Bear vs Capacities

What Bear is

Bear is a Markdown note app for Apple devices with tag-based organisation and a focus on writing. Tags replace folders, so structure emerges from writing rather than being decided up front, and export to Markdown, HTML or PDF is clean. It is Apple-only, which rules it out the moment part of your work happens on Windows or Android.

What Capacities is

Capacities organises notes as typed objects — people, books, ideas — rather than as files in folders. Typing objects means a book, a person and a meeting behave differently and can be queried as sets, which is closer to a database than a notebook. The cost is up-front modelling, and it is hosted, so local-first users will look elsewhere.

What Bear is built to do

Tag-based organisation

Files notes by inline tags instead of a fixed folder tree.

Markdown editing

Writes in Markdown with formatting rendered in place.

Apple-ecosystem sync

Syncs notes across Mac, iPhone and iPad through iCloud.

What Capacities is built to do

Typed objects

Models notes as people, books or ideas with their own properties.

Daily notes

Captures into a dated page that links out to objects.

Object-based search

Filters and lists notes by type and property.

Choose Bear if

• Apple users who want a beautiful Markdown notes app with tags and wiki links
• Writers who need iCloud sync across Mac, iPhone and iPad for $2.99/month or $29.99/year
• People who want to try before paying — 7-day trial

Skip Bear if

• You need sync for free: the free tier is local-only with 3 themes and no PDF/image search
• You use Windows, Android or the web — Bear is Apple only
• You need collaboration or shared notebooks

Choose Capacities if

• Note takers who want object-based notes with unlimited objects free and 5 GB of media
• Users who want tasks, calendar integration and AI for $9.99/month
• People who like supporting an indie team: Believer from $12.49/month yearly with beta access

Skip Capacities if

• You upload lots of media on Free — after 5 GB total it is 100 MB a month
• You need task management or API access without paying
• You want a plain Markdown-file vault like Obsidian

Bear: pros & cons

• Beautiful, distraction-free writing
• Tag organisation instead of folders
• Fast and native
• Apple platforms only
• Sync requires the subscription
• Limited collaboration

Capacities: pros & cons

• Object model suits linked knowledge
• Attractive, calm interface
• Daily notes as an entry point
• Object thinking takes adjustment
• Younger than the incumbents
• Offline and export options are limited