Estimated monthly cost comparison — not just the headline price
Prices change often — confirm on the vendor's site before buying. Report incorrect pricing →
Quick Take
Obsidian has the lower estimated monthly cost (~75%)
Based on advertised price plus documented recurring fees, not your exact usage.
Best for Airtable
Spreadsheet-database hybrid loved by teams. Simple to start, expensive to scale — record limits, aut
Best for Obsidian
Free local-first note-taking app with powerful linking. Personal use is free, but Sync ($4/mo) and P
Spreadsheet-database hybrid loved by teams. Simple to start, expensive to scale ...
Advertised
$20
/month
Estimated monthly cost
$65
/month (illustrative)
Record Limit Forced Upgrade
50K records per base on Team ($20/user/mo). Hitting the limit forces upgrade to Business at $45/user...
Automation Run Hard Cap
25K automation runs on Team. When exhausted, automations STOP — no overage purchase option. Must upg...
Attachment Storage Silent Failure
20GB per base on Team. When full, new attachments fail silently — no error message. No per-GB overag...
API Rate Limit Wall
Hard 5 req/sec per base rate limit on ALL plans below Enterprise. Apps hitting this get 429 errors w...
$20/mo annual
$45/mo annual
Free local-first note-taking app with powerful linking. Personal use is free, bu...
Advertised
$0
/month
Estimated monthly cost
$16
/month (illustrative)
Obsidian Sync
Cross-device sync: $4/mo (annual) or $5/mo. Without it, you need your own sync solution (Dropbox, iC...
Obsidian Publish
Host notes as a website: $8/mo (annual) or $10/mo per site. Each additional site is another subscrip...
Commercial License
Using Obsidian for work with 2+ employees requires a Commercial license at $50/user/year ($4.17/user...
Airtable advertises $20/mo. Obsidian advertises $0/mo.
Airtable has 4 documented hidden fees. Obsidian has 3.
Airtable confidence: 80%. Obsidian confidence: 82%.
| Metric | Airtable | Obsidian | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertised Price | $20/mo | $0/mo | Obsidian |
| Estimated Monthly Cost | $65/mo | $16/mo | Obsidian |
| Recurring Extra Fees | +$45/mo | +$16/mo | Obsidian |
| One-Time Costs | $0 | $0 | — |
| # Documented Fees | 4 | 3 | — |
| Pricing Tiers | 4 | 0 | — |
| Affiliate Program | No public program | None | — |
Airtable advertises $20/mo and Obsidian advertises $0/mo. Airtable has 4 documented extra fees (recurring: +$45/mo), while Obsidian has 3 (recurring: +$16/mo). On these illustrative assumptions, Obsidian has the lower estimated monthly cost (about 75% less). Your real cost depends on seats and usage — use the calculator for your numbers.
Airtable has 4 documented extra fees: Record Limit Forced Upgrade, Automation Run Hard Cap, Attachment Storage Silent Failure, API Rate Limit Wall. Recurring fees add roughly $45/mo on top of the $20/mo advertised price.
Obsidian has 3 documented extra fees: Obsidian Sync, Obsidian Publish, Commercial License. Recurring fees add roughly $16/mo on top of the $0/mo advertised price.
Choose Airtable if: Spreadsheet-database hybrid loved by teams. Simple to start, expensive to scale — record limits, aut. Choose Obsidian if: Free local-first note-taking app with powerful linking. Personal use is free, but Sync ($4/mo) and P. The right choice depends on your team size, usage volume, and which features you need most.
This comparison is compiled from public vendor pricing pages and documentation. It uses illustrative assumptions (see "Cost Comparison Summary"), not your exact seats or usage, and vendor prices change often. Confirm current prices on each vendor's site, and use our calculator with your own usage for a closer estimate. Spotted an error? Email hello@trulycritic.com.
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