependency
✓
✗
✓

Ready to switch to Note Cargo?

Self-hosted, Markdown-native, stored in your own S3/R2. One-time payment, no subscriptions.

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