Lab Report

Capacities: Build an Object-Based Knowledge System

A studio for your mind. Structure your knowledge as typed objects, not flat files, and let natural linking surface connections you would otherwise miss.

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Verdict

Capacities is the best free option for individuals who want structured, interconnected knowledge without the configuration overhead of Notion or the freeform chaos of plain markdown. If you are a researcher, writer, or founder who thinks in terms of people, projects, and ideas rather than folders and files, this tool will feel immediately natural. The trade-off: no collaboration features and limited customization mean teams and power-tweakers should look elsewhere.

Pricing

Capacities offers a generous free tier. Paid plans (Believer and Pro) add media storage, AI features, and advanced object types.

Free Forever

$0/month

✓ No credit card required
✓ Full export anytime
✓ Core object types
✓ Backlinks and daily notes

Believer

~$9/month

✓ Everything in Free
✓ Increased media storage
✓ Custom object types
✓ Early access to new features

Pro

~$19/month

✓ Everything in Believer
✓ AI-powered features
✓ Expanded storage
✓ Priority support

Note: Paid tier pricing is approximate based on available information. Check the site for current rates.

Key Features

🔗

Link Anything to Anything

Create bidirectional connections between any objects. A person links to meetings, projects, and notes without manual upkeep.

↩️

Automatic Backlinks

Every connection is surfaced automatically. When you mention an object, it shows up in that object's backlinks panel without extra effort.

📅

Daily Notes

Capture thoughts quickly in a daily journal that automatically links to relevant objects. Low friction entry point for any idea.

🧩

Typed Objects

People, books, meetings, projects, and ideas are distinct object types with their own properties. Not just pages with different titles.

🎯

Opinionated Design

No endless customization rabbit holes. The app makes sensible decisions so you spend time thinking, not configuring databases.

🔒

GDPR Compliant

European-based, privacy-first architecture. Full data export available at any time, even on the free plan.

Who Should Use This

Researchers and Students

Track sources, people, concepts, and arguments as distinct objects. When writing a paper, pull up a concept and see every note that references it.

Writers and Content Creators

Build a personal wiki of ideas, drafts, and references. The object model prevents ideas from getting buried in folder hierarchies.

Founders and Managers

Link people to meetings, meetings to decisions, decisions to projects. One click on a person shows every interaction and context.

Developers

Document architecture decisions, link them to the people who made them and the projects they affect. Better than scattered markdown files.

Limitations

No collaboration. This is a single-player tool. If your workflow requires shared editing or team spaces, Capacities cannot help you today. Notion or Obsidian with shared vaults are better fits for teams.
Limited customization. The opinionated design is a feature for some and a constraint for others. You cannot build complex formulas, rollups, or custom views the way you can in Notion. Power users who want full control will feel boxed in.
No integrations ecosystem. There is no public API or native integrations list. Getting data in from other tools requires manual effort or workarounds. Compare this to Obsidian's plugin ecosystem or Notion's API.
Smaller community. Fewer templates, guides, and third-party resources compared to Notion or Obsidian. You are somewhat on your own when building complex workflows.

Ready to try object-based thinking?

Free tier is genuinely usable. No credit card, full export.