PKM - Personal Knowledge Management, can mean anything from how we take notes to how we sort them out and file them with supporting documents and objects. Are you a pen and paper person, a notebook person with bits of paper shoved in between pages, stapled items to pages, folded pages or paper with a pen and a highlighter? It's all PKM. These days, we all seem to have more and more information and notes that we need to consolidate in one place, and be able to access at a moment's notice.
Your pen and paper may work perfectly well for you, so why should you change? There are a few computer applications that can help, but are they just a hammer to crack a nut? Are they necessary? Here is a personal reflection on my work. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to take and file notes; it's like telling someone whether their shirt should be tucked in or not. The shirt is on, that's it. A poor analogy, but you get the idea. Here are a few examples, not in any order, you understand:
I'm a stage lighting designer, so I have different clients with different needs, crew lists, kit lists and venues all different, some cross over to and from different jobs, so I need to be able to keep track of them, and sometimes they link together. This conversation can be cut short now if you have a look at my article about Devonthink. I'm a big, big fan of this application. I dipped in and out of it for a while, but I have committed to it now and find it almost indispensable for the work I do.
Having said that, I have recently come across a new application called Capacities. It's very similar to Devonthink, though not as powerful, but it looks better and is easier to navigate than Devonthink.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of their key differences:
|
Feature / Mindset |
Capacities 🧠 |
DEVONthink 📚 |
|---|---|---|
|
Purpose |
Grow and connect ideas |
Store, organise, and search documents |
|
Data Type Focus |
Notes, images, links, concepts |
PDFs, scans, documents, email, media |
|
Core Strength |
Linking concepts into a network |
Advanced search, tagging, OCR |
|
Where Data Lives |
Cloud only |
Local-first with optional sync |
|
Access |
Cross-platform (web, Mac, win, iOS, Android) |
macOS + iOS only |
|
Offline Use |
Yes |
Yes |
|
AI Use |
Summarisation, idea linking |
Smart classification & search |
|
Best For |
Creative thinkers, writers, and content planners |
Researchers, archivists, lawyers, academics |
|
Metaphor |
Digital “second brain” |
Private “personal library” |
You can use the two in combination with each other, which I do, but really, it's a bit pointless. I need to come down to one or the other. They both have excellent AI functions, with Capacities doing the job better, I think. As a self-hoster, I sync Devonthink between my devices via my self-hosted Nextcloud instance. Capacities, however, is hosted and synced through Capacities in Germany. Despite that small detail, I think my preference is leaning more towards Capacities, if only you can sync through WebDAV. They both lack a good calendar and contact plugin. Capacites can use your Google or Office 365 contacts and calendar, but I'd like to see CalDAV/cardDAV support, again for us self-hosters!
The other compelling reason for using Capacities is that notes or objects are linked. There are no folders, groups or hierarchy; you just create an "object" and then link them together with tags or groups as collections or queries. It all works very smoothly and efficiently.
Here is a list of applications that do PKM and journaling.
📒 Note-taking & Writing
Obsidian – Local markdown files, powerful linking, plugins, great for “second brain” setups.
Logseq – Local-first, outline-based, daily notes, backlinks, and graph view.
Roam Research – Popular for networked thought and daily notes, cloud-based.
Notion – Flexible database-style system with pages, embeds, and collaboration.
Evernote – Classic note-taking app with web clipping, tagging, and search.
Apple Notes – Simple, synced across Apple devices.
Google Keep – Sticky-note style, fast and minimal.
📚 Research & Knowledge Curation
DEVONthink – Mac/iOS powerhouse for storing, tagging, and searching documents.
Zotero – Reference manager for academics and researchers.
Mem – AI-driven note management and linking.
📅 Daily Planning & Journaling
Day One – Rich journaling app with media support.
Reflect – Daily journaling with backlinks.
Capacities – Combines objects, notes, and tasks into one graph-based PKM system.
📂 Plain Text & Markdown Lovers
Joplin – Open source, cross-platform markdown notes, sync options.
Standard Notes – Encrypted notes with extensions.
TiddlyWiki – Self-contained personal wiki in a single HTML file.
Out of the above, I have tried:
Obsidian, Notion, Evernote, Apple Notes, Joplin, Capacities, Devonthink, Standard Notes, Trilium and TiddlyWiki.
Comments on the above:
Obsidian - Couldn't get my head around it. Uses markdown. Hate markdown!!! Sorry if you are a user!
Notion - Similar to Capacities, but a bit more 'faffy'. Nice though.
Evernote - I used to subscribe to this app when it first came on the scene. Not mad on it now.
Apple Notes - Excellent. Use on its own or in conjunction with Devonthink and Capacities.
Joplin - Excellent app which can host yourself. A bit boring to look at, but easy to use.
Capacites - Love it!
Devonthink - Love it!
Standard Notes - Very nice, but expensive for what it does. I used to self-host this server and use the app, but the support for self-hosters stopped. Shame that.
Trilium - A very nice PKM that you can host yourself. Very fast and responsive.
TiddlyWiki - Very nice app that you can self-host. Uses your browser to store and secure your notes.
Final note. I can't be doing with Markdown. What's it for...?