Ever feel like your thoughts are a tangled mess?
Trying to organize ideas can be a real headache.
You jot things down, but they end up scattered across different apps and notebooks.
Finding what you need becomes a hunt.
Let’s dive into Capacities vs Obsidian.
We’ll compare these two powerful brainstorming tools to see which one might be your perfect match.
Overview
We’ve spent weeks testing both Capacities and Obsidian.
We explored their features, built knowledge bases, and pushed their limits.
This hands-on experience allows us to provide a practical comparison, not just a theoretical one.
Capacities is a rising star, with over 100,000 users discovering its unique approach.
Pricing: It has a free plan. The premium plan starts at $23/month.
Key Features:
- Object-Based Organization
- Graph View
- Content Linking
Join over 1 million users who’ve transformed their note-taking! Start today!
Pricing: It has a free plan. The premium plan starts at $4/month.
Key Features:
- Local Markdown files.
- Graph view.
- Extensive plugin ecosystem.
What is Capacities?
Capacities? It’s all about connecting your ideas.
Think of it as a personal knowledge graph.
It helps you see how everything links together. It’s a fresh take on organization.
Key Benefits
- Networked Note-Taking: Creates a web of interconnected thoughts and notes.
- AI Assistant: Dynamically interacts with your notes to answer questions and spark ideas.
- Contextual Backlinks: Provides rich contextual information for linked notes.
- Custom Object Types: Create your categories for organizing information.
- Cross-Platform Availability: Access your notes on all major devices, including offline mode.
Pricing
- Basic: Get started, basic features.
- Pro: $9.99/month
- Beliver: $12.49/month
Pros
Cons
What is Obsidian?
Obsidian is a powerful note-taking app. It uses Markdown.
You create a network of notes. It’s your knowledge base.
Our Take
Transform your note-taking. Harness the power of interconnected ideas with Obsidian. Join over 100,000 users who are building their digital “second brain.” Start your knowledge journey today, for free.
Key Benefits
- Your notes are stored locally.
- You can connect your notes together.
- The graph view shows these connections.
- It’s highly customizable with many plugins.
Pricing
- Sync: $ 4 USD per user, per month, billed annually.
- Publish: $ 8 USD per user, per month, billed annually.
Pros
Cons
Feature Comparison
Let’s break down the key features of Obsidian and Capacities.
We’ll look at how they stack up, so you can decide which fits your needs best.
1. Note Taking
Both Obsidian and Capacities excel at note-taking.
However, Obsidian focuses on plain text markdown files, giving you full control.
Capacities, on the other hand, structure your notes around “objects” like people, projects, and ideas.
This object-based approach adds an extra layer of organization but might feel less flexible for some users.
2. Backlinks
Backlinks are a core strength of both tools.
Obsidian visually shows how your notes connect.
Capacities also uses backlinks, but it integrates them with its object system, making connections more context-aware.
If you love seeing how ideas link together, you’ll appreciate both tools.
3. Folders and Tags
Folders are a classic way to organize files.
Obsidian relies heavily on folders and tags.
This gives users a familiar way to manage their notes.
Capacities leans more on tags and its object system, minimizing the need for complex folder structures.
If you prefer a tag-centric approach, Capacities might be your go-to.
4. Offline Functionality
Offline access is crucial for many users.
Both Obsidian and Capacities work offline. Obsidian stores your files locally, ensuring you can work anywhere.
Capacities also provide offline capabilities but require initial syncing.
If you need reliable offline access, both are solid choices.
5. Dataview Plugin
The dataview plugin is a powerful feature in Obsidian.
It lets you query and display information from your notes in dynamic tables and lists.
Capacities don’t have a direct equivalent.
If you need advanced data querying, Obsidian with the data view plugin is a strong contender.
6. Workflow Customization
Workflow is where these apps differ.
Obsidian is highly customizable, with a vast library of community plugins.
This lets you tailor your workflow to your exact needs.
Capacities offer a more opinionated workflow centered around its object system.
If you want maximum customization, Obsidian wins.
If you prefer a structured approach, Capacities is worth considering.
7. Object-Based System
Capacities uses an object-based system.
This means it treats your notes as interconnected objects, like people, projects, and resources.
This approach helps you see relationships between your notes.
Obsidian relies on a more traditional file-based system.
If you like the idea of organizing your knowledge around objects, Capacities might suit you well.
What to Look For When Choosing a Brainstorming Tool?
- Platform and Access: The tool must provide seamless access across all your devices. Look for a robust mobile app (ios app), a desktop app, and a functional web app. Check if it is a true competitor to notion and supports other note taking apps. Look for features like dark mode, source code access, and a free version or trial for a single month before committing to the full product and its new features.
- AI Features and Assistance: The tool should be a note taking application with strong ai features. Look for a powerful assistant right there to act as your ai assistant and developer in generating new ideas. This enables you to create amazing things.
