# NotebookLM vs Obsidian: AI research tool or your own notes

> NotebookLM answers questions from your sources in Google's cloud. Obsidian stores your own notes as Markdown on your device, free.

URL: https://claudegpt.si/news/notebooklm-vs-obsidian  
Published: 2026-11-04T18:54:41.491Z  
Author: ClaudeGPT Si Newsroom  
Section: Reviews  
Topics: NotebookLM, Gemini Notebook, Obsidian, Google, Note-taking  
Publisher: ClaudeGPT Si

## Key takeaways

- NotebookLM, renamed Gemini Notebook on July 16, 2026, answers questions from uploaded sources with citations. Obsidian is a notes app that keeps Markdown files on your device.
- NotebookLM's free plan allows 100 notebooks and 50 sources per notebook. Obsidian's core app is free, with Sync from $4 a month billed annually.
- This comparison is based on official docs and pricing pages as of November 4, 2026, not hands-on testing.

NotebookLM vs Obsidian is not a close contest, because the two tools do different jobs. NotebookLM, which Google renamed [Gemini Notebook](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-notebook/notebooklm-gemini-notebook/) on July 16, 2026, reads the sources you give it and answers questions about them with citations. [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/) is where you write and link your own notes, stored as plain Markdown files on your device. Many people use both. This comparison is based on the products' official pages and help docs, not hands-on testing.

The name matters if you search for it. Google calls NotebookLM "the same standalone product" under a new name, and its current help pages say Gemini Notebook. We cover the change in [NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook](https://claudegpt.si/news/notebooklm-is-now-gemini-notebook).

## NotebookLM vs Obsidian at a glance

All facts are as of November 4, 2026.

| | NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) | Obsidian |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Main job | Chat with your sources and turn them into study guides, briefings, audio overviews and mind maps | Write, link and organize your own notes |
| Where data lives | Google's cloud, in the browser | "Privately on your device" as Markdown files |
| Works offline | Not stated in the pages we read | Yes, per Obsidian's site |
| AI built in | Yes, it is the product. Answers are grounded in your sources and cited inline | Not mentioned on the pages we read. Plugins can extend it |
| Sources it takes | PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, Google Slides | Notes you write or import |
| Free tier | Yes: 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook | Yes: the core app is free, with no sign-up |
| Paid plans | Through Google AI plans: Pro is $19.99 a month, Ultra is $99.99 a month | Sync $4 a month billed annually, Publish $8 a month billed annually |
| Commercial use | Workspace plans exist | Free. A $50 per user per year license is optional |
| Customization | Fixed product | "Thousands of plugins" and themes |

## What NotebookLM is good at

You upload documents, links or recordings, and it answers from them. [Google's help page](https://support.google.com/notebooklm/answer/16164461) says answers are grounded in your sources and cited inline, and that it makes study guides, briefings, audio overviews and mind maps. It supports 80+ languages.

On privacy, Google says your data "is not used to train Gemini Notebook unless you provide feedback." For Workspace users, uploads, queries and responses are not reviewed by human reviewers and not used to train AI models.

## What Obsidian is good at

Obsidian is a notes app, not an AI tool. Notes are plain-text Markdown files in a folder on your device, which Obsidian says means no lock-in. You link notes together, extend the app with plugins and themes, and clip web pages with its browser extension. Its [help site](https://obsidian.md/help/) also lists a command-line interface.

Obsidian says it collects no telemetry and never sells user data. Sync uses AES-256 end-to-end encryption.

## What each costs

NotebookLM's free plan, per [Google's limits page](https://support.google.com/notebooklm/answer/16213268), allows 100 notebooks per user and 50 sources per notebook. Higher plans raise the caps. Google says these limits are subject to change.

| Plan | Notebooks | Sources per notebook |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Standard (free) | 100 | 50 |
| Plus | 200 | 100 |
| Pro | 500 | 300 |
| Ultra (20 TB) | 500 | 500 |
| Ultra (30 TB) | 500 | 600 |

[Google's plans page](https://one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans/) lists AI Pro at $19.99 a month and AI Ultra at $99.99 a month. It shows no price for AI Plus. More detail is in our [NotebookLM plans and limits](https://claudegpt.si/news/notebooklm-pricing-plans-limits) article.

Obsidian's [pricing page](https://obsidian.md/pricing) says the core app is "free without limits." Sync costs $4 per user a month billed annually, or $5 billed monthly, and Publish costs $8 per site a month billed annually, or $10 billed monthly. The one-time Catalyst license is $25. Commercial use does not require a paid license.

## Which one to use

Use NotebookLM when you have a pile of documents and want answers from them. Use Obsidian when you want to build a notes library you own and keep for years. If you want both, keep your notes in Obsidian and upload exports of them as sources.

Cost is rarely the deciding factor. Both have a free tier that covers casual use. NotebookLM's paid plans are bundled with Google AI subscriptions, so you pay for more notebooks, more sources and higher usage limits. Obsidian's paid add-ons are for syncing across devices and publishing a site, and the notes themselves stay free.

## What we have not tested

We did not use either product for this comparison. Neither company publishes a head-to-head benchmark. Obsidian's pages we read do not describe any AI features, and Google's pages we read do not say whether Gemini Notebook works offline.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is NotebookLM better than Obsidian?

They do different jobs. NotebookLM answers questions from documents you upload, while Obsidian is for writing and linking your own notes. Which is better depends on whether you need answers from sources or a notes library.

### Is NotebookLM the same as Gemini Notebook?

Yes. Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook on July 16, 2026 and calls it the same standalone product.

### Is Obsidian free?

Yes. Obsidian says the core app is free without limits and needs no sign-up. Sync and Publish are paid add-ons, and commercial use does not require a paid license.

### Can Obsidian work offline?

Yes. Obsidian says notes are stored privately on your device and stay accessible offline.

## Sources

- [NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-notebook/notebooklm-gemini-notebook/), Google
- [Gemini Notebook help: what it is](https://support.google.com/notebooklm/answer/16164461), Google
- [Gemini Notebook plan limits](https://support.google.com/notebooklm/answer/16213268), Google
- [Google AI plans](https://one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans/), Google
- [Obsidian pricing](https://obsidian.md/pricing), Obsidian
- [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/), Obsidian
- [Obsidian Help](https://obsidian.md/help/), Obsidian