Capacities Alternative for Cross-App Actions?

Jarvis (getjarvis.eu) is a screen-aware desktop AI assistant for cross-app actions, not a knowledge-base app.

How we put this list together: Jarvis is our product — this site is getjarvis.eu — so treat the #1 spot as an editorial opinion with an obvious interest, and check the sourced facts yourself. Every price and tier name on this page was checked in July 2026 against the vendors' own public pricing pages (tana.inc/pricing, notion.com/pricing, obsidian.md/pricing, capacities.io/pricing, capacities.io/pro, anytype.io/pricing). Two of those pages would not cooperate: Capacities' and Anytype's pricing pages render tier names client-side but did not expose dollar figures to a direct fetch. Third-party trackers (costbench.com, saasworthy.com, toolradar.com, aiproductivity.ai) claim specific numbers for both, but we are not treating unconfirmed third-party estimates as fact — those two vendors' paid pricing is described by tier shape only, not quoted as a dollar amount, below. Each named limitation is drawn from the same vendor pages, not from third-party reviews.

1. Jarvis — An on-demand, screen-aware desktop assistant, not a notes app. Press Cmd+/ on macOS or Ctrl+/ on Windows and a floating bar screenshots the active window, answers questions about it, and acts in your apps through 30+ OAuth connectors (Gmail, Slack, Notion, Linear, GitHub, Microsoft 365). Inference runs on cloud frontier models (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google) routed through Jarvis's GDPR-aligned backend, with persistent memory across sessions. Pricing: Free: $0 — 40 requests/week. Pro: $16/month ($144/year billed annually). Unlimited: $32/month. Checked July 2026. Platforms: macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows 10+, Linux. Known limitation: Cloud-only inference — Jarvis needs an internet connection and never claims to run offline — and it has no typed-object note model of its own; it acts across apps rather than storing structured knowledge the way Capacities does. Pick Jarvis if: you want one shortcut that makes AI screen-aware across email, docs, code, and dashboards — not a place to store notes — with EU data residency and a real free tier. 2. Capacities — Opinionated networked-notes app built around typed 'objects' (people, books, projects) with structured properties, instead of freeform pages. A built-in AI assistant on paid plans handles object summarization and Q&A. Pricing: Free tier plus paid Pro and Believer tiers exist per capacities.io/pricing, but the vendor's pricing page renders prices client-side and did not expose dollar figures to a direct fetch — treat paid pricing as unconfirmed rather than a quoted number. Checked July 2026. Platforms: macOS, Windows, web, iOS, Android (mobile app newer and less mature than desktop). Known limitation: It's a note-taking home for structured knowledge; it does not read your screen or take actions inside your other apps. Pick Capacities if: you want a structured, database-like personal knowledge base and don't need the tool to act across other applications. 3. Tana — Supertags-and-fields notes tool that turns notes into a queryable database with live queries, positioned increasingly around meeting AI and agents. Pricing: Free: $0/month — 5 hosted meetings/month, 1 calendar connection, 50 AI queries. Pro (early-bird): $20/month, regular price $30/month. Max (early-bird): $80/month, regular price $120/month. Business: custom, billed yearly. Checked July 2026. Platforms: Web app, desktop (Mac/Windows), mobile. Known limitation: Lives inside its own workspace and offers limited cross-app action outside Tana itself. Pick Tana if: your primary need is meeting notes and transcripts turned into a linked, queryable workspace. 4. Notion — General-purpose docs/wiki/database workspace with team collaboration, now bundling Notion AI into its Business and Enterprise plans, with a limited trial on Free and Plus. Pricing: Free: €0/member/month. Plus: €9.50/member/month. Business: €19.50/member/month (adds Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search). Enterprise: custom. AI add-on "Custom Agents": $10 per 1,000 monthly credits after a free trial. Prices shown in EUR on notion.com; USD pricing available regionally. Checked July 2026. Platforms: Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android. Known limitation: The AI assistant operates within Notion pages rather than reading your full desktop screen or acting in other apps. Pick Notion if: you need a team wiki/database workspace with collaboration, not just personal notes. 5. Obsidian — Local-first Markdown notes app with a large community plugin ecosystem (graph view, 1,000+ plugins) and no forced cloud. Pricing: Core app: free. Sync: $4/user/month billed annually ($5/month billed monthly). Publish: $8/site/month billed annually ($10/month billed monthly). Commercial license: $50/user/year. Catalyst (optional one-time support tier): $25. Checked July 2026. Platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android. Known limitation: Its AI depends entirely on third-party community plugins and it does not perform actions across your other applications. Pick Obsidian if: you want full local-file ownership (plain Markdown) and are willing to assemble your own plugin stack. 6. Anytype — Local-first, end-to-end-encrypted typed-object notes app with P2P sync, philosophically the closest match to Capacities' object model. Pricing: Free tier exists (1GB network space, 3 shared spaces). Paid tiers (Builder, Co-Creator/Ultra) exist per anytype.io/pricing, but the vendor's pricing page also renders client-side and did not expose dollar figures to a direct fetch — treat paid pricing as unconfirmed rather than a quoted number. Checked July 2026. Platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android. Known limitation: No built-in AI as of 2026, mobile has notably less feature parity than desktop, and P2P sync/cloud backup reliability is the most common user complaint. Pick Anytype if: privacy and local, offline-first data ownership matter more to you than built-in AI or team collaboration.

