The Obsidian alternative that runs in a browser tab

Start with what Obsidian does better

If you are searching for an alternative you have probably already invested in Obsidian, so it is worth being direct about what you would be giving up.

Plain files on disk, by default

An Obsidian vault is just a folder. Every note is a .md file sitting there with no layer in between, which is the cleanest ownership story any notes app has. PenPage's primary store is your browser's local database. It can link a folder on your computer and edit those files in place, but that feature needs a Chromium-based desktop browser, so it is a capability rather than the default.

Linked thought

Wikilinks, backlinks, the graph view, Canvas, unlinked mentions. PenPage has none of it. It organizes notes with folders and full-text search — it is a writing tool, not a knowledge graph. If the graph is why you opened Obsidian in the first place, stop reading here and stay where you are.

Plugins

Dataview, Templater, and hundreds of others. PenPage has a fixed feature set and no plugin API. Whatever it does is what it does.

Where PenPage is the easier answer

There is nothing to install

You open a URL. That matters more than it sounds: a locked-down work laptop where you cannot install software, a borrowed machine, a Chromebook, someone else's desktop, a phone browser — all of these are places Obsidian cannot easily go and a browser tab already is.

No vault decision

Obsidian's first question is where the vault should live, and that answer quietly commits you to an entire sync strategy — iCloud, a Drive folder, a git plugin, each with its own failure modes on mobile. PenPage does not ask. You open it and type, and you decide about sync later or never.

Sync is free and uses something you already have

Obsidian Sync is a paid subscription, and the do-it-yourself routes are where most of the community's sync horror stories come from. PenPage syncs through a folder in your own Google Drive, using the narrow drive.file permission that can only see files the app created. Details are on the Drive sync page.

Publishing does not cost extra

Obsidian Publish is a separate paid add-on. PenPage can put a note on a public page or generate a private share link for one, at no cost, without the note leaving your control until you ask for it.

Encryption is built in

PenPage can encrypt a folder with AES-256-GCM and a key derived from your passphrase, so those notes are unreadable even in the synced copy. Obsidian has no built-in encryption; the usual answers are a community plugin or an encrypted disk image underneath the vault.

Where the two are closer than you would expect

• Local-first is not a slogan in either one. Notes are written and read on your device; no server is in the editing loop.
• Markdown in, Markdown out. No proprietary format, no export ritual to get your content back.
• Offline works. PenPage installs as a PWA and keeps working with no connection.
• The editor is not a toy. Tables, task lists, code blocks with syntax highlighting, KaTeX math and Mermaid diagrams all render as you write.

Feature by feature

So which one

PenPage probably suits you if

• You want the same notes on several devices and would rather not pay a subscription for it.
• You work on machines where you cannot install software.
• You tried Obsidian and spent more evenings configuring it than writing in it.
• You want some notes encrypted without assembling that yourself.
• You write documents — notes, drafts, instructions, specs — rather than building a network of atomic notes.

Stay on Obsidian if

• Your notes are a linked graph and backlinks are how you actually find things.
• You depend on specific plugins, or on Canvas.
• You want files on disk as the single source of truth, on a setup where folder linking is not available.
• You have a vault large enough that browser storage is the wrong tool for it.

Moving notes across

Because a vault is a folder of Markdown files, getting the content over is mechanical rather than a migration project. On a Chromium desktop browser you can link the vault folder directly and edit the same files in place; otherwise import the Markdown files.

Two things will not survive the move. [[Wikilinks]] are not converted and will show up as literal text, and attachments referenced by relative path need re-adding. Try it on a copy of your vault, never the vault itself, and keep the original until you are sure.

Frequently asked questions

Try it before you decide

There is no account and no install, so evaluating it costs one browser tab. Keep your vault where it is while you do.