Comparison

Capacities vs AFFiNE

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Capacities

This app allows you to collect, connect, and reflect on your notes and ideas. Access your existing content, quickly capture new information, and discover connections between your thoughts. An integrated AI assistant is available for enhanced productivity.

Highlights
  • Daily notes for planning and reflection
  • Powerful search functionality
  • Quick capture of photos and content
  • Share sheet integration
  • AI assistant for note-taking
  • Browse and read notes
  • Explore connections between notes
Features
Read full description

The Capacities Mobile App for iPhone and iPad is your note-taking companion when you're on the go. Access all your notes, quickly save important info, and create new content. If you're stuck, ask our integrated AI assistant (Capacities Pro). As the mobile version of Capacities, it is adapted to mobile workflows and works great together with the desktop app. KEY FEATURES DAILY NOTES Plan your day, write down ideas, and reflect. POWERFUL SEARCH Find what you are looking for in seconds. QUICK CAPTURE Quickly add photos, use the camera, or create new content. SHARE SHEET Save content from other apps to Capacities. AI ASSISTANT A powerful assistant right and your pocket and linked to your notes. BROWSE AND READ Browse through all your notes and let them inspire you. EXPLORE CONNECTIONS Find hidden connections and supercharge your creative thinking. LEARN MORE HERE Website: capacities.io Contact: team@capacities.io Discord: https://discord.gg/3eBP9YxHgQ Twitter: @CapacitiesHQ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqpKLWf9hmmh07z9U1cNIg Reddit: reddit.com/r/capacitiesapp/ Terms and conditions: https://capacities.io/terms-and-conditions Privacy policy: https://capacities.io/privacy-policy

About

AFFiNE

This app combines an infinite whiteboard with notes, documents, and tasks, enhanced by AI. Effortlessly convert visual ideas into text and manage all your projects in one unified workspace. It's designed for visual thinkers and teams to streamline workflows and organize information effectively.

Highlights
  • Infinite whiteboard for visual brainstorming
  • Convert sketches to organized notes/documents
  • All-in-one project, task, and document management
  • AI assistance for writing, summarizing, and answering
  • Real-time collaboration on docs and whiteboards
  • Cross-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

AFFiNE is an open-source, local-first workspace for notes, docs, whiteboards, tasks, knowledge bases, Markdown, and AI. Built in public and trusted by a global open-source community with around 70K GitHub stars and more than 7 million downloads, AFFiNE gives you one place to write, draw, plan, organize knowledge, and keep control of your work. Whether you're capturing personal ideas, organizing class notes, planning a project with a team, building a second brain, or mapping a complex workflow, AFFiNE helps you move from scattered thoughts to structured work without switching between separate note, whiteboard, and task apps. WHY AFFiNE? OPEN-SOURCE AND LOCAL-FIRST AFFiNE started as an open-source project and continues to focus on transparent, user-owned knowledge work. - Work with a product built around openness and data control - Use local-first workflows for personal knowledge and project planning - Choose AFFiNE Cloud or self-hosted workflows for your workspace - Keep Markdown and portability at the center of your writing system NOTES & DOCS Write everything from quick notes to long-form documents. - Capture ideas, journals, meeting notes, class notes, and project plans - Structure information with flexible blocks and connected pages - Use Markdown for clear, portable writing - Turn rough thoughts into organized documents with AI WHITEBOARDS & VISUAL THINKING Switch from structured documents to an infinite canvas whenever ideas need space. - Create mind maps, diagrams, visual notes, and brainstorming boards - Plan product ideas, research flows, study maps, or team workflows - Connect visual thinking with written notes instead of keeping them in separate tools TASKS & PROJECTS Bring planning and execution into the same workspace. - Track to-dos, project notes, decisions, and next steps - Keep tasks close to the documents and whiteboards that explain the work - Organize personal workflows, student projects, creator work, and team planning AI FOR KNOWLEDGE WORK Use AI to help you write, summarize, and structure ideas. - Draft notes and documents faster - Summarize messy information into clearer outlines - Turn brainstorming into structured next steps - Use AI inside the workspace where your context already lives FOR PERSONAL USE AFFiNE works for notes, journals, study planning, research, reading lists, personal knowledge management, and second-brain workflows. FOR TEAMS AND SELF-HOSTED WORKFLOWS Use AFFiNE for shared project knowledge, planning, docs, visual collaboration, and self-hosted workspace needs. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES Keep working across iPhone, iPad, desktop, and web. Start with a thought on mobile, expand it on a canvas, and turn it into organized knowledge when you're back at your desk. AFFiNE is for people who want the flexibility of documents, the freedom of a whiteboard, the structure of tasks, and the trust of open-source software in one workspace. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Capacities4 screens
AFFiNE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Capacities at none against AFFiNE's shown. Capacities also leads on review sentiment (58% vs 42%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Capacities sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and AFFiNE sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Capacities against 4.3 for AFFiNE. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 116 and 36 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 58% of Capacities's written reviews are positive against 42% of AFFiNE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Capacities ships an update weekly, AFFiNE every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Capacities versus AFFiNE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCapacitiesAFFiNE
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (116 ratings) — better4.3 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews58.3% of reviews — better42.3% of reviews
Number of ratings116 — better36
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.5
Further details — not scored
Size990 MB239 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCapacities Labs GmbHToEverything

