An XDA writer spent a week using Obsidian as the vault and Google Keep as the phone-side capture layer, and the takeaway was blunt: the mobile app for the vault is not the right tool for jotting a two-word thought in a supermarket queue. Obsidian on Android works, but it takes several taps to reach a blank note, and the widget story is thin. We tested 7 mobile apps that live in front of Obsidian, catch the fleeting notes, and hand them off to the vault later.
What to look for in a mobile capture app
The whole point of a capture app is to lower the friction between having a thought and writing it down. A few things matter more than others.
- A one-tap widget on the home screen or lock screen
- Voice capture that transcribes on-device or through a fast cloud pipeline
- Something we can point at the same folder Obsidian uses, or a way to export .md files
- Offline-first, because the useful captures happen on the subway
- Search inside the app so we can find a note before we move it to Obsidian
- No forced sign-up for a “cloud plan” we did not want
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Platforms | Free plan | Starting price/mo | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | The vault itself | Android, iOS, desktop | Yes, personal | 12/user for Sync add-on | 4.5 (Play Store) |
| Google Keep | Fastest capture with widgets | Android, iOS, web | Yes | Free | 4.6 (Play Store) |
| Markor | Editing .md files directly on device | Android | Yes, full | Free | 4.6 (F-Droid) |
| FolderSync | Bridging phone folders to any cloud | Android | Yes, ad-supported | 4.99 one-time | 4.4 (Play Store) |
| Simplenote | Plain-text notes across devices | Android, iOS, desktop | Yes, full | Free | 4.4 (Play Store) |
| Fleeting Notes | Purpose-built Obsidian capture | Android, iOS, web | Yes, limited | 4 | 4.3 (Play Store) |
| iA Writer | Long-form drafting in Markdown | Android, iOS, desktop | 7-day trial | 4.99 one-time | 4.3 (Play Store) |
1. Obsidian, the vault the others feed
Obsidian on Android opens the same vault our desktop uses, provided the vault sits in a cloud folder or a Sync subscription is active. Community plugins largely work on mobile. The reason it lands in position one rather than position seven is that all the other apps here need somewhere to send the notes, and this is that somewhere.
Where it falls short: the New Note widget is small and does not accept text directly, and the app takes three taps from an empty screen to a writable note.
Pricing:
- Free: personal use, unlimited vaults, all community plugins
- Paid: 12 for Sync, 20 for Publish, 60 for a Catalyst license
Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux
Download: Google Play | Obsidian.md
Bottom line: the destination for everything the other apps capture. Set it up once and leave it alone.
2. Google Keep, best for fastest raw capture
Google Keep wins the widget war. There is a one-tap text widget, a voice widget that starts recording the moment we tap it, a photo widget, and a list widget, all resizable. Voice notes are transcribed automatically, which means we get a searchable transcript plus the audio. Later, we can copy the transcript into Obsidian by hand or use a Google Takeout export.
Where it falls short: no direct export to a folder Obsidian can read, so the handoff is manual or scripted. There is also no Markdown formatting.
Pricing:
- Free: full functionality, tied to a Google account
- Paid: none
Platforms: Android, iOS, web, ChromeOS
Download: Google Play | App Store
Bottom line: the best capture side. Use Keep to jot, use Obsidian to build. Move the good bits over once a week.
3. Markor, best for editing .md files right on device
Markor is a small open-source Markdown editor that reads and writes .md files in whatever folder we point it at. Point it at the Obsidian vault directory, and captures land straight in the vault. Wikilinks, checkboxes, and headings render correctly. It also has a solid widget for one-tap new-file capture.
Where it falls short: no cross-device sync of its own, we depend on Syncthing, Google Drive, or Obsidian Sync for that.
Pricing:
- Free: fully featured, open source, GPL
- Paid: none
Platforms: Android
Download: Google Play | F-Droid
Bottom line: the closest thing to writing “into Obsidian” from a widget without opening Obsidian.
