16 Best Notion Alternatives to Use (Free and Paid)

What if a single change could make your workspace more efficient and productive?

Many companies rely on Notion as their go-to workspace and productivity app. And the versatility of this app makes it a solid choice for different needs, including taking notes.

However, you may not be aware of the number of excellent Notion alternatives out there for notes, project management and more. These alternatives sometimes offer equal or better features beyond note-taking at more competitive prices. So by changing to a new note-taking app, you can save both time and money on your own workspace.

What alternative Notion apps are worth considering? How can they help you with task management? Keep reading to discover some of the best organization apps in the market!

What is Notion?

Notion is a service for organizing personal, academic, professional and other information. Touted as an all-in-one tool, Notion provides many features you know from its well-known alternatives. Users can create regular notes, like in Evernote, Kanban boards, like in Trello, to-do lists, like in Todoist, etc. In addition, Notion offers unique multifunctional databases. Overall, this service has so many features that beginners may get lost. Therefore, let’s take it in order.

5 Key Features of Notion

In Notion, users can choose from a wide range of functions that best meet their needs. These 5 features, however, are most commonly used.

Page hierarchy

Notion has no folders but offers another alternative. Its pages have a hierarchical structure similar to folders and subfolders. General content notes go in Notion’s sidebar. In such documents, you can link to existing pages or add new ones. Create as many pages as you want and hide them as far as you want – no limits. To avoid losing important information, any Notion page can be marked as a favorite. A sidebar section features such notes for quick access.

Blocks

Adding content to a Notion note is done in blocks. Blocks include any drag-and-droppable objects of a page, such as paragraphs, images, tables, etc. First, they allow you to edit and swap your content easily. But a more tangible benefit is the ability to place Notion blocks both after and next to each other. This lets you design a note to your liking. The feature is often used for personal, academic, work and project planners. You can start with a general dashboard to view all your Notion notes at once.

Text formatting

As a note-taking app, Notion offers the standard functionality that everyone needs. Here you have colorful highlights, bulleted, toggle and to-do lists, callouts, separators, emojis, etc. You can also @ mention other Notion workspace members and pages in your note. The same way, enter a date to set a reminder for it. Don’t forget to include images, video, and audio for more context.

Databases

Databases are one of Notion’s most complicated features. Getting used to them takes time. However, most experienced Notion users would rank databases among their top 5 for a lot of their functionality:

• different column types: tags, numbers, dates, links, etc.;
• views include kanban boards, lists, galleries, calendars and timelines;
• flexible data sorting filters and more.

This allows databases to be customized for any activity. Still, if databases seem overwhelming, you can use regular tables as an alternative.

Embeds

Though Notion has many features, it is not all-powerful. This is compensated by embeds from other services. You can embed a Google map, your design from Figma or Trello task cards. The most popular apps are available. And this way, you needn’t switch services!

3 Major Drawbacks of Notion

Despite its popularity, Notion also has negative feedback. Here are the 3 most common problems users face.

Difficult to use

Note customization features are so many that sometimes even Notion’s support team gets lost. New users have a tough time figuring it out too. Notion has text and video guides, but the only person who appears to master all these customizations is the service owner. Teamwork can complicate things. Employees will need time to learn Notion. Moreover, you should ensure that your working time is spent on doing tasks, not designing them.

Online mode only

In fact, Notion’s developers claim there is an offline mode. You can really edit a note you previously loaded on the web or opened on the desktop. But the full offline mode is not this. Notion will not let you access your data if you don’t prepare for offline work. Moreover, users complain about synchronization issues on the first online connection. Some information you added offline may be lost. Hence, it’s safer to say “Notion has online mode only”.

No backups or local storing

Your notes are stored on Notion servers without end-to-end encryption. Data cannot be backed up to cloud storage or saved locally. Notion team has full access to it. If their servers get in trouble, your information may be permanently deleted or leaked. Still need more reasons to consider a Notion alternative?

Why Explore Notion Alternatives?

