Capacities vs Roam Research
We give Capacities a 3.4 GPA and Roam Research a 2.8, out of 4.0. Capacities grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Capacities
Object-based note-taking app with daily notes and backlinks
Roam Research
Outliner for networked notes with bidirectional links
How we grade them
| 3.4GPACapacitiesVery good | 2.8GPARoam ResearchGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $9.99 a month billed yearly, above what even the dearer notes apps here start at. And it's where tasks, smart queries, calendar, version history and the API all live. Want AI for regular use? The Plus add-on is another $8.33 a month on top. | C$15 a month, or $165 a year, which works out at $13.75. Note apps typically start around $5.99, so this is the dear end. Two things soften it: collaborators cost nothing extra, and Believer is $500 once for 5 years, about $8.33 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | ABasic is free for good: unlimited spaces, objects and blocks, sync across devices, offline support and full-text search. The only cap is media, 5 GB in total and then 100 MB a month. Most people could stay here. There's a Pro trial too, with no card needed. | CNo free plan. There's a 31-day trial, but only if you've never had a plan, and the listing can't say whether it asks for a card. After that you pay or stop. |
| Features | ATyped objects with their own properties and templates, daily notes, backlinks, a graph view, a web clipper and offline mode. Pro adds tasks, smart queries, calendar and an AI assistant. The gaps are for groups: no team plans, and sharing is view-only. | ATwo-way links, block references, daily notes, and graphs you can host, keep offline or encrypt. A graph can be shared with unlimited collaborators. Then there's Roam Depot for community extensions, plus an official MCP server and command-line tool so Claude or Cursor can read and write your notes. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no App Store rating on record to go by, so a B is as high as we go. Daily notes work as an inbox, so you've got somewhere to put things on day one. Thinking in objects rather than folders is the new bit. | BThere's no rating on record for it, so a B is our ceiling. Writing starts in today's dated daily note, and links from there connect each entry to the rest of your graph. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and a browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox. It hooks into Todoist, Things, Google Calendar, Readwise and Raycast, and takes notes in from WhatsApp, Telegram and email. The API needs Pro. | BWeb, Mac and iPhone, with an API, an MCP server and extensions. The listing has no Android or Windows app. And the local API that the MCP server and CLI rely on only works in the desktop app, not on the web. |
| Best for | notes built around people, books and projects | bullet notes where every line can be linked |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Capacities and Roam Research. How we grade
Where they differ
- Capacities starts at $9.99 per month, billed yearly. Roam Research starts at $15 per month, or $165 per year ($13.75 a month).
- Capacities has a free plan. Roam Research does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Capacities lists Windows, Linux and Android apps.
- Only Capacities lists a browser extension.
- Capacities also covers web clipper.
At a glance
| Capacities | Roam Research | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $9.99 per month, billed yearly | $15 per month, or $165 per year ($13.75 a month) |
| Free plan | Capacities Basic: unlimited spaces, objects and blocks, sync across devices, offline support and full-text search. Media uploads are capped at 5 GB in total, then 100 MB per month. | None |
| Free trial | Free trial of Capacities Pro, started in the app, with no credit card required. | 31-day free trial, available only if you have never had a plan. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Capacities Labs GmbH | Roam Research, Inc. |
| Price read from | capacities.io | frontdeskreview.com (not the vendor's own page) |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Roam Research
- People who work from daily notes and want every block to be linkable
- Researchers who reference and reuse individual blocks across notes
- Groups sharing a graph who do not want to pay per collaborator
Worth knowing
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.
Roam Research
- There is no free plan; after the 31-day trial a paid subscription is required.
- The lowest monthly-equivalent price, the Believer plan, is a single $500 payment covering 5 years.
- The local API used by the official MCP server and CLI works only in the desktop app, not the web version.
Key features
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.
Roam Research
- Bidirectional links and block references
- Pages link to each other in both directions, and individual blocks can be referenced from other notes.
- Daily notes
- Writing starts in a dated daily note, and links from there connect entries to the rest of the graph.
- Hosted, offline and encrypted graphs
- A graph can be hosted in Roam's cloud or kept offline as a local-only graph, and graphs can be encrypted. Paid plans allow unlimited private or public graphs.
- Shared graphs
- Plans include unlimited collaborators with no per-seat charge, and a graph can be edited on mobile and in the web app at the same time.
- Roam Depot extensions
- A marketplace of community-built extensions, which developers submit through GitHub pull requests.
- MCP server, CLI and SDKs
- An official MCP server and command-line tool connect Claude, Cursor and other AI assistants to a graph to read, write, search and query it.
Plans
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.
Roam Research
Pro$15
per month, or $165 per year
Unlimited private or public graphs, unlimited collaborators, and API access and apps.
Believer$500
one payment for 5 years ($8.33 a month)
Everything in Pro, plus first access to new features, community calls with the team and priority support.
Ways to pay less
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.
Roam Research
No public discounts listed.
