Obsidian vs Roam vs Logseq: Best PKM Tool in 2025?
Roam Research, Obsidian, and Logseq are the main personal knowledge management (PKM) tools. Here is how to choose the right one for building your second brain in 2025.
Obsidian vs Roam vs Logseq: Best PKM Tool in 2025?
Quick Answer
For most people starting a PKM system: Obsidian — most active development, best plugin ecosystem, local file storage, free for personal use. For daily note-focused, outliner-style knowledge management: Logseq (also free, open-source). For networked thought purists: Roam Research (though the community has largely moved to Obsidian).
Obsidian — Best Overall PKM
Pricing: Free (personal), Sync $8/month (optional), Publish $10/month (optional)
Best for: Knowledge workers, researchers, writers, anyone building a long-term note system
Obsidian stores notes as plain Markdown files on your device — you own your data completely. Graph view shows connections between notes. 1,000+ community plugins extend functionality dramatically. Active development with regular updates. Large community means extensive resources for getting started.
Logseq — Best for Daily Notes and Outlining
Pricing: Free (open-source)
Best for: Daily note-takers, developers, users who prefer outliner-style notes
Logseq’s block-based outliner approach suits people who think in bullet points and hierarchies. Free and open-source. Good bidirectional linking. Slower development pace than Obsidian but solid and actively maintained.
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