- Idea Visualization and Flow: Seek a studio for your mind—an artist’s studio with mind map functionality to visualize structured content. The tool should help you log and write your thoughts, seeing the hidden connections between multiple notes and turning them into amazing things.
- Capture and Organization: The app needs quick capture features, like a share sheet save content function, to save new content from web pages and other apps. It must support markdown notes, and offer organization tools like folders, a calendar, and the ability to view daily notes and tasks. You can even use it as a personal knowledge base and a second brain.
- Search and Navigation: A powerful search find is key, allowing you to search and quickly find information, even across your whole account. This powerful search should also help you respond to complex queries. You should be able to manage your page and notes easily.
Final Verdict
We choose Obsidian AI because its approach to personal knowledge management is superior.
The core strength lies in its AI-powered plugins like Smart Connections, which can run local models directly on your local machine learning setup.
This allows you to chat with your entire Obsidian vault and vault notes privately.
You can ask AI questions and get context-aware answers within the chat mode.
It uses language models to connect atomic notes, not just keywords, helping you discover hidden connections and enabling generating structured content.
This is far better than simply using an external ai chatbot like chat gpt or summarizing youtube videos with a basic plug ins feature.
The plugins overview showed tools like date magic for adding metadata and maintaining an organized conversation history within your obsidian notes.
More of Capacities
- Capacities vs Notion: Capacities uses objects and links to connect ideas in a visual way. Notion is like a big workspace for notes, projects, and databases.
- Capacities vs Anytype: Both help you link ideas. Capacities has a more visual, block-based look, while Anytype keeps your info private on your computer.
- Capacities vs Craft: Capacities focuses on connecting ideas through objects. Craft makes your notes look really good and lets you link them inside documents.
- Capacities vs ClickUp: Capacities helps you see connections between notes. ClickUp is mostly for managing tasks, but it also has notes you can link to your work.
- Capacities vs Coda: Capacities uses objects and links to build your knowledge. Coda lets you make documents that act like apps with tables and charts.
- Capacities vs XTiles: Both help you connect your notes and keep your info private. Capacities has a visual, block-based way of linking things.
- Capacities vs AFFiNE pro: Capacities uses objects and links to connect your thoughts. AFFiNE pro tries to be like Notion and Obsidian, letting you see connections, too.
- Capacities vs Obsidian: Capacities connect ideas with objects and links in a visual way. Obsidian uses plain text files and shows connections between your notes like a map.
More of Obsidian
Let’s see how Obsidian stacks up against these other note-taking and knowledge management apps:
- Obsidian vs Notion: Obsidian keeps your notes as local text files and focuses on linking them together. Notion is a cloud-based workspace for notes, projects, and databases.
- Obsidian vs ClickUp: Obsidian is for your personal knowledge base with linked notes. ClickUp is mainly for teams to manage projects with note-taking features.
- Obsidian vs Anytype: Both Obsidian and Anytype keep your info private on your computer and let you link your thoughts. Anytype uses a different way to structure info with objects.
- Obsidian vs Coda: Obsidian uses linked text files to build your knowledge. Coda lets you make documents that act like apps with tables and buttons.
- Obsidian vs XTiles: Both Obsidian and XTiles focus on keeping your notes private and letting you connect them. Obsidian uses plain text files and has many extra tools you can add.
- Obsidian vs Capacities: Obsidian uses linked text files to show how your ideas connect. Capacities uses a more visual way with objects and links to build your knowledge graph.
- Obsidian vs Craft: Obsidian uses simple text files to create linked notes. Craft focuses on making nice-looking documents that you can also link.
- Obsidian vs AFFiNE pro: Both Obsidian and AFFiNE pro let you keep your notes local and link them. AFFiNE pro also lets you edit in blocks like Notion and has a whiteboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Obsidian or Capacities better for beginners?
Capacities might be easier for beginners. Its object-based system offers a structured approach. Obsidian, while powerful, has a steeper learning curve due to its customization options and plugin system. If you prefer a guided experience, Capacities is a good starting point.
Can I use Obsidian and Capacities offline?
Yes, both Obsidian and Capacities offer offline functionality. Obsidian stores files locally, ensuring access anywhere. Capacities also allow offline use but require initial syncing. Both are reliable for working without the Internet.
Does Capacities have a plugin system like Obsidian?
No, Capacities does not have a plugin system like Obsidian. Obsidian boasts a vast library of community plugins, enabling extensive customization. Capacities focus on its built-in object system, offering a more streamlined, less customizable experience.
Which tool is better for managing large amounts of data?
Obsidian, especially with the dataview plugin, is excellent for managing large datasets. Its ability to query and display information in dynamic tables makes it powerful. Capacities are more suited for interconnected ideas, not necessarily massive data sets.
How do Obsidian and Capacities handle backlinks?
Both Obsidian and Capacities use backlinks to connect notes. Obsidian visually displays connections, focusing on linked markdown files. Capacities integrate backlinks within its object system, adding contextual links between objects. Both enhance note connectivity but in slightly different ways.
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