Customer experience

Capacities

All ratings116 ratings
Positive77.6%
Neutral11.2%
Negative11.2%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive58.3%
Neutral22.2%
Negative19.4%

AFFiNE

All ratings32 ratings
Positive81.3%
Neutral15.6%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive42.3%
Neutral30.8%
Negative26.9%

Bugs and requests

Capacities

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App freezes on splash screen (iPhone 7, iOS 15)
  • Login and password reset failures
  • Tagging on iPad causes app lockup
  • Toggle not clickable with Magic Keyboard on iPad
  • Task checkbox not working with Magic Keyboard
Show 10 more
  • Text pasting causes freezing
  • Audio upload crashes app
  • Audio doesn't play on iOS
  • Cover image properties not displaying
  • Linking text to objects broken on desktop
  • Emoji skin tones cannot be changed
  • App requires frequent restarts
  • Sync issues between devices
  • Display glitches and UI inconsistencies
  • Erratic editing and syncing behavior

Requested features

18 requests
  • iPad app support
  • Create custom object types on mobile
  • Turn Into function on mobile devices
  • System-level notifications for tasks and due dates
  • Footnotes support
Show 13 more
  • Image storage without gallery saving
  • Font hierarchy preservation with indentation
  • Multi-block selection on mobile
  • Audio note support
  • Template auto-generation with dates
  • Import/export tools
  • Student discount pricing
  • Tiered pricing options
  • Right-to-left language support
  • Font size customization for accessibility
  • Web extension iOS compatibility
  • Better text selection on mobile
  • Split screen functionality on iPad

AFFiNE

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Capacities

Subscriptions2
  • Capacities Pro$17.991 Month
  • Capacities Pro$199.001 Year
3 purchases

AFFiNE

Subscriptions3
  • AFFiNE Pro Monthly$7.991 Month
  • AFFiNE Pro Yearly$81.001 Year
  • AFFiNE AI Yearly$106.991 Year

Questions

Is Capacities free?
Capacities is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AFFiNE free?
AFFiNE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Capacities or AFFiNE?
Capacities is rated higher. Capacities averages 4.3 out of 5 from 116 ratings, while AFFiNE averages 4.3 from 36 ratings.
Do Capacities or AFFiNE have ads?
AFFiNE shows ads; Capacities does not.
Which is updated more often, Capacities or AFFiNE?
Capacities ships an update weekly, and AFFiNE every 3 weeks. Most recently, Capacities was updated on November 3, 2026 and AFFiNE on November 4, 2026.

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