Below, we have a breakdown of excellent Notion alternatives, including their specific pros and cons. First, though, we need to answer the big question: why should you check out alternatives to Notion in the first place?

First, Notion isn’t as intuitive as some of the other organization apps out there. This means it can take longer to set up in your workspace, and it’s more difficult to use for those who aren’t very tech-savvy (even if you just need to take notes). This makes project management more difficult, so you should consider other organizational tools.

Second, Notion isn’t very good for team collaboration. And collaboration is at the heart of any productive company, especially if you have to coordinate multiple teams who may be working remotely. You deserve a better task management app as part of your reliable organizational tools.

Third, Notion isn’t very great when you are navigating around or searching for anything specific. So if you and your team are relying on this app as a kind of knowledge base, you may find it lacking when you need it for more than note-taking.

Finally, simply copying and pasting text over in Notion almost always messes up the formatting. That may sound like a small thing, but keep in mind how much copying and pasting your team does every day. How many hours of productivity are they losing thanks to these annoying formatting errors in an app that, quite frankly, costs too much?

None of these are necessarily deal breakers on their own. However, with so many apps like Notion out there, it’s worth looking for a better note-taking app. You may be surprised to discover a budget-friendly alternative to Notion software that is a better management tool optimized for the needs of your organization.

Now that we’ve reviewed why you might want an alternative Notion app, let’s take a closer look at some of our favorite alternatives on the market.

Top Notion 16 Alternatives

Here`s a list of 16 best Notion alternatives to use:

1. FuseBase (formerly Nimbus) — compare

While there are many different Notion alternatives out there, FuseBase (formerly Nimbus) is your best bet. It’s perfect for both taking notes and organizing your teams, which is why this app has won so many awards.

With FuseBase (formerly Nimbus), the two biggest descriptors are “flexibility” and “versatility.” This alternative is designed to help with almost every aspect of note-taking and organization. Instead of having to integrate with other apps, FuseBase (formerly Nimbus) aims to be the only app you need.

We’ll try to cover some of the best features, but keep in mind that this is only scratching the surface of what FuseBase (formerly Nimbus) can do!

Main Features

• Organize multiple workspaces
• Very customizable for more than just note-taking
• Easily take notes and write other documents
• Interlink workspaces with the mention feature
• Task management and project management at the press of a button

Pros

• Tags, color-coding, and even emojis provide countless customization and task management options
• Scanning feature for superior note-taking
• In-app capture feature
• Block-based editor is intuitive and very easy to use
• Note-taking and visual organization made easy
• Easy video recording helps you create content

Cons

• Only 50 notes per workspace makes for more limited note-taking
• Fewer templates than some organization apps, but that is starting to change

Pricing

• Free plan is available
• Standard – $38/user/month
• Contact sales for a customized pricing quote

2. Clickup

Clickup is one of the Notion alternatives that offers a number of its features, but not all of them. It works well on a macro and micro-level, serving as a management tool to help you deal with your own workspace workflow as well as the workflow of your team.

Main Features

• Collaborate with your team for project management
• Drag and drop pages for your knowledge base
• Store documents
• Import projects
• Integrate with other platforms

Pros

• Intuitive and user-friendly note-taking app
• Additional functionality beyond notes and note-taking
• Third-party integration
• Support resources from parent company

Cons

• Can be overwhelming to new users
• Cannot customize your reporting
• Better suited for smaller tasks than larger projects

Pricing

A free version of ClickUp is available, but this alternative Notion app is limited. You can purchase the unlimited version by paying $5 per member, per month. For midsize and larger teams, there is also a business version for $12 per member, per month and a business plus version for $19 per member, per month.

This alternative is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

3. NoteLedge

NoteLedge is more of an alternative for creative teams. Teachers, writers, designers, and artists can all share a workspace and achieve true digital productivity with this app. However, it has enough management tool features for any industry and any worker.

