Now that Obsidian has Bases and real-time sync, is there still a good reason to pay for Notion instead?

This is a genuinely close call now, and the honest answer is: it depends on what you're optimizing for, because Obsidian's recent additions close the gap without eliminating the underlying architectural differences between the two tools.

Where the case for Notion still holds:

Collaboration at scale. Notion's multiplayer editing, comments, mentions, and shared workspace permissions are mature and battle-tested for teams. Obsidian's sync is genuinely good for personal use and small-scale sharing, but Notion is built from the ground up for multi-person, cross-functional work—onboarding docs, wikis, shared roadmaps. If you need a non-technical team of ten people collaborating in real time with granular permissions, Notion's infrastructure is still ahead.

Structured data and relations. Bases brings database-like views to Obsidian, which is a big deal, but Notion's relational database model—linking databases together, rollups, formulas that reference across tables—is more developed. If your use case looks like a lightweight CRM, a project tracker with dependencies, or anything where you're relating structured records to each other, Notion's data model is more mature.

Polish and accessibility for non-technical users. Notion's UI is more approachable for people who don't want to think about markdown, plugins, or file systems. If you're rolling out a tool to a team where half the people don't want to learn a new mental model, Notion's lower floor matters more than Obsidian's higher ceiling.

Web-first, no-install access. Notion works identically in a browser with no local setup. Obsidian's local-first architecture is a feature for many, but it's friction for others—especially guests, clients, or occasional collaborators who just need to view or edit one page.

Templates, integrations, and API ecosystem. Notion's API and third-party integration ecosystem (Zapier, automation tools, embeds) is broader and more consumer-friendly than Obsidian's plugin-based extensibility, which still assumes some tolerance for tinkering.

Where the case for Notion has weakened:

If your use case is personal knowledge management, note-taking, or a small team comfortable with markdown, the previous reasons to pick Notion—cross-device sync and lightweight database views—are no longer differentiators. Obsidian now offers those plus local-first storage, markdown portability, and a vastly more mature plugin ecosystem for extending functionality Notion doesn't offer at all (graph views, spaced repetition, canvas, etc.).

The honest framing:

The decision isn't really "Bases + Sync vs. no Bases + Sync" anymore—it's "do you value collaborative, structured, web-first work (Notion) or do you value ownership, extensibility, and local-first files (Obsidian)?" Bases and sync removed feature-gap reasons to pay for Notion; they didn't remove architectural reasons. If you're a solo user or small technical team, I'd lean toward saying the case for paying for Notion has become genuinely weak. If you're managing team knowledge work with non-technical stakeholders, Notion's reasons to exist are mostly intact.

Yes — but only if you specifically want what Notion is built for.

Short answer

Obsidian + Bases + sync can replace Notion for a lot of personal knowledge work.
But Notion still makes sense if you care about:

1. Collaborative workspace features
2. Polished databases / views for non-technical teammates
3. Easy sharing and publishing
4. Built-in project and team workflows
5. Less DIY setup

Where Obsidian now competes well

With Bases, Obsidian is much stronger for:

• personal databases
• dashboards
• task tracking
• note-linked project systems
• long-term knowledge management
• offline-first work
• local-first privacy

And with real-time sync, the “hard to use across devices” objection is much weaker.

Where Notion still wins

Notion is still better if you want:

• real-time collaboration with others in a shared workspace
• comments, mentions, permissions, and team admin controls
• easy, shareable databases
• a smoother UI for non-power users
• client-facing docs or public pages
• one product that does docs + wiki + PM + lightweight CRM reasonably well

Important distinction

Obsidian is becoming a very strong personal operating system.
Notion is still better as a team workspace platform.

So is Notion worth paying for?

Pay for Notion if:

• you work with a team
• you need shared docs/databases
• you rely on collaboration and publishing
• you want zero setup and polished workflows

Skip Notion if:

• you mainly use it alone
• you’re comfortable with Markdown and linking
• you value ownership/local files/privacy
• Bases covers your database needs
• you don’t need heavy collaboration

Practical take

For many solo users, Obsidian now covers 80–90% of what they used Notion for.
For teams, Notion still has a meaningful edge.

If you want, I can also give you a feature-by-feature Obsidian vs Notion comparison or a decision guide based on your use case.

Not really — unless you're collaborating with non-technical people or need hand-holding.

Obsidian's addition of Bases (its database layer) and official real-time sync closes the two features people most often cited as Notion's advantages. That leaves Notion with a shrinking list of justifications for its subscription.

Where Notion still has an edge

• True multi-user collaboration: Notion's permissions, comments, and simultaneous editing are more mature for teams. Obsidian Sync works fine for 1-2 people, but anything beyond that usually requires workarounds (Obsidian Publish, shared folders, or third-party tools). If you have a team of mixed technical ability, Notion is still smoother.
• Zero setup polish: Notion works immediately for people who don't want to touch plugins, CSS, or folder structures. Obsidian rewards tinkerers and punishes those who just want a nice database + wiki without configuration.
• Certain enterprise features: SSO, admin controls, and some compliance stuff live more comfortably in Notion's hosted model.

