Obsidian Official Sync Tutorial: Buying Obsidian Sync, Setting It Up, and Syncing Across Devices

Overview

Obsidian's official sync service, Obsidian Sync, is the easiest sync option for most people.

You do not need to configure Git, WebDAV, Syncthing, iCloud, or Nutstore. Sign in with the same Obsidian account, create a remote vault, connect your other devices, and your notes sync across Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, and Linux.

It is a good fit if:

• you are willing to pay for a stable and low-maintenance setup
• you do not want to spend time maintaining sync tools
• you use both desktop and mobile devices
• you want themes, hotkeys, and core plugin settings to sync as well
• you want version history so deleted or changed notes can be restored

If you cannot accept a subscription, or you already know Git, NAS, or WebDAV well, official sync may not be the most cost-effective choice. Its value is that it turns sync from a toolchain you maintain into a built-in Obsidian feature.

For pricing, Sync Standard is $4/month when billed yearly, or $5/month when billed monthly. Sync Plus is $8/month when billed yearly, or $10/month when billed monthly. Standard includes 1 synced vault, 1 GB of storage, a 5 MB maximum file size, and 1 month of version history. Plus includes 10 vaults, 10 GB starting storage, a 200 MB maximum file size, 12 months of version history, and optional expansion up to 100 GB.

Most text-first note users can start with Standard. If your vault is mostly Markdown, images, and a few PDFs, 1 GB is usually enough. Consider Plus when you need to sync multiple vaults, or when you often store videos, large PDFs, audio files, and many original images inside Obsidian.

One reminder: sync is not the same as backup. Obsidian Sync has version history and deleted file recovery, but it is still a sync service. If you delete something on one device, that deletion can sync to other devices. Important notes should still have an extra backup.

Setup

Register Or Sign In To An Obsidian Account

Open Obsidian Settings and find Sync in the left sidebar. If you do not have an Obsidian account, click Register. If you already have one, click Log in.

If Sync does not appear in the left sidebar, open Core plugins and enable Sync. Obsidian Sync is a core plugin, so you do not need to install it from the community plugin marketplace.

If your vault is already inside iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox, or another third-party sync folder, Obsidian will warn you about possible conflicts.

Two sync tools changing the same folder can create duplicate files, older versions overwriting newer ones, or missing attachments. Once you decide to use Obsidian Sync, let Sync manage this vault by itself. Do not layer iCloud, Nutstore, OneDrive, or similar file sync tools on top of it.

Buy A Sync Plan

Purchase page: https://obsidian.md/account/sync

After signing in, open the Sync page and click Buy Sync.

Payment options include card, PayPal, WeChat Pay, and Alipay. For users in China, WeChat Pay or Alipay is usually easier.

For a first purchase, I recommend starting with Standard. It includes unlimited devices and shared vaults. The main limits are 1 vault, 1 GB of storage, a 5 MB file limit, and 1 month of history.

If you later run out of space or need to sync multiple vaults, upgrade to Plus. The main differences are 10 vaults, 10 GB starting storage, a 200 MB file limit, and 12 months of history.

Buying a plan only gives your Obsidian account Sync access. Your current vault will not start syncing until you go back to Obsidian and create a remote vault.

Configure Sync

Return to the Sync page in Obsidian and choose or create a remote vault.

Remote vault here means the cloud location where Obsidian Sync stores this vault. It is not a GitHub repository or a local folder.

If the list is empty, click New remote vault.

Pay attention to these fields:

1. Remote vault name: use your vault name, such as Obsidian Notes
2. Region: choose the nearest region. The screenshot uses Asia
3. Encryption: keep End-to-end encryption enabled so notes are encrypted locally before upload
4. Custom encryption password: save it carefully. It is separate from your Obsidian account password. If you forget it, remote data cannot be decrypted
5. Create: check everything before confirming, because region and encryption mode cannot be changed later

After creating the remote vault, let the first device finish syncing before connecting the second one. The first sync is often slow, especially when your vault contains many images, PDFs, themes, and plugin settings. Wait until it completes. Do not set up other platforms while the first device is still syncing, because mismatched local and remote states can create conflicts that are much harder to clean up later.

Configure Selective Sync

After the remote vault is created, more sync settings will appear.

• Images: recommended
• Audio: enable it if you store recordings or voice notes, otherwise disable it
• Videos: usually disable it. Standard only allows 5 MB per file, and videos exceed that quickly
• PDFs: depends on your use. If you store papers, manuals, and reference PDFs, Standard can fill up quickly
• All other file types: leave this disabled first, then enable it later only when needed

The Excluded folders setting is easy to miss. If your vault has folders for large attachments, temporary files, exports, or video material, exclude them here. Set exclusions before the first full sync when possible, because files already uploaded to the remote vault do not disappear automatically after you disable an option later.

Sync On Other Devices

After the first device finishes syncing, the rest is straightforward:

1. Install Obsidian
2. Sign in with the same account
3. Enable the Sync core plugin
4. Choose the remote vault you just created
5. Enter the encryption password
6. Wait for sync to complete

On a new device, I recommend creating the local vault from Sync in Obsidian's vault switcher. This keeps the local path and remote vault relationship clear, and reduces the chance of merging an existing local vault with a remote one by mistake.

If the device already has a vault with the same name, back it up before connecting Sync. Obsidian may merge local and remote content, which can create conflicts.

Confirm Sync Worked

After sync finishes, Obsidian shows a sync status icon in the bottom-right corner. Open the sync log. If it says everything is fully synced, the device is aligned with the remote vault.

A simple test is more reliable:

1. Create a test note on Mac
2. Wait for the bottom-right sync status to finish
3. Open Obsidian on your phone or Windows device
4. Wait for sync to finish and check whether the test note appears
5. Edit one sentence on the second device, then return to Mac and confirm the change syncs back

This verifies the full loop, including upload, download, conflict handling, and local writing.

FAQ

Can Obsidian Sync Be Used Together With iCloud?

Not for the same vault. You can sync Vault A with iCloud and Vault B with Obsidian Sync, but do not let the same vault be managed by two sync services.

Is The Standard Plan Enough?

For text notes, a few images, and one main vault, Standard is usually enough. Watch the 1 GB storage limit and the 5 MB file size limit. Large PDFs, videos, recordings, and many original images can fill it quickly.

What Happens If I Forget The Encryption Password?

You must save the encryption password yourself. If you forget it, remote data cannot be recovered. Notes on your local device still remain as long as the local vault is still there, so you can create a new remote vault and sync again from the local copy.

Do Plugins And Themes Sync?

Sync can sync themes, CSS snippets, hotkeys, core plugin lists, and some settings. Community plugin sync needs to be enabled separately, and not every plugin handles setting changes the same way. If a theme or plugin does not take effect immediately on a new device, restarting Obsidian often helps.

Who Is Official Sync Best For?

Official sync is the easiest choice if you want one Obsidian vault to work steadily across multiple devices. The tradeoffs are the subscription cost and clear storage limits.

If you like tinkering, want full control over the sync chain, or already need Git version management, Git, Syncthing, or WebDAV may suit you better. The main value of official sync is reducing maintenance so you can focus on the notes themselves.

Related Reading

• Obsidian Git Sync Tutorial: GitHub Backup, Plugin Setup, and Multi-device Pull Workflow
• Obsidian iCloud Sync Tutorial
• Obsidian Syncthing Sync Tutorial
• Obsidian Remotely Save Sync Tutorial