Obsidian vs Laurent22 Joplin
Self-hosted for $4/mo on hetzner CAX11, versus $0-$0/user/mo on Obsidian.
Side-by-side
| Obsidian | Laurent22 Joplin (self-hosted) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $0-$0/user/mo | $4.13/mo flat (any team size) |
| Hosting | Obsidian's servers | Your VPS (hetzner CAX11) |
| Data ownership | Obsidian controls the data | Your disk, your encryption |
| Source code | Closed | Open (NOASSERTION) |
| Customization | API + integrations only | Full source access; modify freely |
| Maintenance burden | Zero | Backups + updates (manual) |
| Health score (ossreplace) | — | 78 / 100 |
Why teams leave Obsidian
Laurent22 Joplin answers this by: Open-source alternatives that can replace Obsidian.
The cost math
Assumes 5-person team using Obsidian at the midpoint price ($0/user/mo).
| Period | Obsidian | Laurent22 Joplin on hetzner | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $0 | $4.13 | $-4.13 |
| Yearly | $0 | $49.56 | $-49.56 |
| 3 years | $0 | $149 | $-149 |
Deploy Laurent22 Joplin now
One-click deploys at the cheapest provider for this workload:
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Common questions
Is Laurent22 Joplin a good alternative to Obsidian?
Laurent22 Joplin is an open-source, self-hostable alternative to Obsidian with an ossreplace health score of 78/100 — a composite of project activity, maturity, community, security, and adoption. It runs on your own hetzner VPS from $4.13/mo with full source access under the NOASSERTION license, versus Obsidian's $0–0/user/mo hosted plans.
How much cheaper is Laurent22 Joplin than Obsidian?
A 5-person team pays about $0/mo on Obsidian. Self-hosting Laurent22 Joplin on hetzner CAX11 costs a flat $4.13/mo regardless of team size — roughly $-149 less over three years (-Infinity% lower).
Is Laurent22 Joplin hard to self-host?
Laurent22 Joplin self-hosts on your own VPS. You handle the install, backups, and updates yourself in exchange for full data ownership and no per-seat fees.
Do you keep control of your data with Laurent22 Joplin vs Obsidian?
Yes. Because Laurent22 Joplin runs on your own server, the data lives on your disk under your encryption. With Obsidian, Obsidian controls the hosting, storage, and access.