Obsidian vs Siyuan note
Self-hosted for $4/mo on hetzner CAX11, versus $0-$0/user/mo on Obsidian.
Side-by-side
| Obsidian | Siyuan note (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 (AGPL-3.0) |
| Customization | API + integrations only | Full source access; modify freely |
| Maintenance burden | Zero | Backups + updates (manual) |
| Health score (ossreplace) | — | 80 / 100 |
Why teams leave Obsidian
Siyuan note 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 | Siyuan note on hetzner | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $0 | $4.13 | $-4.13 |
| Yearly | $0 | $49.56 | $-49.56 |
| 3 years | $0 | $149 | $-149 |
Deploy Siyuan note now
One-click deploys at the cheapest provider for this workload:
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Common questions
Is Siyuan note a good alternative to Obsidian?
Siyuan note is an open-source, self-hostable alternative to Obsidian with an ossreplace health score of 80/100 — 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 AGPL-3.0 license, versus Obsidian's $0–0/user/mo hosted plans.
How much cheaper is Siyuan note than Obsidian?
A 5-person team pays about $0/mo on Obsidian. Self-hosting Siyuan note on hetzner CAX11 costs a flat $4.13/mo regardless of team size — roughly $-149 less over three years (-Infinity% lower).
Is Siyuan note hard to self-host?
Siyuan note 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 Siyuan note vs Obsidian?
Yes. Because Siyuan note runs on your own server, the data lives on your disk under your encryption. With Obsidian, Obsidian controls the hosting, storage, and access.