Anytype vs Craft

Anytype is a local-first, end-to-end encrypted workspace for notes, documents and personal databases, built by Any, a small company based in Berlin. Instead of pages and blocks alone, everything in Anytype is an object with a type and relations, so a book, a meeting, a person or a task can carry its own fields and be linked to anything else. Data lives on your devices first and syncs peer to peer or through Any's backup nodes using its open any-sync protocol, and the source code is public on GitHub.

The app runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. Sets and collections turn objects into database views (grid, kanban, gallery, list, calendar), templates speed up repeated notes, and shared spaces let small groups collaborate on the same encrypted data. The free tier covers local use and sync with a storage limit; paid membership tiers add more backup storage, more shared spaces and editors, and a unique network name.

Anytype fits privacy-conscious individuals and small teams who want a Notion-like model without handing their data to a cloud provider. The object model takes time to learn, real-time collaboration is less mature than Notion's, and there are far fewer integrations and templates. Obsidian is the closest choice for plain Markdown files and plugins, Notion wins on collaboration and ecosystem, and Capacities offers a similar object-based approach as a cloud service.

Craft is a document and note-taking app from Craft Docs, a company founded by Balint Orosz. It is known for a native, polished design on Mac, iPhone and iPad, won Apple's Mac App of the Year award in 2021, and also runs on the web and Windows. Documents are made of blocks that can be nested into pages, styled as cards and linked to each other with backlinks.

Beyond notes, Craft includes daily notes, tasks with scheduling, templates, an AI assistant for writing and summarizing, and one-click publishing that turns any document into a clean shareable web page. Documents work offline and sync across devices. A free plan covers light personal use, Plus unlocks unlimited blocks, storage and AI, and Family and Team plans add sharing and collaboration.

Craft suits Apple users, consultants and freelancers who want beautiful documents and client-ready pages without design work, and people who journal or plan in daily notes. Its weaknesses are relational databases, automation and integrations. Notion is far stronger for team wikis and databases, Obsidian keeps local Markdown files with a large plugin ecosystem, and Apple Notes or Bear are simpler and cheaper for plain notes. Team collaboration exists but is lighter than in Notion or Confluence, so Craft works best as a personal or small-team writing tool.