An Obsidian alternative on the web, readable by AI
Obsidian is a great local-first markdown editor — if you live on one machine and enjoy tuning plugins, it's hard to beat.
OneKB takes the same markdown-first philosophy to the web: your notes open in any browser, on any device, and AI assistants like Claude can read and write your whole library out of the box — every AI edit versioned and auditable.
| OneKB | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Cloud, plain markdown, full zip export anytime | Local files in a vault folder |
| Access | Any browser — laptop, phone, tablet, nothing to install | Desktop app + mobile app; sync is a paid add-on or DIY |
| AI access | Built-in MCP server: 17 tools, works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP terminal | Community plugins; local setup per device |
| AI safety | Every AI write creates a version + audit ledger entry; deletes go to trash | Depends on plugin; no unified audit trail |
| Links & structure | [[Wiki links]], backlinks, folders, tags | [[Wiki links]], backlinks, graph view, folders, tags |
| Extensibility | Focused feature set, API + MCP for automation | 1,000+ community plugins |
| Price | Free; Pro $1.9/mo for higher AI throughput | Free; Sync $4/mo, Publish $8/mo |
Choose Obsidian if…
- · You want your notes as local files, fully offline, under your own backup regime.
- · You rely on community plugins — spaced repetition, canvas, dataview and friends.
- · You love the graph view and deep customization of every pixel.
Choose OneKB if…
- · You want to open your notes in a browser on any device without sync setup.
- · You want AI assistants to read and organize your notes with zero plugin work.
- · You want an audit trail of everything your AI touches, with one-click rollback.