Google Sheets vs Obsidian Bases

Google Sheets

By Google Workspace

Read and write data in Google Sheets spreadsheets directly from your AI assistant.

Obsidian Bases

By Steph Ango (Kepano / Obsidian)

Create database views over your Obsidian notes to track projects, tasks, and reading lists.

Google Sheets

• Reads data from any Google Sheets spreadsheet you have access to
• Writes new rows or updates existing cells in your spreadsheets
• Creates brand new spreadsheets from scratch
• Appends data to the end of a sheet automatically
• Retrieves spreadsheet metadata and structure

Obsidian Bases

• Creates table, card, list, or map views of your notes based on filters you set
• Lets you group and sort notes by any property (status, date, tags, folders)
• Calculates fields automatically like days until deadline or price totals
• Shows summaries like averages, sums, and counts across your filtered notes
• Works with your existing Obsidian notes without changing how you write them

Reach for Google Sheets when…

• You need to pull data from a Google Sheet to analyze or summarize
• You want to log information to a spreadsheet without manual copy-paste
• You're generating a report and need to create a new Sheet with formatted data
• You need to track tasks, budgets, or metrics in real-time

Reach for Obsidian Bases when…

• You're managing projects or tasks in Obsidian and want a cleaner view than scattered notes
• You need to track reading lists, book notes, or research with custom filters and groupings
• You want to see calculated info like "days overdue" or "total budget" without manual updates
• You're organizing lots of notes and need different views (table vs cards) for different contexts