A simplified summary of our licenses andterms.
Last updated March24,2024
Summary
Free for personal and non-profituse
Obsidian is free for personal and non-profit use. However, if you use Obsidian for work-related activities that generate revenue in an organization with two or more people, you must purchase a commercial license for each user. Government departments and agencies are considered commercial use. Non-profit organizations do not require a commerciallicense.
To support our development, you can optionally purchase a Catalyst license. This one-time payment gives you early access to beta versions of Obsidian.
Your personal information is notrequired
Downloading Obsidian does not require an account, and we do not collect your personal information. You only need an account for payments or add-on services, and you can permanently delete your account at any time.
Your data islocal
Your data is saved locally on your device and is not sent to ourserver. If you use Obsidian Publish or Obsidian Sync, we handle your data only as needed for those services. Publish data is hosted on our servers. Sync data is encrypted and inaccessible to our staff. Learn more about our approach to privacy andsecurity.
Your content isyours
You retain ownership of all content you create in Obsidian. We do not claim any rights toit.
We own and reserve rights to our content, including text, images, and code in the app, which is protected by copyright and otherlaws.
You agree to our terms and privacy policy by usingObsidian
By using Obsidian, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Please read and understand these documents, as they outline the terms of our relationship, including licensing, fees, security, privacy, liability, and disputeresolution.
License types
You must have a license to use Obsidian, though some users may use a free license. If you aren’t sure which license you need, see our licensing FAQhere.
Personal use and other free licensetypes
Unless you require a Commercial Use License, you can download and use Obsidian for free, forever, under one of our free licensetypes:
- Personal Use License, for personal use
- De Minimis Commercial Use License, for sole-proprietorships and single-person organizations
- Not for Profit License, for registered charitable and not-for-profit organizations
Each allows you to download and use Obsidian without creating anaccount.
Commercial use license
Commercial Use Licenses are required whenever Obsidian is being used for work for an organization with two or more employees. Government departments and agencies are considered commercial use. Sole proprietorships or other one-person organizations do not require a Commercial Use License. Work for educational purposes does not require a Commercial UseLicense.
Commercial Use Licenses must be purchased on an annual and per user basis. Commercial users must purchase at least as many licenses as the number of people who will be usingObsidian.
You may use Obsidian commercially for free for 14 days to evaluate the app beforepurchase.
Catalyst license
Catalyst Licenses are special licenses that can be purchased on top of all other license types. Catalyst Licenses offer additional benefits including early access to insiderbuilds.
