Which Markdown editor is better?

When it comes to digital writing, choosing the right tool for power users can make all the difference. While there's no shortage of writing tools, two popular competitors often top the list: iA Writer and Obsidian. The former is known for its minimalist and distraction-free environment, and the latter is a powerful knowledge base that leverages flexibility, customization and the concept of connected thinking. But which one is better?

In this post, I compare Obsidian and iA Writer based on various factors such as user interface, cross-platform availability, features, security, pricing, and more to help you make an informed decision in no time.

Cross-platform availability

Until a recent incident, both iA Writer and Obsidian were neck and neck in terms of cross-platform availability. Due to a recent change in Google's security policies, iA Writer was forced to cease operations on Android. It is only available on Mac, iPhone, iPad and Windows.

In comparison, Obsidian is accessible on virtually all platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux. Choose Obsidian if your workflow involves an Android or Linux system.

user interface

Because they focus on power writers, both Obsidian and iA Writer deliver a clean UI and UX by default. If I had to choose one, I would go with iA Writer as it is better designed and feels native. The default Obsidian interface is quite simple. However, this is where Obsidian's flexibility comes into play.

Obsidian has a dedicated theme store that allows you to change the appearance, fonts, accent color, and iconography of the entire app with just one click. I used the Things theme (based on a popular task management app on Mac called Things 3) to give my Obsidian Vault a neat makeover.

Note the organization

Both Obsidian and iA Writer are pretty much identical in terms of note organization. Both support multiple folders and allow you to use tags to efficiently categorize your notes. With Obsidian you have the flexibility to create multiple safes for different purposes.

iA Writer has a nice feature called Smart Folder. As the name suggests, you can create a smart folder with specific conditions and let the system organize all relevant notes based on them. For example, you can create a smart folder called “Finances” and have it automatically add relevant files that contain text like “Money,” “Stock Exchange,” “Bill,” and more. There are multiple conditions you can set and the possibilities are endless here.

Features

Now let's take a look at some of the notable features of iA Writer and Obsidian. I'll start with the former first.

Focus mode

Focus mode is one of the best features of iA Writer. As the name suggests, it allows you to create a distraction-free environment where you can focus on your writing. You can either focus on a sentence or paragraph or even activate a typewriter mode.

iA Writer also has a handy add-on called Authorship that lets you keep track of what you've written and what you've included from other sources. You can easily distinguish borrowed content and make relevant changes to stay in control.

Custom templates

iA Writer offers a selection of built-in templates that enhance your writing experience and cater to different styles and needs. You can either choose one of the standard options or go to the online template store to learn more.

Now let's take a look at what's special about obsidian.

Plugins

Obsidian simply blows away the competition when it comes to third-party plugins. The company has a strong following of passionate developers who offer hundreds of plugins to expand the functionality of your Obsidian vault. For example, you can unlock Kanban boards, Excel-like advanced spreadsheets, and more to speed up your workflow.

canvas

Obsidian supports an infinite canvas where you can use cards, different shapes, arrows and more to freely collect ideas, thoughts and more. You don't need another whiteboard tool to complete this task, you can use the same directly in your Obsidian vault.

Diagram view

Both iA Writer and Obsidian support backlinks to link your related notes and files. However, Obsidian is one step ahead and you can check the relationship between such notes via a dedicated chart view.

Cloud sync

Both iA Writer and Obsidian are quite flexible here. When you create a new vault in Obsidian, you can choose any location on your device to store your folders and notes. For example, it can be in OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or a local folder. By default, iA Writer uses iCloud to sync your files and folders. However, you can always use another cloud storage of your choice to get the job done.

Pricing structure

This is where things get interesting. All of Obsidian's core features are completely free to use. They have a few paid add-ons like Sync ($5 per month) and Publish ($10 per month) to unlock end-to-end encryption, publish your notes to the web, and more.

iA Writer works on a one-time purchase model. You must make the one-time payment on the specific platforms on which you wish to access iA Writer. Price is $50 for Mac, $50 for iPhone and iPad, and $30 for Windows.

Distraction-free writing vs. the power of connections

With built-in Markdown support and connections, both iA Writer and Obsidian have the basics down pat. However, their similarities end there. While iA Writer has a better writing environment with focus mode, syntax and style checker, Obsidian marches ahead with plugins, themes, third-party graphics and a superior pricing structure with a comprehensive free plan. Ultimately, the choice between iA Writer and Obsidian depends on your individual writing style and goals.

However, obsidian is more than just a writing instrument. You can also use it to create a personal knowledge management system – read our separate guide to find out more.