Compare
Baalda vs the rest
Honest, side-by-side comparisons. Where each tool wins, where Baalda wins, and how to move your notes across.
| Capability | Baalda | Obsidian | Notion | Tana | Reflect | Logseq | Anytype | Confluence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real-time multi-user editing | Yes · CRDT, keystroke-level | No · single-user by design | Yes | Yes | Limited · personal, some sharing | No true multi-user real-time | Partial · multiplayer spaces | Yes |
| Notes are plain markdown files on your disk | Yes | Yes | No · proprietary blocks | No · cloud nodes | No · cloud store | Yes · markdown/org | No · own object format | No · cloud pages |
| Local-first (works offline, you own the files) | Yes | Yes | No · cloud database | No | No · cloud, e2e encrypted | Yes | Yes | No |
| Open source | Yes · Apache-2.0 | No · proprietary (free) | No | No | No | Yes · AGPL | Yes | No |
| AI reads & writes your files (MCP) | Yes | Partial · community plugins | No · Notion AI is closed/cloud | No · closed AI | No · closed cloud AI | No | No | No |
| Per-file permissions | Yes | No | Partial · page-level | Partial | No | No | Partial · space-level | Yes · space/page |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Sync is a paid service | No | No | No | Yes (sync via your own storage) | Partial · self-host backend | Data Center (being phased down) |
| Price | Free + Team plan | Free + paid Sync/Publish | Free + per-seat | Free + paid | Paid subscription | Free | Free | Per-seat |
Tap a tool’s name for the full write-up: what it does better, what Baalda does better, and how to move your notes across.
How these are written
Every page says where the other tool wins
A comparison that only flatters its own product is worth nothing to the person reading it, so each page names what the alternative genuinely does better before it makes Baalda's case.
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