4. FolderSync, best for bridging folders to any cloud
FolderSync does one job: keep a phone folder in sync with a cloud folder, both directions. Point it at the Obsidian vault path and a remote (Dropbox, Google Drive, WebDAV, S3, Syncthing), and captures made in any other app can find their way to the vault.
Where it falls short: setup is fiddly and the interface is dense. Also, Android’s SAF permissions make picking the vault folder a two-minute exercise.
Pricing:
- Free: ad-supported, up to two accounts
- Paid: 4.99 one-time for Pro (no ads, unlimited accounts, tasker integration)
Platforms: Android
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: the plumbing layer. Not glamorous, but the reason our other capture apps end up inside Obsidian.
5. Simplenote, best for plain-text everywhere
Simplenote by Automattic is exactly what it says: plain text notes that sync across every platform through a free account. Notes are searchable, taggable, and export as .txt or .md. It handles the middle ground where Keep feels too locked-in and Obsidian mobile feels too heavy.
Where it falls short: no folder structure, only tags. And there is no widget for one-tap new note on Android.
Pricing:
- Free: unlimited notes, all platforms
- Paid: none, it is fully free
Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, web
Download: Google Play | F-Droid
Bottom line: pick Simplenote if the requirement is plain-text everywhere and one bulk export a week is fine.
6. Fleeting Notes, best because it was built for this
Fleeting Notes was built by someone with an Obsidian vault and no patience for manual copy-paste. It captures a note, tags it, and syncs it directly into a specified folder in the vault through a companion Obsidian plugin. Voice notes, source links, and quick tagging are the main features.
Where it falls short: the free tier limits sync volume and premium features. And it lives in a fairly small ecosystem, if the developer steps away the pipeline stops.
Pricing:
- Free: light use, capped notes per sync
- Paid: about 4 for Premium (unlimited sync, voice transcription, priority support)
Platforms: Android, iOS, web
Download: Google Play | App Store
Bottom line: the tool for anyone who wants capture-to-vault to Just Work without wiring up FolderSync themselves.
7. iA Writer, best for long-form drafting
iA Writer is the app to reach for when a capture turns into a draft. It writes clean Markdown, has one of the best mobile editing interfaces we tested, and can save files directly to the Obsidian vault directory. Focus mode dims everything except the current sentence.
Where it falls short: no widget, and the one-time price is higher than the plain-text competitors.
Pricing:
- Free: 7-day trial
- Paid: 4.99 one-time (Android), same on iOS
Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Download: Google Play | App Store
Bottom line: not a capture tool, a drafting tool. Use it for the notes that graduate from “fleeting” to “actually a thing.”
How to pick the right one
- If the requirement is a widget-first capture and we do not mind manual triage: Google Keep.
- If the requirement is capture that lands directly in the vault folder: Markor or Fleeting Notes.
- If we already have a preferred capture app but no sync: FolderSync.
- If we want plain text with tags and no Google account: Simplenote.
- If we want to draft the note, not just jot it: iA Writer.
Obsidian mobile itself is the vault, not the capture layer. Trying to make it the capture layer is why so many people bounce off it.
FAQ
Can I open Obsidian vaults directly from Google Keep?
No. Keep exports to Google Takeout or via the API, not to a filesystem folder. Most people copy the transcript by hand once a week, or set up a small script.
What is the fastest way to capture a voice note into Obsidian?
Google Keep’s voice widget is the fastest we have found. It records, transcribes, and saves the audio, all in one tap. Fleeting Notes handles voice too and skips the manual copy step.
Do I need Obsidian Sync to make this work?
No. Any cloud folder (Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud through a shortcut) or Syncthing works. Sync is more convenient and it is end-to-end encrypted, but it is not required.
Which of these apps work offline?
Markor, Simplenote, Obsidian, and iA Writer all work fully offline. Google Keep works offline for text, voice needs a network connection for the transcript.
Is there a single app that replaces this whole stack?
Not really. Obsidian handles the vault well and other apps handle capture well, but no single app does both without compromising one side of the workflow.