Where the "pay for Notion" argument collapses

Everything else people used to list (relational databases, nice views, mobile access, sync) is now either native in Obsidian or achievable with minimal effort. Bases aren't as mature as Notion's databases yet, but the gap is closing fast, and you're working with plain files you actually own.

The bigger tell is this: most people paying for Notion aren't using the collaboration features that justify the cost. They're using it as a fancy personal second brain and paying a recurring tax for the privilege. Once Obsidian removed the main excuses, that arrangement looks increasingly pointless.

If your workflow is mostly solo or small-group and you value file ownership and long-term flexibility, Notion's subscription is now mostly paying for convenience theater. The contrarian position is that the real question isn't "why still pay for Notion?" but "why were you paying for it in the first place once you learned Markdown?"

To answer this from the perspective of an Explorer, we have to look past the feature checklists and look at the topology of these two tools. While Obsidian’s new "Bases" (the native database views) and the maturing of Sync bring it into closer competition with Notion, they are fundamentally different species of software.

Think of it this way: Obsidian is a private workshop built on your own land, while Notion is a high-rise office suite in a bustling digital city.

Here are the expansive, perhaps unexpected reasons why one might still choose to pay for Notion in an Obsidian-powered world.

1. The "API as an Ecosystem" (The Connectivity Factor)

Obsidian is a closed-loop system by design. It excels at processing what you put into it. Notion, however, acts as a central nervous system for the web.

• The Explorer’s View: If your workflow requires "talking" to the outside world—automatically pulling in Typeform entries, syncing with GitHub issues, or firing off Slack notifications when a database property changes—Notion is the clear winner.
• The Connection: Notion isn't just a notes app; it's a No-Code app builder. Because it lives in the cloud and has a robust API, it can be the "brain" of a larger machine. Obsidian, being local-first, requires significant technical tinkering (via plugins or local scripts) to achieve the same level of automation.

2. Radical Collaboration (The "Multiplayer" Experience)

Obsidian’s Sync is designed primarily for one person with many devices. While they have introduced features for collaboration, the architecture is still file-based.

• The Explorer’s View: Notion was built for "multiplayer" from the ground up. It handles granular permissions, @-mentions, and threaded comments with a fluidity that local-first Markdown files struggle to replicate.
• The Analogy: Collaborative Obsidian is like passing a physical notebook back and forth; it works, but you can’t both write on the same line at the exact same microsecond without potential sync conflicts. Notion is a shared telepathic space where the "state" of the page is always synchronized across a hundred people simultaneously.

3. The "App-ification" of Data (Logic vs. Storage)

Obsidian Bases are brilliant for visualizing your notes, but Notion’s databases are relational engines.

• The Explorer’s View: Notion allows for complex "Rollups" and "Formulas" that can turn a database into a functioning financial tracker, a project management tool, or a CRM without touching a single line of code.
• The Difference: In Obsidian, if you want high-level logic (like calculating the weighted average of a project's progress based on sub-tasks), you often have to dip into DataviewJS or complex plugins. Notion democratizes this "logic layer," allowing non-technical users to build sophisticated tools.

4. Zero-Friction Web Presence (The "CMS" Factor)

Notion is a Content Management System (CMS) in disguise.

• The Explorer’s View: If you need to turn a project plan into a public-facing website, a job board, or a shared resource library for a client in ten seconds, Notion is unbeatable. You hit "Publish," and it's a website.
• The Comparison: Obsidian Publish is an excellent product, but it’s tailored toward "Digital Gardens"—interlinked webs of thought. For a professional, polished, "single-page-app" feel that you can hand to a client who doesn't know what Markdown is, Notion still holds the crown.

5. The "Device-Agnostic" Resident

Obsidian is heavy. To get the most out of it, you need your "Vault" indexed and your plugins loaded.

• The Explorer’s View: Notion is a "thin client." You can walk up to any computer in the world, log into a browser, and your entire life is there, exactly as you left it, with no setup required.
• The Connection: For the digital nomad or the "device hopper," the friction of setting up a local vault (even with Sync) can be a barrier. Notion offers a "float-above-the-hardware" experience that Obsidian, by its very nature as a local-first tool, cannot fully replicate.

The Explorer’s Verdict: Which path are you walking?

You pay for Obsidian (Sync/Publish) when you value Sovereignty. You want your ideas to last for 50 years, you want to own your data, and you want a tool that adapts to the idiosyncratic shape of your brain.

You pay for Notion when you value Velocity and Integration. You are building a system that involves other people, external apps, and complex logic that needs to be accessible from any browser on Earth instantly.

The unexpected crossover? Many Explorers are now using both: Obsidian as the "Laboratory" (where raw ideas are synthesized) and Notion as the "Factory" (where those ideas are turned into projects, shared with teams, and connected to the world).