Capacities

Capacities is a note-taking and personal knowledge-management application designed around connected objects rather than traditional files and folders. It allows users to organize information as objects such as people, books, meetings, projects, ideas, and web resources, with each object able to contain properties, links, tags, and other related information. The approach is intended to help users build a connected knowledge base where information can be captured, linked, and retrieved without relying heavily on hierarchical folders.

A central feature of Capacities is its object-based knowledge system. Instead of treating every note as an isolated page, the application gives information a type and structure. A user can create a Book object, for example, and connect it to a Person, Project, Topic, or Meeting. Capacities automatically creates backlinks between connected objects, while graph views help users understand relationships across their knowledge base. Users can also create custom object types and define properties for their own workflows.

Capacities includes Daily Notes, which provide a simple place for capturing information each day. Objects created during the day are connected to the corresponding daily note, allowing users to maintain a chronological record while still building a structured knowledge graph. Users can also send content into their daily notes through integrations such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and email.

The platform provides tools for research and writing. Users can collect articles, web links, highlights, images, PDFs, and other resources and connect them to projects, topics, books, or people. Its research-oriented workflow is designed for users who need to collect information over time and later connect related ideas. Capacities specifically identifies writers, researchers, developers, students, managers, and founders among its users.

Capacities also includes AI features through its Pro plans. The AI Assistant can work with notes and selected content, summarize information, translate text, rewrite content, fill object properties, and support more complex knowledge-work tasks. AI Chat can use notes as context and can propose actions such as creating or updating objects. Capacities currently supports AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, xAI, Mistral, DeepSeek, and Moonshot.

The platform also supports AI Chat Connectors based on the Model Context Protocol. These connectors allow external AI applications such as ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, and Le Chat to interact with a Capacities space. Depending on permissions, connected assistants can search notes, read objects, create objects and tasks, update properties, append information, upload files, and edit blocks. This makes Capacities useful as a structured knowledge source for external AI workflows.

Another major capability is task management. Tasks can remain connected to the notes, projects, meetings, or other objects from which they originated. Pro users can use task actions and integrations with external task-management applications, allowing Capacities to function as both a knowledge base and a personal task-management environment.

Capacities provides calendar integrations for Google Calendar, Microsoft Calendar, Apple Calendar, and CalDAV. These integrations allow users to connect meetings and events with their notes, making it possible to maintain contextual records around appointments and other calendar activities.

The application also supports reading workflows through integrations with Readwise and Kindle. Users can import highlights and notes from their reading material and then connect those highlights to other objects in their knowledge base. Readwise integration is available to Pro users.

Capacities supports offline access across its applications. Users can open, create, and edit content without an internet connection, although AI and integrations require an internet connection. The application is available on the web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, giving users access across desktop and mobile platforms.

Privacy and portability are also emphasized by Capacities. The company states that user data is stored in the European Union and that the service is GDPR compliant. Users can export their information into standard formats including Markdown, CSV, Microsoft Word, HTML, and LaTeX. This export approach is designed to reduce dependence on the platform.

For developers, Capacities provides a public REST API, an OpenAPI specification, a TypeScript SDK, and a remote MCP server. The API provides programmatic access to spaces, objects, properties, block content, and daily notes, while MCP allows developers to build AI agents and other applications that interact with a Capacities space.

Capacities is deliberately designed for individual users rather than teams. The company states that it does not offer team or organizational plans and does not plan to add real-time collaboration. This keeps the product focused on personal knowledge management, research, writing, learning, and individual productivity rather than collaborative project management.

The company behind Capacities is Capacities Labs GmbH, based in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Work on Capacities began in 2020 and the product entered public beta in 2022. The company is bootstrapped and was founded by Steffen Bleher and Michael von Hohnhorst.

Capacities is therefore best understood as a personal knowledge-management and AI productivity platform built around structured objects and relationships. Its combination of object-based notes, backlinks, Daily Notes, AI assistance, research tools, task management, calendar connections, reading integrations, API access, and MCP support makes it suitable for users who want one connected environment for thinking, learning, writing, research, and organizing personal knowledge.

Pricing

Capacities currently offers a free Basic plan, a Pro plan at $9.99/month, and a Believer plan starting at $12.49/month on the current pricing page. Pro includes AI assistance, task management, calendar integrations, smart queries, related content, web and image analysis, version history, Smart Search, unlimited media uploads subject to fair-use rules, formulas, additional extensions, and API access. A free trial of Pro is available directly in the application.

Capacities also offers an optional Plus AI Power-Up for Pro and Believer subscribers. Plus provides a substantially larger monthly AI budget and allows users to purchase additional AI budget top-ups when needed.

Review

Capacities stands out because its knowledge-management system is built around objects and relationships instead of conventional pages and folders. This structure can make it easier to connect people, books, projects, meetings, research, and ideas within one knowledge base.

Its AI capabilities add another layer to the platform. Pro users can use AI for chatting with notes, summarization, rewriting, translation, property autofill, media analysis, and other knowledge-management workflows. Support for multiple AI providers also gives users flexibility in choosing the models used by the application.

The integrations are another strength. Capacities connects with calendars, reading applications, task managers, messaging platforms, Kindle, Raycast, Web Highlights, and external AI applications through MCP. The public REST API and TypeScript SDK also make the platform useful for developers who want to build custom workflows.

There are limitations. Capacities is designed for individuals and does not offer team or organizational plans or real-time collaboration. Users who need a shared workspace for a team may therefore need a different type of productivity platform.

Another consideration is that some advanced functionality requires Pro, including AI, task management, calendar integrations, smart queries, API access, and several research and media features. Heavy AI users may also need the optional Plus AI Power-Up because the standard Pro and Believer plans include a monthly AI budget.

Capacities is particularly suited to personal knowledge management, research, writing, studying, project organization, reading workflows, and connected note-taking. Its support for six platforms, offline access, export options, API, and MCP also makes it flexible for users who want to build a long-term personal knowledge system.