Mahfouz vs Obsidian
Mahfouz vs Obsidian
Obsidian and Mahfouz agree on the most important thing: your notes should be plain Markdown files in a folder you own. The difference is what surrounds those files. Obsidian leaves history, sync, and collaboration to a paid add-on or a community plugin. Mahfouz builds them on Git from the start, so every edit is a commit and every vault can sync with a remote you already have.
Feature comparison
| Compare | Obsidian | Mahfouz |
|---|---|---|
| File format & ownership | Plain .md files in a local vault folder. App settings live in a hidden .obsidian folder. |
Plain .md files in a folder you choose. Even vault settings are a Markdown note. |
| Version history | The File recovery plugin keeps local snapshots for a limited time. Longer history comes with paid Obsidian Sync, or Git through a community plugin. | Built in. Every edit is committed to Git automatically, and you can browse any note's history, restore a version, or recover deleted notes from Trash. |
| Sync between devices | Obsidian Sync, a paid add-on, or a setup you assemble yourself with iCloud, Dropbox, or a community Git plugin. | Built in. Push and pull with any Git remote: GitHub, a self-hosted server, or one you already use. |
| Collaboration | Shared vaults through Obsidian Sync. | Share a vault the way you'd share any Git repo. Everyone works from their own full copy of the notes and their history. |
| In the browser | No web app. Obsidian runs as a desktop and mobile app. | The web app at web.mahfouz.app opens a folder on your computer or a GitHub repository, with no copy kept on Mahfouz's servers. |
| AI agents | Agents can read the files directly. Deeper integration depends on community plugins. | Agents can read the files directly, and Claude Code, Codex, and other MCP clients can connect to Mahfouz, with per-vault access and edits that wait for your approval. |
| Databases | Bases, a core plugin, with table, list, and cards views over your notes' properties. | Built in. Each row is a note, with table, board, gallery, and calendar views. |
| Tasks | Checkboxes. Due dates, reminders, and task queries come from community plugins. | Turn a checklist item into a task with a due date, an assignee, and a reminder, and see every task in a list or on a board. |
| Presentations | Slides, a core plugin. Exporting a deck needs a community plugin. | Present any note as slides styled by a vault-wide template, and export the deck to PDF or PowerPoint (desktop, Slidev plugin). |
| Publishing | Obsidian Publish, a paid add-on. | Publish a note as a public page at a link you share, and keep it in step with the note. |
| Track changes | None built in. | Built in. Suggest edits instead of making them, then accept or reject each one, with comments alongside. |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android. | macOS, the web, and AI agents over MCP. Mobile is coming soon. |
| Price | The app is free. Sync is $4/user/month billed annually ($5 monthly), Publish is $8/site/month billed annually ($10 monthly), and a $50/user/year commercial license is optional. | Free. History and sync use Git, so the only cost is whatever Git hosting you choose, if any. |
| Export | PDF export built in; other formats through community plugins. | Export a note and its children to Markdown with their attachments, or to PDF. |
Obsidian pricing as published on obsidian.md in October 2026; check their pricing page for current figures.
Questions
Obsidian, answered.
Can I open my Obsidian vault in Mahfouz?
Yes. Both apps keep a vault as a folder of Markdown files, so
you can point Mahfouz at the same folder with File → Open
Vault… and your notes open as they are. Mahfouz understands the
same [[wikilink]] and #tag syntax.
Obsidian has a Git plugin. Isn't that the same thing?
It brings Git to Obsidian, but as a community plugin you install and configure yourself. In Mahfouz, Git is how the app works: edits are committed as you write, history and Trash read straight from the repository, and sync status is shown on every vault and note.
Does Mahfouz have Obsidian's plugin ecosystem?
No. Obsidian's community plugin library is far larger. Mahfouz has its own plugins, such as Mermaid, draw.io, and slide decks, installed from registries that are plain Git repositories, and you can add registries of your own.
See the rest of what Mahfouz can do.
Vaults, Markdown editing, Git sync, history, and more.