Fabric vs. Capacities

Last updated April 2026

Capacities is a note-taking app where you define object types, link them together, and build a personal knowledge graph over time.

Fabric is an AI workspace where everything you save is understood and connected automatically. Both want to be your second brain.

Capacities asks you to architect it. Fabric does the wiring for you. Use Capacities if you enjoy organising things. Use Fabric if you don't want to.

Comparison table

What is Capacities?

Capacities is an object-based note-taking app. Instead of pages in folders, you create typed objects: a person, a book, a meeting, a project. Each type has its own structure and fields.

Objects link to each other bidirectionally, forming a knowledge graph you can browse and query. Daily notes capture ongoing thoughts. The editor is clean and block-based. Calendar integration on Pro turns events into objects automatically. The free tier is generous: unlimited notes, 5GB media storage, offline access. Pro at $9.99/month adds AI, smart queries, tags, tasks, and calendar sync.

The team is small, self-funded, and independent. There are no collaboration features. Capacities is designed for solo thinkers who want to build a structured personal knowledge base.

What is Fabric?

Fabric is an AI workspace that combines file storage, note-taking, search, tasks, collaboration, and publishing.

The Fabric Memory Engine automatically extracts, enriches, and maps relationships between everything you save. Where Capacities asks you to type, tag, and link your notes into a knowledge system, Fabric understands your content and builds the connections for you.

Key differences

Organising vs not having to

Capacities is built around the idea that organising is thinking. You decide what type of object something is. You link it to related objects. You define tags, create queries, and browse your graph. Over time, the structure reveals connections. The act of categorising is part of the process.

Fabric skips that step. You save content. The Memory Engine extracts it, enriches it, indexes it, and maps relationships automatically. You don't decide what type something is. You don't create links. The system understands your content without being told how to categorise it. If you find organising satisfying, Capacities gives you the tools. If you find it tedious, Fabric removes the need.

AI

Capacities has an AI assistant on Pro that can summarise notes, help with research, and analyse your content. It works within your Capacities workspace.

Fabric's AI works across your entire content library, across all file types. It answers questions that span everything you've saved, summarises documents, transcribes audio and video, maps relationships, and takes actions inside the app. Multiple models, included at every tier. Capacities' AI assists your note-taking. Fabric's AI understands your knowledge.

Content types

Capacities handles text objects with embedded images and file attachments. No native video handling, no audio transcription, no PDF extraction, no slide deck indexing. The content model is notes that you type.

Fabric handles everything: PDFs, images, video, audio, documents, slides, spreadsheets, ePubs, links, emails. All automatically extracted, enriched, and searchable. If your knowledge comes from sources beyond what you type, like meeting recordings, saved articles, design files, video references, Fabric covers the full range.

Search

Capacities has text search across objects and smart queries on Pro that filter by type, tag, and date. Fast and useful within a well-structured workspace.

Fabric searches by meaning. Semantic search finds content even when you describe it differently. Visual search finds similar images. Colour search finds assets by palette. In-document search goes to the page, slide, or timestamp. Cross-platform search pulls from Google Drive, Notion, and Dropbox alongside your Fabric library. Capacities finds objects you've structured. Fabric finds content you've saved, structured or not.

Collaboration

Capacities has no collaboration features. It's deliberately single-user. If you work with other people, you use a different tool for that.

Fabric supports real-time co-editing on documents and canvases, pinned annotations on any content type, threaded comments, in-context chat, and shared drives. For anyone who works with others, this is a fundamental difference.

Spatial canvas

Capacities has no spatial canvas.

Fabric's canvas lets you place any content freely for visual thinking and moodboarding, with real-time multiplayer. If you think visually or work in design, research, or creative fields, the canvas is there.

Meeting notes

Capacities doesn't transcribe meetings. Calendar events become objects on Pro, which is useful for linking meeting notes to attendees and projects. But you write the notes yourself.

Fabric does bot-free real-time transcription with AI summaries, action item extraction, and smart meeting notes that combine your notes with the transcript.

Publishing

Capacities lets you publish notes as public pages. No viewing analytics, no password protection beyond Pro.

Fabric lets you publish or share anything with one click. Built-in analytics show who viewed, when, and how long. Password protection. Stakeholder-specific links.

Offline

Capacities works fully offline. Notes sync when you're back online. For people who work on trains, in libraries, or in low-connectivity environments, this matters.

Fabric's desktop app supports local folder sync, but AI and search require connectivity.

The free tier

Capacities has a generous free plan: unlimited notes and objects, 5GB media storage, offline access, core features. It's a real free tier, not a trial.

Fabric has a free tier with limited storage and AI. Both let you start without paying.

When to use each

Use Fabric if you want your content understood and connected without building the system yourself. You work with diverse file types beyond text notes. You need AI across your entire library without credit limits. You want collaboration, publishing with analytics, meeting transcription, semantic search, and a spatial canvas. You'd rather save things and let the system handle the rest.

Use Capacities if you enjoy the process of building a personal knowledge system. You think in typed objects and want to define the structure yourself. You work primarily in text notes with some images. You don't need collaboration. You want a generous free tier and full offline access. And you find that the act of organising is part of how you think, not an obstacle to it.

Why people move from Capacities to Fabric

They had more than text notes. PDFs, meeting recordings, video references, saved articles, design files, slide decks. Capacities handles text objects. Fabric handles everything.

They wanted automatic connections. Linking objects manually works at small scale. As the library grows, the maintenance overhead grows with it. Fabric maps relationships without being told.

They needed collaboration. Capacities is single-user. When work involves other people, there's no path forward inside Capacities. Fabric has the collaboration tools.

They wanted meeting transcription. Capacities turns calendar events into objects. Fabric transcribes the meeting, generates AI summaries, and connects the notes to everything else in your library.

They wanted to find things by meaning. Text search finds words you remember. Semantic search finds ideas you're describing. For a growing library, the difference matters.

FAQs

Does Fabric have object types like Capacities?

Fabric doesn't use typed objects. The Memory Engine understands and connects your content automatically based on what it is, not what you label it. You can use Spaces, folders, and tags for organisation, but the AI-driven relationship mapping doesn't require you to define types first.

Does Fabric work offline?

Fabric's desktop app supports local folder sync. AI and search features require connectivity. Capacities has full offline access. If offline is essential, Capacities handles that.

Is Fabric free?

Fabric has a free tier with limited storage and AI. Capacities' free plan is more generous for notes (unlimited notes and objects, 5GB media), but doesn't include AI, smart queries, tags, or calendar integration.

Does Capacities have collaboration?

No. Capacities is a single-user product. There are no sharing, co-editing, or team features.

Which is better for building a second brain?

Capacities is purpose-built for that concept. Object types, bidirectional links, knowledge graph, daily notes. It's opinionated software designed for solo knowledge management.

Fabric achieves a similar outcome through a different method: automatic content understanding and relationship mapping across all file types, with less manual structure. The question is whether you want to build the brain or have it build itself.

Does Capacities have a spatial canvas?

No. Fabric does.