Capacities vs Tana
A studio for your mind vs a supertag-powered outliner
Tana is a powerful outliner built around supertags, fields, and relational queries — loved by power users who want database-like capabilities in an infinite-nesting interface. Capacities is a focused knowledge studio built around connected objects. Both tools excel at structured personal knowledge management, but they take fundamentally different approaches to organizing your thinking.
Coming from Tana? Read our detailed switching guide in the docs.
Switching guideQuick comparison
At a Glance
Side by side
Feature Comparison
Knowledge Organization
AI Features
Queries & Search
Writing & Editing
Data Export & Portability
Plans compared
Pricing
CapacitiesFree tier
Core features, unlimited objects, all platforms, offline access
Pro
- AI assistant & auto-fill
- Queries & filtered views
- Calendar integration
- Task management
- Unlinked mentions
TanaFree tier
Basic features with 500 AI credits
Plus
- 2,000 AI credits/month
- AI chat & voice transcription
- Google Calendar sync
Pro
- 5,000 AI credits/month
- Automation & command nodes
- API access
- Readwise integration
- Unlimited storage
What each excels at
Strengths
Every tool has areas where it shines. Here's an honest look at what each product does best.
Capacities
Works beautifully out of the box
No supertags to configure, no commands to build, no schemas to plan. The object-based model provides meaningful structure from day one without a steep learning curve.
Full offline mobile experience
Native apps on iOS and Android with complete offline support. Tana now has native mobile apps with voice memos and widgets, but Capacities offers full offline access and cross-platform consistency.
Visual browsing with gallery and wall views
Gallery, wall, and card views let you visually browse your notes — something outliner-first tools don't offer.
Automated scheduled exports
Automated, recurring exports to standard Markdown files — always up-to-date without manual steps. Tana now offers Markdown and JSON export, but Capacities makes portability effortless with scheduled backups.
Context-aware AI built in
AI that understands your connected notes and backlinks, with transparent source attribution.
Tana
Powerful live queries
Tana's query system is deeply flexible — filter by supertag fields, parent relationships, dates, and nested properties. Users consistently cite this as Tana's standout capability.
Supertag system
Supertags combine templates, fields, and commands into reusable schemas that can be applied to any node — enabling database-like structure within an outliner.
Native outliner paradigm
Everything is a nestable node. For users who think in outlines, Tana's infinite nesting feels natural and frictionless.
Voice capture with AI structuring
Voice input with AI-powered transcription that can automatically create tasks, tag notes, and structure captured audio into actionable nodes.
Custom AI commands
User-defined AI commands attached to supertags let you build custom automation workflows within your knowledge base.
Honest trade-offs
Known Limitations
No product is perfect. Here are the common frustrations users report for each tool.
Capacities
Less powerful queries
Common issueCapacities' queries are growing but don't yet match Tana's depth — especially for filtering by parent fields, nested relationships, or cross-referencing dates.
No outliner mode
ModerateCapacities uses a block-based page editor rather than an outliner. Users who think in nested outlines may find the page-based approach less natural.
No voice capture or AI transcription
ModerateCapacities doesn't offer voice input or AI-powered transcription — a feature Tana users value for on-the-go capture and meeting notes.
No custom AI commands
ModerateCapacities provides built-in AI features but no user-defined commands or automation workflows.
No Tana-style inheritance or dynamic titles
ModerateTana’s Extend, title expressions, field pinning, and command-on-tag patterns have no 1:1 match. Rebuild with object types, templates, and queries; accept that some power-user graph automation stays in Tana.
Tana
Steep learning curve
Common issueSupertags, fields, commands, and query syntax take significant time to learn. Many users report spending weeks before becoming productive.
"Notion, Tana while great in their own rights were so mind-boggling complex. Capacities works how I work."
— Discord
"Tana is super powerful but you have to have a PhD to understand their query editor."
— Discord
Mobile offline limitations
MinorTana now has native iOS and Android apps with voice memos and widgets, but offline support on mobile remains limited compared to the desktop experience.
Opaque pricing
ModerateTana's pricing has historically been confusing, with invite-only access and usage-based tiers that aren't clearly communicated upfront.
Best fit
Who Is It For?
Different tools serve different needs. Here's who benefits most from each.
Capacities is ideal for
Non-technical knowledge workers
A structured knowledge system that works intuitively from day one — no supertags, commands, or query syntax to learn.
Visual thinkers
Gallery, wall, and card views let you browse and discover connections visually — something pure outliners can't offer.
Mobile-first users
Full-featured native apps with offline support on all platforms. Both tools now have native mobile apps, but Capacities offers complete offline access across devices.
Data portability advocates
Automated, scheduled Markdown exports mean your data is always backed up without manual steps — both tools support export, but Capacities makes it effortless.
Tana is ideal for
Outliner enthusiasts
If you think in nested outlines, Tana's infinite-nesting paradigm feels like home — everything is a node.
Query power users
Tana's live query system is among the most powerful in the PKM space, enabling complex filtered views across fields and relationships.
Voice-first creators
AI-powered voice capture and transcription let you dictate notes that get automatically structured into tasks and tagged nodes.
Automation builders
Custom AI commands and API access enable sophisticated workflows that go beyond what most PKM tools offer.
Bottom line
The Verdict
Capacities and Tana are both excellent personal knowledge management tools built around structured typing — but they serve different kinds of thinkers. Tana is a power user's dream with its supertag system, deep queries, and custom AI commands. Capacities is a polished, accessible knowledge studio that provides structure without complexity. The right choice depends on whether you want maximum query power and customization, or a beautiful system that works from day one.
Choose Capacities if…
- You want a knowledge system that works intuitively without a steep learning curve
- Visual browsing (gallery, wall views) is important to how you discover connections
- You need reliable mobile apps with full offline support
- Data export and portability matter to you
- You prefer a rich block editor over a pure outliner
Choose Tana if…
- You think in nested outlines and want infinite nesting as a core paradigm
- You need powerful, flexible queries that filter across fields and parent relationships
- Voice capture with AI transcription is central to your workflow
- You want to build custom AI commands and automation
- You're comfortable investing time to master a complex but powerful system
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated: 2026-04-15
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