Short answer: No — Only worth it if you're a privacy absolutist who balks at free alternatives.
Worth it for: Privacy-conscious power users who refuse to touch iCloud or Google Drive. Skip if: You're not willing to pay premium prices for file syncing. Better alternative: iCloud Most people peddling Obsidian Sync are pretending like it's some magical upgrade. I wanted to love this, but $8/month for file syncing? That's not innovation—it's paranoia tax. iCloud sync is free, handles Obsidian vaults fine, and doesn't make you feel like a cheapskate for questioning the value.
The uncomfortable part is that Obsidian Sync's strongest selling point—end-to-end encryption—is a solution to a problem most users don't actually have. Your meeting notes and recipe collections don't need military-grade protection. You're paying for peace of mind that you didn't need to buy.
When It IS Worth It
- You've got state secrets in your notes. If you're a journalist working with sources, a lawyer handling confidential case files, or someone whose notes genuinely could cause problems if leaked—the encryption is solid and worth paying for. But this describes maybe 2% of Obsidian users. The other 98% are encrypting grocery lists and book highlights.
- You're allergic to Apple/Google. If you refuse to let your data touch their servers on principle, this is your best bet. Just be aware you're paying $96/year for that principle. Make sure it's a genuine conviction and not just something you decided after watching one privacy YouTube video.
- You hoard 100GB+ of markdown files. Obsidian's sync handles large vaults without conflict errors or the random file corruption that sometimes happens with Dropbox on heavy vaults. If you've got thousands of notes with embedded attachments, the reliability advantage is real.
When It Is NOT Worth It
- You own an iPhone and Mac. Congratulations, iCloud is already built in and syncs Obsidian flawlessly. I've used iCloud with a 2,000-note vault across three Apple devices for over a year with zero sync conflicts. Free. No setup. No subscription.
– You don't check your bank statements. $96/year for sync is absurd when free and cheap alternatives exist. That's more than a Netflix subscription—for file syncing. Put that $96 toward literally anything else and you'll get more value.
– You think 'end-to-end encryption' means impenetrable security. Encryption protects data in transit and at rest on servers. If your device is compromised, your master password is weak, or you're reusing passwords elsewhere, Obsidian Sync's encryption does nothing for you. You're paying for a lock on a door while leaving the windows open.
Who Should NOT Buy This
- Students who need to sync lecture notes — iCloud or Google Drive handles this perfectly. You don't need encrypted sync for your Chemistry 101 study guide.
- Casual Obsidian users with fewer than 10 notes — if your vault is small enough to email to yourself, you definitely don't need a $96/year sync service.
- People who already pay for Google One or iCloud+ — you're literally already paying for cloud storage that syncs files. Adding Obsidian Sync on top is paying twice for the same capability.
- Anyone who thinks "privacy-focused" justifies any price — there's a ceiling on what privacy is worth for personal notes. $96/year is above that ceiling for most people.
Cheaper or Better Alternatives
| Alternative | Price | My Take |
|---|---|---|
| iCloud | Free (5GB) | Works perfectly unless you’re conspiracy-pilled |
| Google Drive | $2/month | Actually integrates with other apps |
| Dropbox | $10/month | More features, same price, but no encryption bragging rights |
Check out our Airtable review for comparison. Check out our Alfred Powerpack review for comparison.
What Annoys Me About Obsidian Sync
- The price. It's file syncing—one of the most commoditized things in computing. Every major platform does it for free or near-free. Charging $8/month for this in 2026 requires extraordinary justification, and "we encrypt it" isn't extraordinary.
- The community pressure. The Obsidian community treats Sync like a moral obligation—as if using iCloud makes you a sellout. Privacy is great, but the vast majority of personal note-takers are not high-value targets. Nobody at Apple is reading your journal entries about your morning routine.
- No family plan. Want to share with your partner? Pay double. $192/year for two people to sync text files. That's the kind of pricing that makes you wonder if they even want normal users.
Final Verdict
Buy it if you'd literally lose sleep over iCloud having your notes—and if that describes you, you probably already bought it before reading this review. For the other 95% of Obsidian users who just want their notes on all their devices, iCloud or Google Drive does the job for free. The irony of Obsidian Sync is that the people who agonize most over whether it's worth it are exactly the people who don't need it. The ones who need it already know.
FAQ
Is Obsidian Sync faster than iCloud?
No. In my testing, they're roughly the same speed when syncing 500+ files. Obsidian Sync has slightly better conflict resolution on simultaneous edits, but if you're editing the same note on two devices at the same time, you have a workflow problem, not a sync problem.
Does Obsidian Sync work offline?
Yes, but so does iCloud. Your notes are stored locally regardless—sync just handles pushing changes when you reconnect. This isn't a unique advantage.
Can I use Obsidian Sync alongside iCloud or Dropbox?
Obsidian actively discourages this and warns against it. You pick one sync method. So if you're paying for Obsidian Sync, you're not supplementing your existing cloud storage—you're replacing it for this one app while still paying for cloud storage for everything else.
Is the encryption actually necessary for most people?
No. If you're using Obsidian for personal knowledge management, journaling, or project notes, the threat model doesn't justify $96/year for encrypted sync. The encryption matters for a small subset of users with genuinely sensitive data—and those users usually know who they are without being told.