Capacities vs Simplenote
A source-aware comparison of pricing, documented capabilities and workflow fit.
Short answer
- Price: not directly comparable — Capacities is free tier available, Simplenote is pricing not verified.
- How to start: Capacities is free tier available, Simplenote is pricing not verified.
- Where they differ: only Simplenote has public api; both offer mobile app.
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. How we score tools.
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 Simplenote is
Simplenote is free, fast, plain-text note taking that syncs everywhere and does nothing else.
Side by side
| Capacities | Simplenote | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity | Productivity |
| How to start | Free tiernot a monthly price | Not verifiednot a monthly price |
| Public API | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Open source / self-hostable | No | not checked |
| SSO (SAML) | No | not checked |
| Visit | Capacities ↗ | Simplenote ↗ |
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 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
Choose Simplenote if
- Anyone who wants a free, plain-text notes app that syncs across iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux and the web
- Writers who want Markdown preview and publishing without a subscription
- People who value simplicity over attachments and rich formatting
Skip Simplenote if
- You need images, attachments or rich text — Simplenote is text only
- You need end-to-end encryption or offline-first local files
- You want a company support contract; it is a free Automattic product
Evidence and freshness
Where a claim on this page comes from a vendor page, it is linked here.
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
Simplenote: pros & cons
- Genuinely free with no tier
- Instant sync and search
- Available on every platform
- Plain text only, no attachments
- No organisation beyond tags
- No collaboration to speak of
Our verdict on Capacities
A genuinely different structure. Try it before committing a large archive.
Our verdict on Simplenote
Does one thing perfectly. Anyone needing structure will outgrow it in a week.