I Switched From Obsidian to Capacities, and I’m Honestly Surprised

ve been a big fan of Obsidian for about a year—loved the local markdown files, the plugins, and the control I had. But after a while, I realized I was spending more time organizing folders, juggling tags, and tweaking my setup than I was actually writing or brainstorming.

So I tried Capacities for a week, and here’s what stood out:

• No More Endless Tweaking In Obsidian, I was constantly refining file structures or hunting for the perfect plugin to fix little annoyances. That might be fine if you love customizing, but it started to feel like a second job for me. With Capacities, I open it, make a new note, and it just fits neatly into the system. No extra setup or tinkering necessary. I’ve noticed I spend way less time futzing around and a lot more time actually writing.
• Clean, Out-of-the-Box UI One of the reasons I initially liked Obsidian was the ability to tweak the interface with custom themes or CSS. But I’d end up in a rabbit hole—trying different designs, adjusting colors, and wondering if I’d ever land on “the perfect look.” Capacities, on the other hand, has a modern layout that works from the start. It’s easy on the eyes, and I’m not tempted to spend hours tweaking. I just sit down and type.

The biggest perk for me? All the mental energy I’ve saved. Before, I’d sink hours into reorganizing or keeping everything consistent. Now, I can actually focus on the ideas in my notes rather than the system holding them.

I’m not saying Obsidian is obsolete—if you thrive on deep customization or have a specific workflow that needs local markdown, it’s still a fantastic tool. But if you’re like me and want a more straightforward approach that lets you jump right into note-taking, Capacities might be a nice change of pace.