Andi Search vs Obsidian — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Obsidian starts at $5/mo. Andi Search uses custom pricing — request a quote to compare.
See price history: Andi Search · Obsidian
Free AI-powered search assistant — no paid tier. Andi answers questions directly and shows curated links (no ads). Funded by grants and investor capital; monetization strategy is unclear. Positioned as a privacy-focused, ad-free AI search alternative to Google, Perplexity, and You.com.
Local-first knowledge management tool positioned as the alternative to Notion and Roam for people who don't want their notes trapped in a SaaS database. Distinctive for storing everything as plaintext markdown files on your own disk (no vendor lock-in) plus a massive community plugin ecosystem. Personal use is free forever; Sync ($4/mo) and Publish ($8/mo) are optional add-ons. Popular with researchers, writers, and privacy-conscious knowledge workers.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Andi Search monthly | Andi Search annual | Obsidian monthly | Obsidian annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free / App | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | — / Sync | — | — | $5 | $4 |
| Pro / power | — / Publish | — | — | $10 | $8 |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Andi Search is worth it if… Andi is worth trying if you want a free, ad-free, privacy-focused AI search alternative. No paid tier means no revenue model visible today — sustainability is uncertain.
Obsidian is worth it if… solo knowledge workers (researchers, writers, developers, PMs) who want offline-first, local-file, plain-Markdown note-taking with a huge plugin ecosystem — particularly if you value data ownership over collaboration. Free forever for personal use; Sync (paid) adds cross-device encrypted sync; Publish adds one-click static site publishing.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — Andi Search is flat rate, Obsidian is freemium.
Choose Andi Search over Obsidian if…
Choose Andi Search if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (flat rate, custom pricing).
- You match the profile Andi Search is built for: Andi is worth trying if you want a free, ad-free, privacy-focused AI search alternative.
- You need a general-purpose productivity option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Obsidian if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (freemium, from $5/mo).
- You match the profile Obsidian is built for: solo knowledge workers (researchers, writers, developers, PMs) who want offline-first, local-file, plain-Markdown note-taking with a huge plugin ecosystem — particularly if you value data ownership over collaboration.
- You need a general-purpose productivity option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Andi Search | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | Custom | $5/mo |
| Enterprise available | No | No |
| Pricing model | Flat Rate | Freemium |
| Last verified | September 20, 2026 | September 11, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 20, 2026. Tracked daily.