Two good tools with different philosophies: Drafts captures into its own inbox and exports later; Capture appends straight to your vault's Markdown files. Here's the honest breakdown.
Prices and features verified against Drafts' official docs and App Store listings, June 2026. We make Capture — every fact below is checkable.
And a disclosure of the opposite kind: I (Chris, Capture's maker) have been a happy, paying Drafts subscriber for years. This is a comparison between two tools I genuinely use — not a takedown.
| Capture | Drafts | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 once, lifetime updates | Free tier · Pro $1.99/mo or $19.99/yr · no lifetime option |
| Where a capture lands | Appended to a Markdown file in your vault, immediately | Drafts' own inbox; exported to your vault by running an action |
| Global capture hotkey | ⌥C (configurable) | ⇧⌘2 (configurable), while Drafts is running |
| Vault tags at capture | Yes — autocomplete from your vault | No — Drafts has its own tag system |
| Destination choice at capture | Yes — any file or heading | No — inbox first, file later |
| Grabs page URL + highlighted text | Yes — automatic | No — clipboard/share routes only |
| Obsidian workflow customization | Built in | Editing actions requires Pro |
| Platforms | Mac only (macOS 13+) | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch |
| Scripting & automation | Minimal by design | Deep — JavaScript actions, Shortcuts, AppleScript, MCP |
Let me say it plainly: I love Drafts. I've renewed my Pro subscription every year, and it's earned it every year. It has been the "where text starts" app for over a decade, and two of its strengths are real and unmatched here. First, devices: it runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, with iCloud sync and Siri capture. If thoughts strike you on a walk, Drafts catches them; a Mac-only app doesn't. Second, automation depth: Drafts is a full scripting environment — JavaScript actions, 50+ Shortcuts actions, AppleScript, even an MCP server as of 2026. If you want capture to trigger elaborate workflows, Drafts is the power tool.
It's also genuinely fast on the Mac: the ⇧⌘2 capture window floats over whatever you're doing, much like Capture's. If you've never tried Drafts, you should — whatever you decide about Capture.
The core difference is architectural. Drafts captures into Drafts. Your note lands in its inbox, inside its library, and reaches your vault when you run an export action — per note. The pre-made "Save in Obsidian Vault" action is free to run, but the moment you want it adapted to your setup — an Inbox/ subfolder, your filename convention, front matter — editing actions is a Pro feature at $19.99/year. And capture-window append-to-existing-draft is Pro-only too.
Capture captures into your vault. ⌥C, type, return — the text is appended to the Markdown file on disk before the window fades. Because Capture reads your vault, it can do things a general-purpose text app structurally can't: live destination selection (browse to any file or heading in your vault at capture time) and auto-suggested Obsidian tags pulled from the tags you already use. Plus automatic source context — highlight text in Safari and the quote arrives with the page title and URL attached. There is no inbox to empty later and no second system of tags to reconcile. It's $7.99 once, with lifetime updates and a 7-day trial.
Capture is $7.99 once, with lifetime updates. Drafts is free to try, but the customization most Obsidian workflows need (editing actions — your subfolder, filename template, front matter) requires Drafts Pro at $19.99/year with no lifetime option. Over three years that's roughly $60 vs. $7.99.
Not directly. Drafts captures into its own inbox/library first; you then run an action (like "Save in Obsidian Vault") to export a draft as a Markdown file into a folder you've bookmarked. Running pre-made directory actions is free; creating or editing actions requires Pro. Capture skips the inbox and appends straight to the Markdown file at capture time.
Drafts. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch with iCloud sync, and that's its biggest genuine advantage. Capture is Mac-only (macOS 13+). If most of your capturing happens on a phone, Drafts is the better fit.
Yes, and some people do: Drafts for phone and Watch capture, Capture for the Mac, both feeding the same vault. They don't conflict — Capture writes to your Markdown files directly and doesn't maintain its own library.
Capture, free for 7 days. Your first ⌥C will explain it faster than this page did.
Download for macOS — free for 7 daysmacOS 13+ · $7.99 once after trial · signed and notarized