Main Features

• Visual organization
• Draw notes directly onto the app for organic note-taking
• Easy annotation and highlighting of notes
• Audio recording
• Save media and integrate into your notes

Pros

• Easy collaboration
• Multimedia-enhanced communication goes beyond notes
• Layers create flexibility in your workspace
• Ability to sketch and make collages
• Audio record for better project management

Cons

• Lack of task management features
• No document storage
• No document sharing or file sharing

Pricing

A free standard version of NoteLedge is available. The pro version is $29.99 a year or, for $59.99, you can get the pro version with one year of Kdan Creativity 365.

This app is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

4. Evernote

Evernote is a productivity app that functions much like Notion itself. It offers many of the same features and management tool functions. A significant difference is Evernote’s web clipping feature. It is also available as a Google Chrome extension and can be helpful for users who often save some articles online.

Main Features

• Sketching functionality
• Web clipper feature
• Capture images
• Easy annotation (premium version only)

Pros

• Convenient to-do lists and notes create a streamlined workspace
• Intuitive search feature
• Web clipping allows you to add pages from online
• Works with Google Calendar
• Task assignment and project management made easy
• Save and sync work to all of your different devices

Cons

• One of the more expensive Notion alternatives
• Some of the features, like tagging, are unimpressive compared to other apps

Pricing

Evernote Teams costs $14.99 per user, per month. For personal use, a free, limited version is available. For individuals, a paid premium version is available for $3.50 per month for standard users and $7.99 per month for professional users.

This alternative is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and IOS.

5. Nuclino

Collaboration is more than just another buzzword. In a world of remote teams and international workers, collaboration is more important than ever before. And Nuclino has become another tool that was designed to make collaborating with teammates easy and intuitive.

Main Features

• Uncluttered interface in this alternative Notion app
• Task management features
• Extensive collaborative tools for your workspace
• Organization made easy
• Third-party integration

Pros

• Add notes from your phone for easy note-taking
• Easy web clipping in this note-taking app
• Intuitive to use for better project management
• Integrates with your other apps

Cons

• Lack of theming makes this one of the blander-looking organization apps
• Lack of offline usage is very bad, especially if your company has intermittent internet problems

Pricing

A free version is available. The standard version costs $5 per user, per month.

This app is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. It is also compatible with most internet browsers.

6. Confluence

Confluence is more focused on the cases when you need to manage multiple remote teams and keep them on the same page. To this end, this is one of the productivity apps that focuses more on collaboration than outright project management. And it works with other collaborative tools you may be using, including Trello.

Main Features

• User-friendly management tool
• Different templates are available
• Compatible with Trello
• Create and store documents and notes

Pros

• Good for collaboration in your workspace
• Solid task management features
• Adequate security
• Social features help bring the team together
• A way to create an on-demand knowledge base

Cons

• No exporting to cloud storage
• Less intuitive to use than some of the other organization apps on this list

Pricing

A free version is available for up to 10 users. A standard version is available for $5.50 per user, per month. A premium version is available for $10.50 per user, per month.

This app is compatible with Windows, Android, Mac and iOS.

7. ProofHub

ProofHub is one of the “all-in-one” Notion alternatives on our list that can take the place of different apps for different purposes. By bringing your team and clients together on the same platform, Proofhub helps manage for both in-person teams and remote teams.

Main Features

• Group chat
• Scheduling calendar
• Organize and store digital documents and notes
• Reporting and management tool features
• Task management and time management features
• Decent online proofing

Pros

• Good customer service
• Intuitive “all-in-one” tool for project management
• Easy to learn
• Solid pricing options

Cons

• No table view in the mobile version
• Not enough control over email notifications

Pricing

A free version is available for 14 days. After that, you can purchase the Ultimate Control Plan for $89 per year.

This alternative is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

8. Milanote

Most really organized people began organizing information into scrapbooks as children. Milanote is an organization app that brings in the look and feel of a scrapbook while adding some digital features. As such, it fits for organizing creative workers who are collaborating on the same projects with additional features such as web clipping.