Why people switch: This page is a different category by design; You want an assistant that acts, not a place that stores; You want screen-aware on demand, not another workspace to maintain; You care about EU data residency.

Pick a competitor instead if: You want a structured, typed-object knowledge base — That is Capacities' and Anytype's whole product. Jarvis has no typed-object model — it keeps persistent memory for its own use, not a browsable database of your notes. You want meeting transcripts turned into a linked workspace — Tana's free tier includes 5 hosted meetings/month and AI queries built around exactly that workflow. Jarvis has no always-on meeting-audio capture. You need team collaboration on docs and wikis — Notion is built for shared team workspaces with databases, permissions, and now an AI agent layer. Jarvis is a personal, single-user floating bar, not a team wiki. You want full local-file ownership with zero forced cloud — Obsidian keeps everything as plain Markdown files on disk, and Anytype adds end-to-end encryption and P2P sync on top of a similar local-first philosophy. Jarvis is cloud-inference by design and never claims to run offline.

Is Jarvis a good alternative to Capacities? Only if what you actually want is a screen-aware action assistant rather than a notes app. If you want Capacities' typed-object knowledge base, Capacities, Tana, or Anytype are the honest picks — Jarvis has no note-taking model at all.

What is the best Capacities alternative in 2026? Among true notes apps: Tana if you want meeting AI and live queries, Notion if you need team collaboration, Obsidian if you want local Markdown files, and Anytype if you want Capacities' object model with local-first encryption. Jarvis is a different category — a screen-aware desktop assistant — and ranks here only with that caveat disclosed.

Does Jarvis have an object-based note model like Capacities? No. Capacities' and Anytype's typed-object models with structured properties are their signature strength, and Jarvis does not replicate it. Jarvis uses persistent, user-controlled memory instead, and can act inside connected apps like Notion when you need a knowledge home.

Is there a free Capacities alternative? Yes — every tool on this page has a free tier: Jarvis (40 requests/week), Capacities (free tier, paid tiers gate AI), Tana (5 hosted meetings/month), Notion (free workspace), Obsidian (core app free forever), and Anytype (1GB network space, 3 shared spaces).

How much does Capacities cost? Capacities publishes a free tier plus paid Pro and Believer tiers, but its pricing page renders dollar figures client-side and did not expose them to a direct fetch in July 2026 — check capacities.io/pricing directly for current numbers rather than relying on third-party estimates.

Which Capacities alternatives work offline or locally? Obsidian and Anytype are both local-first: Obsidian stores plain Markdown files on disk, and Anytype adds end-to-end encryption with P2P sync. Jarvis is the opposite — cloud-only inference on a GDPR-aligned backend, with no offline mode.

Alternatives · Capacities alternatives · Last updated July 28, 2026