paperdown vs Obsidian
Obsidian is your vault. paperdown is the export.
paperdown
Themes designed for the artifact, not inherited from your reading environment.
Obsidian
PDF inherits your in-app theme — colors and fonts you tuned for daily reading.
Use Obsidian if…
- You write notes daily and want a vault
- You value note-linking and graph view
- You want plugins and customization for your reading environment
- The PDF is just an occasional export, not the main artifact
Use paperdown if…
- You want a polished PDF to share with someone outside your vault
- You don't want your private theme on a public document
- You want a focused PDF tool, not a note-taking app
- You only need to convert markdown when you need to send it
Try paperdown — free, no signup
Or see what's included on the pricing page.