Main Features

• Color swatch feature
• Scrapbook-style organization
• Sketching tool
• Collaboration features
• Good organization for visual learners

Pros

• Web clipping feature
• Drag and drop feature
• Good for integrating notes and images
• Real-time collaboration

Cons

• No ability to add handwritten notes
• Hard to find stored notes
• No offline functionality
• No freehand writing

Pricing

A free version is available. A paid version is available for $9.99 per user, per month. An upgraded version is available for $49 a month for up to 10 people or $99 a month for up to 50 people.

This app is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. It is also compatible with most internet browsers.

9. Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper includes features convenient to members of different industries, but didn’t design for some particular business. You may find it useful when you want to organize different teams that may have very different areas of responsibility within your company.

Main Features

• Content planning features
• Task management features
• Document scanning
• Notes features
• Different templates
• Third-party app integration

Pros

• Time tracking
• Convenient integration of documents, notes, and multimedia
• Dropbox functionality makes syncing and storing documents quite easy
• Good collaborative tools

Cons

• User interface is unimpressive
• While decent for many industries, you may prefer a more specialized app over Dropbox Paper’s “master of none” approach

Pricing

This Notion alternative is free if you already have Dropbox. However, you will need to purchase additional storage over time the more your team uses this app.

Dropbox Paper is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. It is also compatible with most browsers.

10. Microsoft OneNote

OneNote is a digital notebook app offering traditional Microsoft functionality. This alternative is meant to replace a number of other apps you may be using. If you already have a Microsoft account, you may be satisfied with the number of features being offered. For users spoiled with other services, there is still room for growth.

Main Features

• Different collaborative and sharing tools in this alternative Notion app
• Extract text from different images and notes
• Annotation and sketching features
• Organization made easy
• Tagging features for notes
• Seamless multimedia integration

Pros

• Big storage
• Content library you can share from
• Different tools for organizing ideas and capturing media
• Good for planning lessons, presentations, marketing campaigns and more

Cons

• No template feature
• No integrations

Pricing

If you already have a Microsoft account, this app is free.

This app is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

11. Google Workspace

This tool is similar to Google Docs, which is used for writing down ideas and collaborating with others. Google Workspace is a kind of all-in-one online office. If you’ve previously used Google Docs or want to create a paperless office, this option may satisfy you. In other cases keep in mind that this alternative is better suited to helping you create a more efficient office than it is to manage different individual projects.

Main Features

• Note-taking
• Create and manage documents and spreadsheets
• Email and calendar integration

Pros

• Create and organize notes with Google Keep
• Create task lists
• Invite others to collaborate on notes
• Set reminders
• Create, share, and collaborate on larger documents with Google Docs
• Formatting and note-taking made easy
• Different templates
• Google Explore makes it easy for you to source online imagery

Cons

• No reliable task or project management tools
• No offline functionality

Pricing

Google Workspace with all its feature package costs $12 per user, per month. Just the primary note-taking functionality comes from Google Keep and Google Docs and is free.

This app is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. It is also compatible with most web browsers.

12. Notebook By Zoho

We don’t associate note-taking with fun. Nonetheless, Notebook By Zoho expresses a different approach with its eye-catching interface. The ability to create multiple notebooks with unique designs allows different teams and different team members to include their own personal flair in the notes they take.

Main Features

• Create and tag notes
• Different collaborative tools for your workspace
• Drawing features
• Easy to write and attach different documents
• Recording feature

Pros

• Voice recording
• Security features like Touch ID
• Beautiful aesthetic

Cons

• No ability to easily move notes between notebooks
• Compared to other organization apps, this is relatively basic

Pricing

This Notion alternative is free.

The app is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. It is also compatible with most web browsers.

13. Workflowy

Workflowy provides an interface that is simple and intuitive to use. At the same time, it sports some other features for users who were looking for additional functionality. If you are looking for a balance between a very basic productivity app and the one that throws in too many different “bells and whistles”, it may become one of your competitors. Still, it has room to improve.

