Switching from one app to a better alternative isn’t always smooth sailing. There’s a whole new interface and layout to get used to and features you’re used to are missing. And this couldn’t be truer for the Notion-to-Obsidian pipeline. Most people make the switch because they want more data ownership, better offline functionality, or more customization. This is all well and good, but if you’ve been using Notion for years, switching to Obsidian can be a bit of a shock because they look and work completely differently.

Notion is sleek and modern-looking, and I’ll admit, more intuitive. It’s the most beginner-friendly option out of the two. Obsidian is very text-heavy; some might consider this to be easier, but I’m not always keen on it. Then there are also the core features you’re missing out on, such as databases. In an attempt to make Obsidian more Notion-like, I installed a couple of plugins to see what I could whip up.

Why build a Notion alternative with Obsidian plugins?

It can make the switch easier

I haven’t used Notion in quite a while, so Obsidian has definitely been getting more love from me this year. I’ve already gotten used to its layout, features, and little quirks. But I got curious about what Obsidian would be like if it were built more like Notion. And there are many practical reasons to do this, too - it can make the switch easier for newbies, it can give you more functionality, and some customization can give you a better user experience.

Obsidian’s plugin ecosystem is what makes this possible. It probably has everything you could think of - task management, kanban boards, you name it. You can extend and mold Obsidian to fit whatever workflow you want, including one that resembles Notion. Here are some of my favorite plugins that I’ve been using for this purpose so far…

Minimal Theme Settings

Precise control over Obsidian’s appearance

The Minimal Theme Settings plugin was the first I installed in my attempt to make Obsidian more Notion-like. Notion does have a sleeker appearance, whereas Obsidian’s default state can feel a little clunky, so customizing it might improve navigation for you. While you won’t be able to get the full Notion look with this plugin, it does give you a long list of controls to fine-tune Obsidian’s theme.

There are the light mode and dark mode color schemes and contrast settings, which include Ayu, Nord, macOS, Flexoki, and more. Then there are the feature toggles that let you control what you actually want to be visible in the app, such as text labels, heading colors, workspace borders, underlines, and so on. None of this is Notion-specific, but you’ve got all the necessary adjustments to make Obsidian look more like your Notion setup.

For creating dashboards

One thing almost everyone uses Notion for is creating dashboards, which usually have a custom banner. This is where the Pixel Banner plugin comes in. It’s exactly what it sounds like - it lets you create customized banners for your Obsidian pages, and it’s the only plugin I’ve found that comes closest to getting you that Notion look. It actually gives you more customization over your banner and icon than Notion does, such as fades, positioning, and rounded corners. I created a new page to serve as my dashboard here.

Once you have your image and icon, you can actually create widgets to flesh out this page and make it resemble a proper Notion dashboard. You don’t need plugins for this; all you need to do is create some code blocks using queries and add them to this dashboard page. Check out this Obsidian documentation for how to do that. You can stack and arrange your blocks, make them collapsible, and give them custom colors, too.

Bases

For managing your files in database fashion

Databases are perhaps what Notion is most popular for, and lots of other PKM apps try to replicate it, but you likely won’t find anything that works the exact same way as Notion’s databases functions. For the longest time, the Dataview plugin was touted as Obsidian’s version of databases, but the setup is completely different from Notion’s, and it’s quite complicated to navigate.

Enter Bases. A relatively new Core Obsidian plugin that simplifies databases. It gives you a full overview of your entire Obsidian vault, along with two view options - table and cards. This is pretty neat, but its power is in the filtering options - this is what makes it a database. It uses a rules system where you can set up specific conditions for your files. For example:

All of the following are true: Where [file] [has tag] [perplexity]

The above setup will give me a view of all my files that have the Perplexity tag. And I can create groups for all of my rules so I don’t have to set them up from scratch every time. You can also select which properties display on each entry, so here on my cards, I’ve got Created Time and File Links. Furthermore, Bases now supports relations and rollup capabilities with the Link.asFile() function.

Making Obsidian feel more familiar

Building a Notion alternative using Obsidian plugins ended up being easier and more practical than I expected. There are still some obvious distinctions between the two, but if you love the sleek vibe and dashboard and database capabilities of Notion, you don’t have to give it up if you’re switching to Obsidian. All it takes is a handful of plugins.

Obsidian