Bear
Capacities
| Feature | Bear | Capacities |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $2.99/mo | Free / from $9.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | apple-users, writers, students, developers | knowledge-workers, researchers, students, networkers |
| Founded | 2016 | 2021 |
| Markdown | ✓ | ✗ |
| Nested Tags | ✓ | ✗ |
| Themes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Export Options | ✓ | ✗ |
| Focus Mode | ✓ | ✗ |
| Apple Watch | ✓ | ✗ |
| Object Types | ✗ | ✓ |
| Daily Notes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bi Directional Links | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tags | ✗ | ✓ |
| Media Embedding | ✗ | ✓ |
| Graph View | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Bear Pros
- Beautiful design
- Markdown support
- Nested tags
- Fast search
✗ Bear Cons
- Apple only
- No collaboration
- Limited free features
✓ Capacities Pros
- Unique object-based approach
- Daily notes with automatic linking
- Beautiful and intuitive interface
- Bi-directional linking built in
✗ Capacities Cons
- No mobile app yet (web only)
- Limited export options
- No API for integrations
The Verdict
Bear is built for apple users and writers, with a focus on markdown and nested-tags. Capacities targets knowledge workers and researchers and leads with object-types and daily-notes.
On pricing, Bear is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $2.99/mo compared to $9.99/mo for Capacities. That $7/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for students — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.