Main Features

• Nesting feature for notes
• Kanban boards provide a way to organize your different ideas
• Manage files and notes in your workspace
• Organize tasks
• Create and capture ideas in the office or on the go

Pros

• Task assignment features
• Notes tagging features
• Drag and drop features
• Good collaborative features

Cons

• Lack of reminders
• Lack of color coding
• Unimpressive mobile functionality
• Very streamlined and basic compared to apps like Notion

Pricing

A basic version is available for free. A pro version is available for $4.99 per user, per month.

This app is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. It is also compatible with Linux as well as most browsers.

14. nTask

As far as organization apps go, nTask tries to strike a balance between useful features and app integration as well as a simple and intuitive interface. To this end, it makes things like collaboration and analysis possible while simplifying different aspects of task management and project management. Although it does not cover all aspects, this alternative still suits a big number of workplaces.

Main Features

• Meeting management
• Risk management features
• Easy to track different issues
• Manage your teams in your workspace
• Create timesheets and use time tracking features

Pros

• Different task management features
• This note-taking app integrates with other apps
• Intuitive and user-friendly, especially for notes
• A good ROI

Cons

• No document storage for notes
• No tagging feature is available

Pricing

A free version is available for 14 days. A premium version is available for $3 per month, per user. An upgraded business version is available for $8 per month, per user.

This app is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

15. Kipwise

Kipwise uses AI-powered knowledge suggestions in order to improve team collaboration. This alternative is good for sharing knowledge and working together on different projects, although some may find the amount of management features insufficient. It is easy to add to your teams because it integrates with other apps you may be using.

Main Features

• Built-in workflows
• AI knowledge suggestions
• Real-time collaboration
• Embedding options
• Integrates with Airtable, Google Drive, Slack, Trello, and more

Pros

• AI solutions
• Good content review flow
• Create simplified collaborations and task management
• Integration options

Cons

• Lack of project management features
• No offline functionality

Pricing

A free version is available for 14 days. A pro plan is available for $4.25 per month, per user (minimum of 10 users). A premium version is available for $7.65 per month, per user (minimum of 10 users).

16. CoordinateHQ

As we’ve already mentioned, Notion is unsuitable for collaborating with clients for many reasons. Businesses looking for alternative apps should check out CoordinateHQ, a collaborative solution combining client portals and project management in one browser tab.

Main features

• White-label client portals with customizable logo, colors, and domains
• Collaborative editing and project management features
• Cross-project visibility that allows monitoring of projects and tasks in one place
• Simplified client communication and automated follow-ups
• Reusable templates
• CRM and other integrations

Pros

• Time tracking and project roles
• Has a white-label solution with complete removal of third-party branding
• Supports eSignatures and Zapier integrations
• Client seats are free and unlimited
• Secure file sharing

Cons

• Very expensive solution compared to alternatives
• Requires a minimum of three-seat subscription
• Limited built-in integrations support
• Occasional glitches and bugs

Pricing

CoordinateHQ offers a Pro plan that costs $75 per internal user per month (monthly billing), which is quite pricey considering other collaboration software alternatives, including FuseBase and ClickUp. The platform also has an Enterprise plan that includes everything Pro does (unlimited projects, custom branding, eSignatures, etc.) and unlocks enterprise API support with SSO, alongside a few other perks.

Get the Best Notion Alternative Today!

Now you know about some of the different Notion alternatives on the market. But do you know where you can get the best Notion alternative at the click of a button?

Here at FuseBase (formerly Nimbus), we designed FuseBase with your needs in mind. We understand the different challenges facing modern businesses as they attempt to grow and expand their brands. And we designed FuseBase to be the versatile, modern solution to these different challenges!

You don’t have to take our word for it that FuseBase will change the way you do business. A free version of this multiple award-winning app is available for the business. To experience the difference FuseBase makes, all you have to do is sign up today!

Disclaimer
Parties other than FuseBase (formerly Nimbus) may provide products, services, recommendations, or views on the FuseBase (formerly Nimbus) site (“Third Party Materials”). FuseBase (formerly Nimbus) is not responsible for examining or evaluating such Third Party Materials, and does not provide any warranties relating to the Third Party Materials. Links to such Third Party Materials are for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement of such Third Party Materials.