Microsoft 365 vs Obsidian: Pricing Comparison (2026)
Microsoft 365 starts at $8.4/mo. Obsidian starts at $5/mo. Obsidian is $3.4000000000000004/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Microsoft 365.
See price history: Microsoft 365 · Obsidian
Microsoft's productivity suite combining Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) with Teams collaboration, OneDrive storage, and SharePoint. Four business plans: Apps for Business ($10/user), Business Basic ($7/user), Business Standard ($14), and Business Premium ($22, unchanged). List prices increased July 1, 2026 (Basic +16%, Standard +12%, Apps +21%). Copilot Chat now bundled into all business tiers — buyers pay for AI they didn't opt into. The dominant enterprise productivity platform, deeply integrated into Windows environments.
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
| # | Plan | Microsoft 365 monthly | Microsoft 365 annual | Obsidian monthly | Obsidian annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business Basic / App | 8.40 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Apps for Business / Sync | 10 | 10 | 5 | 4 |
| 3 | Business Standard / Publish | 16.80 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| 4 | Business Premium / Commercial license (optional) | 26.40 | 22 | — | 4.17 |
What each is best for
Microsoft's productivity suite combining Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) with Teams collaboration, OneDrive storage, and SharePoint. Four business plans: Apps for Business ($10/user), Business Basic ($7/user), Business Standard ($14), and Business Premium ($22, unchanged). List prices increased July 1, 2026 (Basic +16%, Standard +12%, Apps +21%). Copilot Chat now bundled into all business tiers — buyers pay for AI they didn't opt into. The dominant enterprise productivity platform, deeply integrated into Windows environments.
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.
At a glance
| Microsoft 365 | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Entry price | $8.4/mo | $5/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | — |
| Pricing model | Per Seat | Freemium |
| Last verified | July 27, 2026 | July 29, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified July 29, 2026. Tracked daily.