After switching to Obsidian, I discovered their sync service would add another $60 to my already bloated subscription budget. So I found a completely free way to sync across all my devices.
Why I Needed Free Note Syncing
I switched to Obsidian after Notion’s sync issues corrupted my files. Yes, Obsidian has a learning curve, but it’s entirely free—unlimited notes, plugins, themes, graph view, everything. Plus, your files are plain markdown stored locally, so you actually own your data.
The challenge was syncing my notes across my phone and computer. Obsidian Sync costs $4–$5 a month, totaling $48–$60 per year, just to keep my files synced across devices. While Obsidian Sync might work well for some people, the cost feels hard to justify if you’re already juggling several other subscriptions like I am.
That said, I still needed my work notes accessible, whether I was at my desk or on my phone when at a doctor’s appointment. By pairing Google Drive on your computer with the Autosync app on your Android device, you can sync your Obsidian notes across devices for free. It takes a little setup, but this offers seamless note syncing without a recurring cost.
How I Sync My Obsidian Notes on My PC and Phone
You can use your Google Drive account to sync Obsidian notes between your PC and Android phone. On your computer, Google Drive makes a standard folder that any app can use. Just put your Obsidian vault there, and Google Drive will keep it in sync with the cloud.
On Android, you need to pair the Google Drive app with an automatic sync app like AutoSync for Google Drive to enable seamless local file syncing.
Android apps can’t directly access Google Drive streaming files—they need local copies to work properly. This is why we need AutoSync to create a local mirror of your Google Drive vault folder on your device.
This method requires more initial setup than Obsidian Sync’s one-click solution, but once configured, it has worked flawlessly for three months now.
Before moving any files, make a complete backup of your existing Obsidian vault. Also, if you’re currently using another sync method like Dropbox or OneDrive for the same vault, turn it off first. Running multiple sync services on the same folder can create duplicate file issues.
Set Up Obsidian On Google Drive for PC
Start by installing Google Drive for desktop if you don’t already have it. Then sign in with your account, and it’ll appear in File Explorer on Windows or Finder on Mac.
Once installed, open the Google Drive menu by clicking the icon in your system tray. Then, click the Gear icon and go to Preferences.
Under the Google Drive section, find Folders from Drive and look for My Drive syncing options, then select Mirror files. This setting stores a complete local copy of your files while keeping them synced with the cloud. Stream mode can work, but Mirror mode helps avoid connection issues that can be frustrating when Obsidian attempts frequent saves.
To set up your vault, open your mirrored Google Drive folder on your computer—by default, this is usually found at C:Users[YourName]My Drive on Windows or /Users/[YourName]/My Drive on Mac.
If you migrated from the older Google Backup and Sync, the folder might be C:Users[YourName]Google Drive instead.
If you already have an existing vault, move its entire folder into this Google Drive folder (you can create a subfolder like Obsidian for organization). Wait for Google Drive to finish syncing all your files; you can check the sync status in the Drive app. Most importantly, ensure the syncing is finished before setting up Obsidian sync on your phone.
Set Up Obsidian Vault Sync on Android
On your Android phone, install Autosync for Google Drive by MetaCtrl from the Google Play Store. The free version works, though it includes ads and limits you to syncing a few folders.
The free version limits file uploads to 10MB per file. Consider the paid version if you have large attachments, PDFs, or images in your vault. The paid version removes ads and allows unlimited folder pairs for a small one-time fee.
Open Autosync and connect it to your Google account. Grant the permissions it needs to access your GDrive files.
Next up, tap Choose what to sync and then tap Create a test folder pair. This will create two folders named DriveSyncFiles, one on your Google Drive storage and another on your local storage.
Next, open the Synced folder tab and set the sync method to Two-way so changes on either device sync to the other. Enable Sync and turn on Autosync if you want automatic background syncing.
In the folder pair settings (not the main app settings), enable the syncing of hidden files, including the .obsidian folder, which contains your settings, themes, and plugins.
Copy the Obsidian Vault to the DriveSyncFiles Folder
Open Google Drive and check if the DriveSyncFiles folder exists, and it should. If yes, move or copy the existing Obsidian vault to the DriveSyncFiles folder. You can do this from your phone or PC, but make sure to keep a backup of the vault before attempting to move it.
In the AutoSync app, tap the Sync icon (top right corner) to run a manual sync to download your vault for the first time. This initial sync might take a few minutes, depending on your vault size. Make sure that all your notes appear in the local folder before proceeding.
Open Obsidian on your phone, then tap Open folder as vault. Navigate to the DriveSyncFiles folder and tap Use this folder. Grant any permissions Obsidian requests. Your vault opens with all your notes, settings, and plugins intact.
Finally, on your PC, click the vault name in the bottom left corner, and choose Manage vaults. Click Open folder as vault, then navigate to your vault folder (now in DriveSyncFiles) inside the Google Drive path and select it.
Obsidian will now work with local files while Drive handles the syncing automatically. Any note you create, edit, or delete syncs to Google Drive near instantly.
This Method Is Not Without Its Caveats
Like most free solutions, this method has some drawbacks. But, you won’t ever have to deal with them if you keep the tips below in mind:
- Only edit notes on one device at a time. Sync before switching devices—either manually trigger sync in AutoSync or wait for the automatic sync to trigger.
- Set Autosync to Sync only on WiFi if you have limited mobile data. A text-heavy vault uses minimal data, but if you store images or PDFs, the bandwidth can add up. You can also exclude large files or specific folders from syncing if needed.
- Consider setting up automatic backups separately from your sync solution. While Google Drive keeps some version history, a dedicated backup ensures you can recover from accidental deletions or sync problems.
This setup replaces Obsidian’s paid sync. It works reliably, syncs everywhere, and you control your data. However, unlike Obsidian Sync, which provides end-to-end encryption by default, your notes on Google Drive/OneDrive/Dropbox are not E2E encrypted—these providers can technically access your files. If privacy is critical, consider that trade-off.
