Flipnotes vs Obsidian
Obsidian is built for people who like running a system of linked files. If you just want to write something down and find it later, Flipnotes is three steps and done.
- To us, four steps for one note is too many.
- To us Obsidian feels like filling in a spreadsheet.
- Flipnotes: open, type, tap Save. Filed for you.
Two different ideas of a notebook
Obsidian keeps your notes as Markdown files in a vault on your device. You link them, add plugins and build a knowledge base over time. Plenty of people love that.
To us it feels like setting up a system before you can write. Vaults, files, links, plugins: it is a tool for saving Markdown, and it feels a bit like a spreadsheet. A notebook should feel like jotting. You open it, you type, it is kept.
Saving one quick note
Writing down one thought on your phone, step by step.
Obsidian
- 1Open the app and your vault
- 2Tap the plus to make a new note
- 3Name the note
- 4Type
- 5Add links, tags or a folder if you want it organised
Flipnotes
- 1Open the app. The writing bar is already there
- 2Type
- 3Tap Save
Three steps, and the last one is just Save. No name to invent, no folder to pick. Flipnotes files the note for you.
Open it and the writing bar is right there
Flipnotes opens on today's page with the writing bar at the bottom. No vault to open, no new note to create. Type and tap Save.
The same bar has a mic, a camera and a pin for the place you are in.
Talk or take a picture
Hands full? Tap the mic and say it. Flipnotes writes out the words as you speak and keeps the recording.
Tap the camera for a photo, and the pin adds where you were.
More about voice notes
Write a date and it lands in your agenda
Write "Dentist with Mia on Thursday at 3pm" and it shows up in your agenda on Thursday.
No calendar to set up, no plugin to find.
More about the agenda
Forgot what you wrote? Just ask
Type or say what you remember, like "When am I seeing the dentist?". Your notebook answers from what you wrote.
Tap Roll the dice and Flipnotes opens a random old note, which is a nice way to look back.
More about Ask your notebookFiled for you, so there is nothing to organise
Flipnotes reads each note and puts it in the right categories out of more than thirty, like Dates & Appointments, Travel and People.
The structure builds itself. It is there when you look for a note.
"Dentist with Mia on Thursday at 3pm"
Goes intoDates & AppointmentsHealthPeopleIn your agenda on Thursday at 3 PM.
"Flight to Lisbon on Friday at 6:40 AM"
Goes intoDates & AppointmentsTravel"Pay the car insurance by the 30th"
Goes intoDates & AppointmentsIn your agenda on the 30th.
"Long walk in the woods this morning. Cold, but the light through the pines was lovely"
Goes intoDiary Entries
Pro, if you use it all day
Everything on this page comes with every plan. Pro just gives you more room.
- Voice notes up to 5 minutes long (2 minutes on Personal)
- 5,000 photos a year (2,000 on Personal)
- 20 GB of storage (4 GB on Personal)
- Up to 2,000 questions a month to your notebook (280 on Personal)
Common questions
Is Flipnotes a replacement for Obsidian?
It depends on what you use Obsidian for. If you keep a linked knowledge base with plugins, that is a different thing. If you mostly want to jot things down and find them again, Flipnotes gets you there in fewer steps.
Do I need to learn Markdown or install plugins?
No. You open Flipnotes and type. Filing, the agenda and search come with the app.
Do I have to link my notes together?
No. Flipnotes sorts each note into categories for you, so you don't build links or folders by hand.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes, and on your computer too: just open flipnotes.life in your browser. Your notes are the same everywhere.
Can I try it first?
Yes, your first month is free. After that you pick a plan.
Write one thing down
Install Flipnotes, open it and type a note. Count the steps.
Flipnotes is also for
- Flipnotes for real estate agentsPhotos of every property, pinned on a map, sorted for you.
- Flipnotes for house huntingKeep every house you see apart, with its photos and its place on the map.
- Flipnotes for lawyersDictate after a meeting and ask your notebook about any client.
- Flipnotes for busy peopleType one line and it's in your calendar.
- Flipnotes for journalingSay what's on your mind and flip back through your days.
Compare Flipnotes with other apps
- Flipnotes vs Google KeepSave anything in one or two taps, and get it sorted, dated and on a map.
- Flipnotes vs Apple NotesThe same quick notes, sorted for you, on iPhone, Android and any computer.
- Flipnotes vs TodoistYour tasks with your notes, an agenda, My day and a DONE stamp.
- Flipnotes vs EvernoteNo notebooks or tags to manage: write it down and it's filed.
- Flipnotes vs NotionA notebook for quick notes on your phone, not a database to build.
- Flipnotes vs Apple Notes, Evernote and OneNoteHow many steps it takes to save a note in each, side by side.
- Flipnotes vs Google Calendar and OutlookAdding an appointment: one line in Flipnotes, a form in a calendar app.