Software Alternatives & Startups

Instructables VS Obsidian

Compare Instructables VS Obsidian and see what are their differences

Instructables

DIY How To Make Instructions

Rating
0 reviews
Obsidian

A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.

Rating
5.0 · 2 reviews
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Obsidian seems to be a lot more popular than Instructables. While we know about 1525 links to Obsidian, we've tracked only 37 mentions of Instructables.

social mentions
37 vs 1,525
Online Learning popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
155 vs 240+

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Instructables
Obsidian
Website instructables.com obsidian.md
Pricing
Company Startup from the United States
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Instructables 5 features
Obsidian 6 features
  • Diverse Range of Projects
    Instructables offers a wide variety of projects across multiple categories, including technology, crafts, cooking, and more, catering to diverse interests and skill levels.
  • Community Engagement
    The platform fosters a strong sense of community with user-generated content, allowing individuals to share their projects, comment on others, and collaborate with like-minded hobbyists.
  • Step-by-Step Instructions
    Most projects come with detailed step-by-step guides and pictures, making it easier for users to follow along and successfully complete projects.
  • Educational Resource
    Instructables serves as a valuable educational tool, providing tutorials that can help users learn new skills and gain knowledge in various fields.
  • Free Access
    A significant portion of the content on Instructables is accessible for free, allowing users to explore and create without any financial commitment.

Possible disadvantages

  • Quality Variation
    The quality of projects can vary greatly, as the content is user-generated. Some instructions may lack clarity or be incomplete, leading to potential frustration.
  • Ad Distractions
    The free version of the site includes advertisements, which can be distracting and hinder the user experience while browsing or following instructions.
  • Premium Membership
    Access to some of the more advanced features or ad-free browsing requires a premium membership, which can be a downside for users looking for a completely free experience.
  • Overwhelming Choices
    With a vast number of projects available, users might find it overwhelming to locate the most suitable or high-quality instructions for their needs.
  • Inconsistent Updates
    Not all categories or projects are consistently updated, which might lead to outdated information or limited new project inspirations in certain areas.
  • Local-first
    Obsidian stores your notes locally on your device, giving you full control over your data and enhancing privacy.
  • Markdown Support
    Obsidian uses Markdown, making it easy to format text and compatible with many other text editors and tools.
  • Bidirectional Linking
    You can create bidirectional links between notes, which helps in building a knowledge graph and navigating related information more easily.
  • Customizability
    Obsidian is highly customizable with community plugins, themes, and various settings to fit different workflows.
  • Graph View
    Provides a visual graph view of your notes and their connections, aiding in understanding relationships and discovering insights.
  • Offline Access
    Since the notes are stored locally, you can access and edit them without an internet connection.

Possible disadvantages

  • Learning Curve
    Obsidian can be complex and overwhelming for beginners due to its extensive features and customizable nature.
  • Sync Limitations
    While local-first is great for privacy, it requires additional steps or third-party solutions for syncing across devices.
  • No True Real-time Collaboration
    Obsidian lacks native real-time collaboration features, making it less suitable for collaborative work compared to cloud-based solutions.
  • Limited Mobile Features
    The mobile version of Obsidian, while functional, is not as robust as the desktop application, potentially hindering productivity on the go.
  • Dependence on Plugins
    Many advanced features require the use of third-party plugins, which could lead to compatibility issues and reliance on community support.
  • Performance on Large Vaults
    Performance might degrade with a very large number of notes or complex graphs, impacting usability.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Instructables
Obsidian

No analysis of Instructables yet.

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Obsidian.md is an excellent tool for users looking for a versatile and powerful note-taking application. Its unique features such as backlinking, markdown support, and robust customization options make it a favorite among knowledge management enthusiasts.

Why this product is good

  • Obsidian.md is considered good by many users because it is a powerful knowledge management and note-taking application that leverages Markdown for document formatting. It allows for bi-directional linking between notes, which helps in creating a network of interconnected ideas, often described as a 'second brain.' Its ability to support plugins, themes, and robust graph visualization also adds to its appeal. Additionally, it stores notes locally, ensuring privacy and data ownership, while being cross-platform compatible across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Recommended for

  • Knowledge workers who need a powerful tool to organize and connect their thoughts.
  • Students who are looking to create a structured and visually interconnected note system.
  • Writers and researchers who benefit from linking related ideas and maintaining detailed notes.
  • Tech-savvy users or developers who appreciate the local storage and open ecosystem for plugins and customization.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Instructables 1 video + Add
Obsidian 1 video + Add

Instructables Electronics Class: Project Review

OBSIDIAN: Getting Started, Facts & Pricing

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Instructables
Obsidian
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Instructables and Obsidian. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Log in or Post with

Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Instructables no reviews yet
Obsidian 5.0 · 2 reviews

We have no reviews of Instructables yet. Be the first one to post

View more

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Instructables 37 mentions
Obsidian 1525 mentions
  • Broken Samsung charger
    Note that I could not find much documentation on references written on these components and that I am pretty new to electronics but it's something I'm interested in and I love to experiment (I have already went through hackster.io and... Source: over 3 years ago
  • A compilation of bragging about how much money Beggy claims she has taken (read: scammed) her followers for. All of these have been posted in the past 3 DAYS. Her smug desperation is positively RANCID. Poor little Audrey-Prop is just dangling there.
    This person would have better luck participating in contests run by Instructables. Write a tutorial, submit it to one of the contests that are run every 6 weeks(themes and subjects vary from cooking, computer themed, design) for a chance... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Over 11 hrs since she posted this and not a single 🔥 in the comments - I really do love that for her. She's now offering to help you figure out what you are passionate about/want to sell courses on 🙄
    Want to know how to make a tutorial? Go to Instructables. Source: over 3 years ago

View more

  • Hermes Agent Use Cases: 5 Free Things You Can Set Up Today (2026)
    The setup that makes the output noticeably sharper is a memory layer. Connecting a plain-text notes app like Obsidian (free for personal use) gives the agent durable context: what your project is about, who it is for, and what you have... - Source: dev.to / 27 days ago
  • I Built SelfContext So I Could Stop Re-explaining Myself to AI
    The vault is compatible with Obsidian because the files are just Markdown, YAML frontmatter, and standard relative links. - Source: dev.to / 10 days ago
  • Which Markdown editor to choose
    Inline preview, usually called WYSIWYG. Obsidian's Live Preview mode hides the syntax except where the cursor is. Obsidian is a far better personal knowledge base than anything else on this page, with backlinks, a graph and years of... - Source: dev.to / 27 days ago

View more

Alternatives to Instructables and Obsidian

When comparing Instructables and Obsidian, you can also consider the following products.