Comparison

BrainTube vs Obsidian

Obsidian is your Markdown vault, on your disk, with plugins. BrainTube is the cloud memory layer that fills itself from media and is queryable from any AI via MCP. Both can be true.

By Ilian Raykov, founder of BrainTube

Quick verdict

Pick Obsidian if local-first file ownership and a deep plugin ecosystem matter most. Pick BrainTube if you want a memory layer that auto-captures media and is queryable from every AI out of the box.

CapabilityBrainTubeObsidian
Local-first Markdown files you ownNoYes
Rich third-party plugin ecosystemNoYes
Backlinks & graph view between notesPartialYes
Cloud-hosted, zero local setupYesPartial
Auto-capture YouTube videos with transcriptsYesNo
Auto-transcribe podcasts & audioYesNo
Native MCP server — query from any AI out of the boxYesNo
Postgres knowledge graph with PageRank retrievalYesNo
FSRS spaced repetition built-inYesPartial

yes · partial · no

What Obsidian is genuinely great at

Obsidian's local-first model — your notes are plain Markdown files on your own disk — is a real, durable advantage. The plugin ecosystem is one of the most active in the space. The backlinks graph is excellent for thinkers who write a lot.

Where BrainTube is built differently

  • Cloud out of the box — no local app, no sync vault, no manual setup.
  • Any-AI MCP query — Claude.ai and Claude Desktop connect via OAuth in one click as a custom connector; Cursor uses a small JSON config. No plugin assembly.
  • Auto-capture from media — YouTube transcripts, podcasts, PDFs, EPUBs, articles, voice memos, screenshots.
  • Knowledge graph + PageRank retrieval and FSRS spaced repetition are native, not plugins to find and maintain.

Different bets, both honest

Obsidian bets on owning your files. BrainTube bets on owning your memory layer — and making sure the AI you work in, Claude first, can read it. See how to give Claude or ChatGPT persistent memory with MCP, or how to connect your Obsidian notes to Claude and ChatGPT.

Pricing

Obsidian's core app is free with no sign-up required, and the company describes itself as 100% user-supported — all figures below verified from obsidian.md/pricing in July 2026.

The paid pieces are optional add-ons, not a licence for the app. Sync is $4 per user per month billed annually, or $5 billed monthly. Publish is $8 per site per month billed annually, or $10 billed monthly — note that Publish is priced per site, not per user. A Catalyst licence is $25 one-time, and a Commercial licence is $50 per user per year. Obsidian's own FAQ is explicit that a commercial licence is encouraged but not required, so treat it as voluntary support rather than a cost of use. Students, faculty and nonprofit staff get 40% off Sync and Publish.

BrainTube has a free tier where saving one item at a time is free, with 50 questions a day to your library, 1,000 MCP searches a month and 30 credits a month for AI extras included, and the MCP connection works identically on every tier including Free.

Frequently asked

Is Obsidian still a great tool?
Yes. Obsidian's local-first ownership of plain Markdown files and its plugin ecosystem are genuine strengths — especially if you want full control of your files on disk.
Can Obsidian connect to Claude or ChatGPT?
Through community plugins and self-assembled API workflows, yes — but it's not turnkey. BrainTube ships an MCP server out of the box, so Claude.ai, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor and other MCP clients connect without plugin glue.
Who should pick Obsidian?
If you want your knowledge as plain Markdown files on your own disk, with an active plugin ecosystem and a strong graph view, Obsidian remains the best in class.
Who should pick BrainTube?
If most of your knowledge comes from media you watch and listen to, and you want any AI to query it without plugin assembly, BrainTube is built for that shape.

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