SiYuan
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Comparison · Collab
Capacities vs Trilium Notes
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Capacities and Trilium Notes — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Capacities vs Trilium Notes: at a glance
What is Capacities?
Capacities is becoming an AI-connected knowledge hub with a real developer API.
Capacities, a note-and-object-based personal knowledge tool, is shipping fast — roughly biweekly releases — and pushing two frontiers at once: opening the app to outside systems and deepening its own AI. It now has AI Chat Connectors to ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor, an on-device Search 3.0, image analysis, recurring tasks, and a choice of AI model provider.
What is Trilium Notes?
Trilium narrows scope — dropping LLM integration while adding spreadsheets and OCR.
Trilium (Trilium Notes / TriliumNext) is a self-hosted, hierarchical note-taking application released on GitHub. The recent arc is defined by deliberate scope decisions: it removed its built-in LLM integration citing maintenance burden, then later added a spreadsheet note type and OCR. Security is a recurring theme, with at least one release flagged as an urgent upgrade.
Capacities vs Trilium Notes: editorial side-by-side
Capacities
6.3COLLAB
Capacities is becoming an AI-connected knowledge hub with a real developer API.
◆ Current state
Capacities, a note-and-object-based personal knowledge tool, is shipping fast — roughly biweekly releases — and pushing two frontiers at once: opening the app to outside systems and deepening its own AI. It now has AI Chat Connectors to ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor, an on-device Search 3.0, image analysis, recurring tasks, and a choice of AI model provider.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc is Capacities moving from a closed personal tool toward a platform: API 2.0 gives developers programmatic access, while the AI Chat Connectors let external assistants read and increasingly write into a user's space. Its AI work emphasizes user control — local-first search, choose-your-model — rather than a single hosted assistant. Cadence is high and consistent.
◆ Prediction
With the API opened and connectors moving from read to write, the likely next step is a richer integration surface — third-party tools and agents building on the API — plus more of what connected AI apps can create inside a space.
Trilium Notes
2.5COLLAB
Trilium narrows scope — dropping LLM integration while adding spreadsheets and OCR.
◆ Current state
Trilium (Trilium Notes / TriliumNext) is a self-hosted, hierarchical note-taking application released on GitHub. The recent arc is defined by deliberate scope decisions: it removed its built-in LLM integration citing maintenance burden, then later added a spreadsheet note type and OCR. Security is a recurring theme, with at least one release flagged as an urgent upgrade.
◆ Where it's heading
Trilium is choosing depth over breadth, and notably running counter to the industry's add-AI-to-everything reflex — it pulled LLM integration out rather than expand it. New capabilities lean toward document handling (spreadsheets, OCR) that fit a personal-knowledge-base tool. As a small, largely single-maintainer project, releases prioritize what can be sustainably maintained.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued document-and-editor capabilities plus security maintenance, with feature decisions gated by maintainability. Community-requested items like a mobile app or multi-user support remain contingent on funding, per the release notes.
Alternatives to Capacities and Trilium Notes
Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Capacities or Trilium Notes.
Anytype
Anytype grinds toward a stable beta: chat performance and editor reliability lead the work.
Teable
An open-source Airtable that's grinding its AI-agent layer to production-grade
AFFiNE
AFFiNE is turning its local-first workspace into a governed, agent-addressable platform.
GitHub
GitHub is hardening Copilot into an admin-governed, agentic coding platform
Paperless-ngx
Paperless-ngx v3 turns a self-hosted document archive into an AI you can query
See all Capacities alternatives → · See all Trilium Notes alternatives →
Recent activity from Capacities and Trilium Notes
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoTrilium Notesv0.104.0
- 12d agoCapacitiesCapacities API 2.0, Weblink Analysis, and Presentation Mode ⚡
- 26d agoCapacitiesAI Chat Connectors 2.0 + Many improvements
- 2mo agoCapacitiesBulk Import for Everyone, Image Analysis for Pro, and Continuous Improvements
- 2mo agoTrilium NotesSpreadsheet note type and OCR arrive in v0.103.0
- 2mo agoCapacitiesRecurring Tasks and Choose Your Capacities AI Model Provider
- 2mo agoCapacitiesRelated Content, Deadlines, and Search 3.0
- 3mo agoCapacitiesAI Chat Connectors and Early Access to Bulk Import! ⚡
- 3mo agoTrilium NotesSecurity fixes — v0.102.2, upgrade recommended
- 4mo agoTrilium Notesv0.102.1
- 4mo agoTrilium NotesLLM integration removed to cut maintenance burden
- 5mo agoTrilium NotesWeb Clipper v1.1.0
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Capacities and Trilium Notes?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Capacities is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 2.5), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Capacities better than Trilium Notes?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Capacities is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 2.5), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Capacities?
Top Capacities alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Capacities alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/capacities for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Trilium Notes?
Top Trilium Notes alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Trilium Notes alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/trilium for the full list with editorial commentary on each.