I hope my question isn't bothering anyone. I see that SiYuan is an excellent tool as a second brain, and I like it more than Obsidian, but I still have my doubts about whether it's worth migrating. Since I'm new to both tools, I'd like someone to explain the differences and advantages between them so I can make my decision.
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Siysuy • • 1
I have been using Siyuan for a long while. Obsidian I have used far less. I do find Siyuan superior and havent regretted or had any desire to switch back to obsidian. If you do commit to migration to siyuan from obsidian, obviously there isnt an ideal back and forth migration (between siy vs obs) that retains all document structures, backlinks perfectly intact last I tested 6 months back, mainly because the syntaxes differ (and features differ) between the two apps for creating backlinks. I have seen some third-party tools specific to migration, and since 6 months there might be better solutions I havent figured out
Siyuan Excels in:
- editing: where Obsidian can still be a little quirky, rather Siyuan has flawless consistency editing paragraphs, code block, lists, embedded blocks and not to forget moving any block types around. Moving blocks and nesting blocks also feels superior in Siyuan
- Backup/restore: Siyuan can backup of entire workspace, partial documents, migrate to new workspaces while retaining prior structures and context flawlessly. I havent had any issues starting anew, creating temporary workspaces. I have less understanding how Obsidian deals with deep backup/restore that much, but Siyuan wont leave you hanging or yurning obsidian.
There is more to be said and compare, but basically, Siyuan never left me hanging or desiring a switch. The core features of siyuan (some mentioned above) as stable PKM were superior, where Obsidian (and switching between edit view vs reading view) seems more quirky.
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AlexSlender •PRO Author
Thanks for sharing your experience. I totally agree, and I'm amazed that there is so little information on the web (at last at Youtube) about SiYuan, having such great and many features! I met the app by this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L3txd8_Psk&list=PLE_pXle7cark. Is SiYuan so young in the market? The only thing that makes me doubt for buying SiYuan is if the WebDAV sync will really work for me. I got a koofr account and I'm happy how it works for other apps I use, but by now I couldn't make it work with Obsidian plugins. I'm not sure if I'm wrong setting it up. They are not so clear in instructions.
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Mon •
Your question is valid imo and Im happy to share my thoughts/experiences on these two apps. Ive started using obsidian since its infancy stage and i was onboard with it because i wanted to use an alternative to notion that can be use offline and has better privacy. I got into the rabbit hole, like changing the layouts, formatting my templates, everything. But then i slowly realized that i spent a lot of my time customizing and optimizing everything that i end up not doing that very thing why i downloaded this app, which is to make notes! lol and at that time, it lacks proper tables and databases, although tables can be created now with the latest update but it still lacks the database that i need, it feels janky to me. Another thing, I struggle with text formatting in markdown without installing another plugin to suffice my needs. Also, just like what everyone has mentioned already, the plugins are overwhelming and annoying. These really lose my interest in note-taking in obsidian for a long while. Thankfully, i found about siyuan via reddit and i never look back ever since. I love WYSIWYG approach, making notes and organizing them is way easier for me. I only use minimal number of plugins in siyuan. Most of them are just QOL plugins like bookmark+, tab manager, link icon to name a few. There are still some room for improvement (still waiting for the official release of calendar view for database) and Im hoping for more features/updates to come.
1 OperateMon updated this reply at 2026-09-09 22:37:11 -
rali •PRO
- Open source: Unlike Obsidian, which is closed source, Siyuan's source is open. This gives a lot of benefits; some of them will be cited below
- Performance: Siyuan can handle millions of documents; Obsidian lags badly at the 280,000+ notes mark
- One-time payment for Sync & Versatility of choice: Obsidian offers only subscription-based sync; Siyuan offers one-time payment and also one-time payment for a subscription plan for limited seats
- Sustainability: Due to its small team, location, the enormous edge that Siyuan offers, and its rapid international adoption, Siyuan's sustainability looks stable.
- Posteriority & Aging: Siyuan's technical stack is future-proof, its usage of Go for kernel and pure HTML/CSS/JS for interface are good foundation for solid aging.
- Intentionality: Attention to details, precision, well-thought-out design decisions, focus on the right things...ect
- Experience & Wisdom: B3log dev team cumulated 20+ years of experience around markdown, editing and publishing. The remarkable adoption of Siyuan didn't come overnight, its the fruit of long years of making the right decisions.
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