Kagi vs Obsidian — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Kagi and Obsidian both start at $5/mo on their entry tier.
Ad-free, subscription-based search engine with AI features. Pricing: Trial (100 free searches), Starter $5/mo (300 searches), Professional $10/mo (unlimited + AI features), Ultimate $25/mo (unlimited AI + advanced features), Family $14/mo (up to 6 users). Positioned as the anti-Google — paid search with no ads, no tracking, user control over ranking.
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 | Kagi monthly | Kagi annual | Obsidian monthly | Obsidian annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Trial / App | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Starter / Sync | $5 | $5 | $5 | $4 |
| Mid tier 1 | Professional / — | $10 | $10 | — | — |
| Mid tier 2 | Family (2 users) / — | $14 | $14 | — | — |
| Mid tier 3 | Family (6 users) / — | $20 | $20 | — | — |
| Pro / power | Ultimate / Publish | $25 | $25 | $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
Kagi is worth it if… privacy-conscious users who are willing to pay $5-25/mo for search without ads, tracking, or algorithmic promotion. Professional at $10/mo is the sweet spot — unlimited searches + AI features.
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 — Kagi is tiered, Obsidian is freemium.
Choose Kagi over Obsidian if…
Choose Kagi if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (tiered, from $5/mo).
- You match the profile Kagi is built for: privacy-conscious users who are willing to pay $5-25/mo for search without ads, tracking, or algorithmic promotion.
- 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
| Kagi | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Entry price | $5/mo | $5/mo |
| Enterprise available | No | No |
| Pricing model | Tiered | 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.