Fleece AI Brain vs Obsidian: keep your vault, add a brain
Obsidian made local-first Markdown notes beloved. Fleece AI Brain uses the exact same plain .md format — then adds the connectors, AI access and team layer Obsidian was never built to be. They can even open the same files. Here is the comparison.
Fleece AI Brain is the strongest Obsidian alternative for people who love their vault but need AI and a team around it. Obsidian is a superb personal Markdown app whose AI, work connectors and team access are DIY plugins or absent. The Brain reads the same plain .md files, adds 20 connectors, serves any MCP app, and maps every agent and its cost — while your vault stays local.
A personal vault. Now a shared, AI-ready brain.
Obsidian is one of the finest things to happen to note-taking: a fast, local-first Markdown editor with a graph view and a huge community plugin ecosystem, built first and foremost for one person thinking on their own machine. That focus is its strength — and its ceiling. Sync and publish are paid add-ons; AI, connectors to your work tools, team access control and any view of what your AI agents cost are things you assemble from plugins, or simply go without.
Fleece AI Brain starts from the same conviction Obsidian taught everyone — your knowledge belongs in plain files on your own disk — and extends it to teams and AI. The vault is the same Markdown plus a SQLite index, 100% Obsidian-compatible, so both apps can literally open the same folder. On top of that the Brain ships 20 built-in connectors (Slack, Gmail, Drive, GitHub, Jira, Notion and more), each a single OAuth sign-in that syncs provider straight to your device, and it exposes the whole graph to Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, Zed and your own agents over the Model Context Protocol.
So this is not a migration story, it is an addition. Point the Brain at your existing vault, keep editing in Obsidian if you like, and let the Brain be the connected, AI-facing, team-shareable layer on top — with an organization map and per-agent cost tracking Obsidian has no reason to offer.
Fleece AI Brain vs Obsidian at a glance
The short version: Obsidian is a personal local-first notes app; the Brain is the same plain-Markdown vault made connected, AI-native and team-ready.
| Criterion | Fleece AI Brain | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| Core model | Local-first knowledge graph for teams and AI apps | Local-first Markdown notes for one person |
| File format | Plain .md + SQLite — 100% Obsidian-compatible | Plain .md — the format the Brain also uses |
| Where knowledge lives | Your disk, plus optional E2E-encrypted sync | Your disk (sync is a paid add-on) |
| Work connectors | 20 built-in (Slack, Gmail, Drive, GitHub, Jira…) | DIY via community plugins, or none |
| AI app access | Any MCP app (Claude, Cursor, agents) — one copy-paste | DIY via plugins; no native MCP layer |
| Team access | Shared company brain, roles, SSO, audit (Teams) | Built for a single vault owner |
| AI org & cost visibility | Org map + per-agent cost tracking (Teams) | No equivalent |
| Search | Meaning + exact words (hybrid), locally | Exact words locally; semantic via plugins |
| Lock-in | None — open files, leave anytime | None — open files (shared value) |
| Best for | A team's connected, AI-ready shared memory | Personal notes and plugin tinkering |
Choose Fleece AI Brain if…
- +You love your Obsidian vault and want to keep it — the Brain reads the same plain .md files, so you add capability without leaving the format.
- +You want Claude, Cursor and your own agents answering from that vault over MCP, instead of wiring AI together from community plugins.
- +Your work knowledge lives in Slack, Gmail, Drive, GitHub and Jira, and you want it synced into the same graph by 20 built-in connectors.
- +A team needs to share one brain with roles, SSO and an audit log — not pass a single-owner vault around.
- +You need to see your AI organization: which agents exist, what they touch, and what each one costs.
Where Obsidian still shines
- ·Your notes are purely personal and solo — a private vault with no team or AI requirement is exactly what Obsidian was built for.
- ·You genuinely enjoy tinkering with the plugin ecosystem and tailoring every corner of the editor yourself.
- ·You need none of the connectors, AI access or cost visibility today — and if that changes, the Brain opens the very same vault when you are ready.
You don't have to migrate — point it at your vault
Because the Brain uses the same plain Markdown, there is nothing to convert. Start the 14-day trial (no card), open your existing Obsidian vault in the Brain, sign in to the tools you use, and connect Claude or Cursor over MCP. Keep editing in Obsidian whenever you prefer — both apps share the same files on disk. If it is ever not for you, your vault is untouched, exactly where it always was.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fleece AI Brain a good alternative to Obsidian?+
Yes — it is the strongest alternative for Obsidian users who need AI, work connectors and team access. It uses the same plain Markdown vault, so you keep everything you love about Obsidian and add 20 connectors, MCP-native AI, a shared brain and per-agent cost tracking.
Can I use my existing Obsidian vault?+
Yes. The Brain is 100% Obsidian-compatible: your vault is plain .md files plus a SQLite index, so you simply point the Brain at the same folder. There is no import step and no conversion — both apps can open the same files.
Can I keep using Obsidian alongside the Brain?+
Absolutely. Many people edit in Obsidian and let the Brain be the connected, AI-facing layer on top. Since both read the same Markdown files on your disk, you are never forced to choose one — the vault is shared.
What does the Brain add that Obsidian doesn't have?+
Three things Obsidian was never built for: 20 built-in work connectors that sync provider to device, native access for any MCP app like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline and Zed, and a team layer with a shared brain, SSO, audit log and an organization map that tracks per-agent cost.
Does my data stay private and local?+
Yes — the same way it does in Obsidian. Your vault is ordinary files on your machines, connectors sync content directly from each provider to your device, and nothing transits Fleece's servers. Optional cloud sync is end-to-end encrypted, and we can't read your data.
Can my whole team share an Obsidian-style vault?+
That is exactly the gap the Brain fills. Obsidian is built around a single vault owner; the Teams plan turns the same Markdown vault into a shared company brain with role-based access, SSO, an audit log and the AI organization map.
Do I lose the plugin ecosystem?+
You keep it. Because the vault is standard Obsidian-compatible Markdown, you can still open it in Obsidian and use your plugins there, while the Brain handles connectors, AI access and team sharing that live outside the plugin model.
How does pricing work?+
Fleece AI Brain is flat and simple: Solo at €12/month with up to 3 connected tools, Pro at €24/month with unlimited connectors and auto-sync, Teams at €49 per user/month with the org map, cost tracking, SSO and audit. You can try any of it for 14 days, no card required.
Keep the vault you love. Give it a brain.
Open your existing Obsidian vault in Fleece AI Brain, connect your tools, and let every AI app read the same files. 14-day trial, no card required.