How does the Obsidian Digital Garden plugin compare with Forestry.md?

Updated

The Obsidian Digital Garden plugin and Forestry.md serve the same goal — publishing Obsidian notes to the web — but split along a clear line: the plugin is a free, open source tool you set up and manage yourself, while Forestry.md is a cloud service positioned as a one-click alternative for people who want to avoid technical hassle. Choose the plugin if you're comfortable configuring and hosting your own site; choose Forestry.md if you'd rather not deal with setup at all.

The core difference

Dimension Obsidian Digital Garden plugin Forestry.md
What it is Free and open source publishing tool for Obsidian Cloud service for hosting a digital garden
Setup effort You configure and manage it yourself Described as one-click setup
Cost Free and open source Not stated in the available material
Flexibility Highly configurable and hackable; features can be enabled or disabled per note Positioned around convenience rather than customization
Best for Users willing to handle technical setup Users who want to avoid technical hassle

What the plugin gives you

According to the plugin's own site, it lets you publish notes directly from Obsidian to the internet. Its stated strengths are that it is feature packed, highly configurable, and hackable, and that you can enable or disable features on a per-note basis. That per-note control is what lets it work either as a full digital garden or as a simple note-sharing solution.

The trade-off is implicit in "configurable and hackable": you own the setup. The site itself is powered by the plugin, and community examples listed there include Edav Garden, ajy.co, Teresa Watts, That Other Dev, Hermitage, IceWind.Quest, Craft Engineer, DigiGarden, and notes.ole.dev — useful reference points if you want to see what a self-managed garden can look like before committing.

What Forestry.md offers

Forestry.md is presented as a newly launched cloud service for hosting your digital garden "without any technical hassle," with a one-click setup. The site frames it as the option to check out if you would prefer that. The available material does not state pricing, so treat cost as something to confirm on the service itself rather than assuming it is free.

How to decide

Ask one question first: do you want to run the publishing stack, or just publish?

  • Pick the plugin if you want a free, open source tool, you're comfortable with configuration, and per-note feature control matters to you. Expect to spend time on setup and hosting.
  • Pick Forestry.md if the setup work is the part you want to skip and a one-click hosted option is worth it to you. Confirm current pricing and terms directly, since the source material doesn't cover them.

If you're unsure, start with the plugin's Getting Started and Features pages to gauge how much configuration is involved. If that reads as more work than you want, Forestry.md is the intended shortcut.