Remotely Save vs LiveSync: The Head-to-Header for Obsidian Syncing 2026

Remotely Save and Self-Hosted LiveSync are popular, free community plugins for Obsidian synchronization, offering different approaches. Remotely Save is easier to set up, using cloud storage (Dropbox, S3, OneDrive) to sync files, while Self-Hosted LiveSync offers real-time, block-level synchronization with sophisticated conflict resolution, ideal for simultaneous editing on multiple devices.

Let’s be real for a second. If you use Obsidian, you have probably spent at least one frustrated evening trying to figure out how to get your notes from your laptop to your phone without paying for the official sync.

I have been there. You try iCloud (it breaks), you try Git (too much clicking), and you eventually land on two giants in the community plugin space: Remotely Save and Self-hosted LiveSync.

But which one actually works better in 2026? I dug through GitHub stats, forum rants, and setup guides so you don’t have to. Here is the honest, data-backed verdict.

The Short Verdict (If You Are In A Hurry)

Choose Remotely Save if: You want to use existing cloud storage (OneDrive, Google Drive, S3) and you don’t mind clicking a button to sync manually or waiting 5 minutes for an auto-sync.
Choose LiveSync if: You are a “prosumer” who owns a NAS or a server, and you want that magical “millisecond” real-time sync where text appears on your phone as you type on your PC .

What is Remotely Save? (The “Cloud Storage” Buddy)

Remotely Save is essentially a bridge. It takes your local Obsidian vault and syncs it with a file provider. It supports almost everything: Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, WebDAV, and even S3 compatible buckets like Backblaze B2 .

The vibe: It is set-it-and-forget-it, but with a slight delay. It does not require you to run a server.

What is Obsidian LiveSync? (The “Real-time” Engine)

LiveSync is a beast of a different color. It uses a database called CouchDB running on your own server (or a Raspberry Pi) to sync only the changes you make to a file, not the whole file .

The vibe: Professional, instant, but scary to set up. If you have ever used Google Docs and seen someone else type live, that is what LiveSync does for your Markdown files .

Head-to-Head Data: The Numbers Don’t Lie

I pulled the raw data from LibHunt and GitHub to see where the community actually stands. The numbers tell a clear story about popularity and maintenance.

Feature	Remotely Save	Obsidian LiveSync
GitHub Stars	6,747	10,634
Frequent Contributors	42	65
Last Update (Activity)	~1 year ago (Slower)	4 days ago (Very Active)
License	GPL v3.0 (Strict)	MIT (Permissive)
Community Rating	9.5 / 10	9.6 / 10
Primary Language	TypeScript	TypeScript

Data sourced from LibHunt comparison data .

What this data means: LiveSync is currently the more “loved” project in terms of active development. The fact that it was updated 4 days ago (vs over a year for Remotely Save) suggests the developer is squashing bugs constantly . However, Remotely Save is “done” — it doesn’t need constant updates because it just relies on standard cloud APIs.

The User Experience: Real Talk from Forums

Remotely Save: “It just works… eventually”

I read through a thread on Hacker News where a user summed up the pain of cloud sync perfectly. They mentioned they used iCloud previously, but it left their notes in a “weird state—sometimes overwritten, missing, etc.” .

Since switching to Remotely Save with Backblaze B2 (S3 compatible), they reported: “No issues since then.” .

However, the trade-off is speed. Because Remotely Save works on a “polling” system (checking for changes every few minutes or on save), it isn’t instant.

LiveSync: “Milliseconds. It blew my mind.”

On the Chinese Obsidian forums, a user described setting up LiveSync on their Synology NAS. They were blown away by the performance: “It achieves millisecond-level automatic synchronization. You can write notes on your computer, and the text will pop up on your phone simultaneously.” .

Another user confirmed the background performance: “Even if you clear the app from memory, synchronization starts within 500 milliseconds of opening the software again.” .

But here is the catch. Another frustrated user admitted: “I was about to give up on Obsidian because my Android phone simply couldn’t open the LiveSync plugin… I tinkered for a long time.” .

The Brutal Reality: Setup Difficulty

This is where these two plugins separate into different leagues.

Setting up Remotely Save (Easy Mode)

You install the plugin. You pick “WebDAV” or “OneDrive.” You log in. You are done.
One user noted: “The biggest hurdle is just making sure you don’t double-sync if you already have a desktop client running.” .

Setting up LiveSync (Hard Mode)

To get LiveSync working, you need to become a sysadmin for an afternoon. Based on the 2026 guides, here is what you have to do :

Set up Docker on your NAS or VPS.
Deploy a CouchDB container using a docker-compose.yml file.
Configure CORS settings in the database (editing local.ini).
Set up reverse proxy and SSL certificates (if accessing remotely).
Install the plugin on Obsidian and point it to your database IP.

As one user put it: “It’s strange there are no tutorials on Bilibili for this”. It requires technical grit .

The “Conflict” Problem

One huge differentiator is how they handle merge conflicts (when you edit the same file on your phone and PC while offline).

LiveSync: Because it is a database (CouchDB), it has native Version Management. It can automatically merge changes and rarely loses data. It has a visual conflict resolver .
Remotely Save: If two devices upload different versions of the same file, Remotely Save uses a “smart conflict” strategy, but ultimately, it relies on the cloud provider’s logic. It is safer than basic iCloud, but not as elegant as a database .

The 2026 Update: New Players (Decentralized)

While researching, I stumbled across a new option called Obsidian Decentralized. It uses Peer-to-Peer WebRTC to sync directly between your devices without a server or cloud storage .

It is version 2.0 as of Jan 2026 and handles conflict resolution by creating duplicate files . This might be the “Goldilocks” solution for privacy fans who don’t want to manage a database, but it is too new to beat the reliability of the two giants yet.

Final Verdict: Which one for YOU?

Pick Remotely Save if:

You are not a developer.
You already pay for OneDrive/Google Drive/ Dropbox.
You can tolerate a 30-second to 5-minute delay in sync.
You just want to press “Install” and move on with your life.
Best for: Students and writers who just need a backup.

Pick LiveSync if:

You own a NAS (Synology/QNAP) or a home server.
You need real-time sync (e.g., meeting notes on your phone while looking at your PC).
You want end-to-end encryption and full version history .
You don’t mind following a 30-minute Docker tutorial.
Best for: Tech enthusiasts, developers, and privacy absolutists.

My take: I used Remotely Save for a year. It was fine. But once I finally set up LiveSync on my Raspberry Pi? I can never go back. Watching the text sync live feels like magic. But if you don’t have a server, don’t bother trying to set one up just for this—stick to Remotely Save. It is still a 9.5/10 tool.