Comparison
nTilia or Obsidian: which one for your field notes?
The short answer
Obsidian is an excellent local, extensible Markdown editor built for a personal knowledge base. nTilia is an offline notes app built for field work: Missions, on-device transcription, Travel Mode and a citable journal, with no plugins to assemble. For a second brain at your desk, choose Obsidian; to capture on assignment and then publish, choose nTilia.
nTilia and Obsidian, side by side
| Criterion | nTilia | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| PriceTie | Free; Pro at $14/mo | Free, including for work; Sync from $4/mo (billed yearly) |
| PlatformsObsidian’s edge | Web and installable app (PWA) on phone and computer; no native app | Native apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android |
| OfflineTie | Capture, dictation and editing without a network | Everything works offline |
| FilesObsidian’s edge | Markdown stored in the app; ZIP export per Mission, .md import | A folder of Markdown files right on your disk |
| OrganizationObsidian’s edge | Missions (one folder per trip), [[note]] links within a Mission | Links across all notes, graph view, Canvas |
| Audio and transcriptionnTilia’s edge | Audio inside the note; on-device Whisper transcription (Pro), audio is not uploaded | Built-in audio recorder; transcription through community plugins, local or via an API depending on the plugin |
| AInTilia’s edge | Built in, only when you ask, with a Before / After review; 40 credits a week on Free | No built-in AI; available through plugins |
| Security on the phonenTilia’s edge | Encrypted vault (AES-256-GCM), device-only notes that never sync, Travel Mode (Pro) | Plain files in the vault; encryption is left to the OS |
| SyncObsidian’s edge | Included (25 articles a month on Free); not end-to-end, so the published journal stays readable; “device” notes never synced | Obsidian Sync (paid), end-to-end encrypted, or a third-party service |
| PublishingnTilia’s edge | Built-in bilingual FR/EN public journal, indexed from Pro, custom domain on Pro+ | Obsidian Publish, from $8/mo per site (billed yearly) |
| Academic citationnTilia’s edge | Cite block (APA, BibTeX, RIS, JATS), ORCID co-authors, one-click Zenodo DOI (Pro) | Zotero citations through plugins; no built-in DOI |
| ExtensionsObsidian’s edge | No plugins | Thousands of community plugins |
Choose nTilia if…
- you take notes on assignment or in the field, often without a network;
- your interview audio must not go to the cloud;
- you cross borders or checkpoints with your phone;
- you want to publish a bilingual, citable journal without assembling plugins.
Choose Obsidian if…
- you are building a personal knowledge base, with links and a graph;
- you want your Markdown files directly on your disk;
- you like shaping your tool with plugins;
- you mostly work on a computer, with a native app.
Two philosophies
Obsidian is a general-purpose tool: a folder of Markdown files, links between notes, and thousands of plugins to make it whatever you need. Its strength is freedom; its cost is the time spent configuring.
nTilia makes the opposite choice: a path already laid out, from the note taken on site to the published article. Fewer settings, fewer extensions, but the field features are there from the first launch.
In the field
Both apps work without a network. nTilia adds what an assignment needs with no setup: one Mission per trip, photo and audio inside the note, optional place and GPS, and Whisper transcription that runs on the phone.
In Obsidian you can get close with plugins. But depending on the transcription plugin, audio is processed locally or sent to an API (OpenAI, Groq…): check plugin by plugin when your sources are sensitive.
Security: each has its strength
For synced data, Obsidian Sync wins: it is end-to-end encrypted. nTilia’s sync is private, but nTilia can technically read what is synced.
On the phone itself, nTilia protects more: an encrypted vault, device-only notes that never leave the phone, and Travel Mode, which removes sensitive notes before a checkpoint after handing a copy to a safe recipient. And if you are forced to reopen the app, the notebook only comes back after 24 hours, unless the safe recipient approves.
Publishing and being cited
Obsidian Publish turns a vault into a website, with a subscription per site. nTilia includes a bilingual public journal: one URL per language, a Cite block (APA, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS, JATS), co-authors with ORCID and, from Pro, a Zenodo deposit that mints a DOI.
Using both
Both speak Markdown. You can capture in the field with nTilia, export the Mission as a ZIP of .md files, then file it in your Obsidian vault. The other way round, nTilia imports .md files.
Frequently asked questions
Is nTilia an alternative to Obsidian?
Yes for field note-taking and publishing: offline use, on-device transcription, Travel Mode, a citable journal. No if you want an extensible knowledge base with a graph and plugins: Obsidian remains better at that.
Can I use nTilia and Obsidian together?
Yes. Both use Markdown: export an nTilia Mission as a ZIP of .md files and open them in Obsidian, or import your .md files into nTilia.
Is Obsidian free?
Yes, the app is free, including for work. Sync costs $4 a month billed yearly ($5 monthly) and Publish $8 a month per site billed yearly ($10 monthly).
Which one better protects sensitive sources?
It depends on the threat. Against a search of your phone, nTilia offers an encrypted vault and Travel Mode. For synced notes nobody else must be able to read, end-to-end encrypted Obsidian Sync is stronger.
Sources, checked on
Free · No credit card · Works offline