· · Daniel A
An Obsidian Alternative Without the Vault Setup
If Obsidian feels like more configuration than writing, here is the cloud·first alternative that just works.
Most people who try Obsidian do not stop using it because of a feature it lacks. They stop using it because of the time tax.
The Obsidian time tax
- Pick where to put your vault (and second·guess that choice for weeks)
- Decide on a folder structure (and reorganize it three times)
- Install plugins (and update them when they break)
- Pick a theme (and tweak the CSS)
- Figure out sync (see the previous post)
- Set up mobile (and watch plugins behave differently)
None of that is writing notes. It is yak·shaving disguised as productivity.
What "no vault setup" actually means
An Obsidian alternative without the vault setup looks like this:
- Sign up. Notes are available everywhere immediately·no folder picking.
- No plugins to install. Search, encryption, sync, offline·all built in.
- No themes to choose. A single, opinionated layout that works.
- Same privacy: zero·knowledge encryption so the host cannot read your data.
What you give up
Honesty matters here. You lose:
- The graph view (cool to look at, rarely useful daily)
- Wikilinks and backlinks (search replaces them for most workflows)
- Plugins (the entire point of zero·setup is no plugins)
- Plain·text files on disk (your notes live in encrypted blobs in the cloud)
If those losses hurt, stay with Obsidian. If they sound like a relief, keep reading.
What you get
SimplyBoard is the closest thing to "Obsidian with sync sorted, plugins removed, and setup deleted." It is free. It is encrypted by default. It is fast. And the time you used to spend configuring is time you can spend writing.
That trade·off makes sense for most people. Not all·but most.
