Capacities vs Obsidian

Capacities

• People who organize notes around people, books and projects rather than folders
• Daily-note journaling with capture from WhatsApp, Telegram and email
• Individuals who want one notes app across web, desktop and mobile, including Linux

Obsidian

• People who want their notes as plain Markdown files they control
• Building a linked personal knowledge base that works offline
• Users who like to customize an app with plugins and themes

Capacities

• There are no team or organization plans, and sharing is limited to view-only access to notes.
• Task management, the AI assistant, calendar integrations, smart queries, version history and API access all need Pro.
• The free plan caps media uploads at 5 GB in total, then 100 MB per month.
• Capacities is not end-to-end encrypted, as its own documentation states.

Obsidian

• There is no web app; Obsidian runs as desktop and mobile apps only.
• Obsidian Sync is a paid add-on, from $4 per user / month billed annually.
• Sync Standard covers 1 vault with 1 GB of storage and a 5 MB file size limit; larger limits need Sync Plus.
• Publishing notes to the web is billed separately from Sync, at $8 per site / month on annual billing.

Capacities

Object types

Every note is a typed object, such as a person, book or project, with its own properties and templates. Objects can be shown as lists, galleries, tables or cards.

Daily notes

One note per day works as an inbox for quick thoughts. Content can also be sent in from WhatsApp, Telegram or by email.

Links, backlinks and graph view

Links between objects work in both directions. A backlinks panel lists every reference to an object, and a graph view draws the whole network.

AI assistant (Pro)

AI chat, property auto-fill and analysis of web links and images, limited by a monthly budget. The Plus add-on raises that budget.

Smart queries, tasks and calendar (Pro)

Pro adds saved queries, task management with actions for apps such as Todoist and Things, and calendar integration for Google, Microsoft, Apple and CalDAV.

Offline mode and web extension

Offline mode lets you open, create and edit content without a connection. A browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox saves pages to a space.

Obsidian

Local Markdown files

Notes are saved on your device as plain-text Markdown files, so they stay readable in other editors and available offline.

Links and graph view

Notes link to one another, and a graph view draws the relationships between them so related ideas are easier to find.

Canvas

An infinite board for laying out notes, diagrams and research side by side while brainstorming.

Plugins and themes

Thousands of community plugins and themes, built on an open API, change how the app looks and behaves.

Sync (paid add-on)

End-to-end encrypted sync across devices with version history and shared vaults that update in real time for a team.

Publish and Web Clipper

Publish turns notes into a hosted site, priced per site. The Web Clipper extension saves web pages from Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge.

Capacities

• Capacities Basic$0

  Unlimited spaces, objects, blocks and custom object types, with sync and offline support. Media uploads up to 5 GB, then 100 MB per month.

• Capacities Pro$9.99

  per month, billed yearly

  Adds task management, an AI assistant with a monthly budget, calendar integrations, smart queries, version history, API access and unlimited media uploads.

• Capacities BelieverFrom $12.49

  per month, billed yearly

  Everything in Pro, plus beta access to major new features. Positioned as the plan for supporters of the team.

• Plus AI Power-Up (add-on)$8.33

  per month, billed annually, on top of Pro or Believer

  Optional add-on with a substantially larger monthly AI budget and one-time or automatic top-ups.

Obsidian

• Obsidian app$0

  The full app with local Markdown notes, links, graph, canvas, plugins and themes. No account needed.

• Sync Standard$4

  per user / month, billed annually ($5 billed monthly)

  Encrypted sync for 1 vault with 1 GB of storage, a 5 MB maximum file size and 1 month of version history.

• Sync Plus$8

  per user / month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)

  Sync for 10 vaults with 10 GB of storage (upgradable to 100 GB), 200 MB maximum file size and 12 months of version history.

• Publish$8

  per site / month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)

  Publishes selected notes as a website with a custom domain, password protection, graph view and full-text search.

• Catalyst$25

  one-time payment

  Optional supporter license with early access to beta versions, community badges and exclusive channels.

• Commercial$50

  per user / year

  Optional license for organizations that want to support development. It is not required to use Obsidian at work.

Capacities

• Annual discount

  16% lower price with yearly billing

  The pricing page marks yearly billing as 16% cheaper than monthly billing for Pro and Believer. The Plus add-on includes 2 months free when billed annually.

• Education

  40% off annual plans for students

  Students can apply with proof of enrollment for a 40% discount on the annual plan of Capacities Pro or Capacities Believer.

Obsidian

• Annual discount

  20% lower price with annual billing

  Sync is $4 per user / month billed annually versus $5 billed monthly, and Publish is $8 per site versus $10: a 20% saving on each.

• Education

  40% off Sync and Publish for students and faculty

  Students and faculty members of schools and universities can apply for 40% off Obsidian Sync and Publish from their account dashboard, using a school email.

• Nonprofit

  40% off Sync and Publish for nonprofits

  People who run or work at a nonprofit organization can apply for 40% off Obsidian Sync and Publish, using their organization email.