Microsoft 365 vs Obsidian — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (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
| Tier role | Plan | Microsoft 365 monthly | Microsoft 365 annual | Obsidian monthly | Obsidian annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | — / App | — | — | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Apps for Business / Sync | $10 | $10 | $5 | $4 |
| Mid tier | Business Standard / — | $16.8 | $14 | — | — |
| Pro / power | Business Premium / Publish | $26.4 | $22 | $10 | $8 |
| Teams | Business Basic / — | $8.4 | $7 | — | — |
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
Microsoft 365 is worth it if… Microsoft 365 Business is worth it for teams that need full Office desktop apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) + email + Teams + SharePoint + OneDrive — particularly if you have Windows-heavy workforce or compliance requirements. Apps for Business covers desktop apps only; Business Standard adds Teams, SharePoint, and email; Business Premium adds Intune device management and Azure AD.
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 — Microsoft 365 is per seat, Obsidian is freemium.
Choose Microsoft 365 over Obsidian if…
Choose Microsoft 365 if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $8.4/mo).
- You match the profile Microsoft 365 is built for: Microsoft 365 Business is worth it for teams that need full Office desktop apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) + email + Teams + SharePoint + OneDrive — particularly if you have Windows-heavy workforce or compliance requirements.
- 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
| Microsoft 365 | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Entry price | $8.4/mo | $5/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | No |
| Pricing model | Per Seat | Freemium |
| Last verified | September 10, 2026 | September 11, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 11, 2026. Tracked daily.
Frequently asked questions
See other alternatives in Productivity
Explore more alternatives
Common questions about Microsoft 365 and Obsidian
- How much does Microsoft 365 cost in 2026?
- Does Microsoft 365 have a free plan?
- How often does Microsoft 365 change prices?
- What are the best Microsoft 365 alternatives in 2026?
- How much does Obsidian cost in 2026?
- Does Obsidian have a free plan?
- How often does Obsidian change prices?
- What are the best Obsidian alternatives in 2026?