5 Best Notion Alternatives in 2024
Dec 24
Looking for an alternative to Notion? We have gathered 12 of the best Notion alternatives for handling notes, databases, projects, collaborative work and much more. Check out our list for teams and personal use to find a new Notion.
Looking for Notion alternatives?
Notion is one of the most downloaded productivity apps in the world.
Ten years ago, everyone raved about Evernote. Now, all everyone talks about is Notion.
But like all things, people are considering leaving Notion as they look for different competitors and what they can offer that Notion might not be able to fulfill.
With the powers of AI and innovation, many Notion alternatives are popping up left, right, and center as alternative ways to manage your life and coordinate projects and notes in one that Notion hasn't thought about.
There's one clear thing from this list you will notice: if you're looking for database use, Notion wins well, so you might need to consider apps like Coda or Airtable to replace that, but if you're hunting for note-taking alternatives, these are some gems.
Why do people not like Notion?
Many people are considering alternatives to Notion for various reasons. Some of the most common issues with Notion are the lack of offline mode, lack of focus on security, and the fact that Notion is a much larger company now.
Many seek out more structured Notion alternatives, which allow users to spend less time managing their use and more time getting work done.
Is Notion worth it?
Notion has a tremendous number of features that allow you to customize how you plan, organize, and get things done as an individual and a team.
Many people don't like that you have to learn a lot to adopt Notion, and some find that they spend too much time micro-managing how they use Notion, which wastes productive time.
Tool | Best For |
|---|---|
An offline, local-first, and open-source alternative to Notion for note-taking. | |
Good-looking Notion-like alternative for note-taking with object note-taking. | |
A documents app that is popular with individuals and teams for workspaces. | |
A whiteboard & documents app with open-source and offline abilities. | |
A powerful PKM app for note-taking and networked thought. |
Quick Facts
- Pricing: Free, $99 per year
- Best For: Note-taking for individuals
- Features: Object note-taking, fast offline functions & open-source
What is Anytype?
Anytype is an open-source, local-first note-taking application for macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. It also has a Chrome extension for clipping notes.
Anytype creates notes as objects to save notes with a structure—e.g., meeting, person, book. It also has E2E security on notes and a growing community.
It is a popular Notion alternative in the local-first note-taking community with an ethos and focus on secure note-taking. Anytype uses object-based note-taking to help organize your notes with more structure.
Is Anytype a good Notion alternative?
Anytype is a note-taking application with some interesting capabilities.
Within Anytype, much like Notion, you can create databases that can help you organize notes or documents into different views like graphs, calendars, or galleries; many people see this as a Notion-like feature that can relate to, although it isn't better than Notion here.
How do Notion databases compare to Anytype?
Databases are called sets and collections in Anytype.
They aren't as capable as the likes of Notion but do allow you to combine notes you have created with filters, sorting, and a range of views. There's also no limit to the databases in Anytype on view options.
Aside from the databases, Anytype also provides a Notion-like layout with experience, allowing you to take notes, organize them, and add multimedia. The clean, minimal design of Anytype gives a Notion feel, but the objects underpinning everything are different, allowing users to create a structure to note with each note they take.
How does Notion compare with note-taking?
This object-based note-taking approach is modern and comes with powerful abilities. Notion doesn't have this, and it allows each note to be created using a forced template, like person, meeting, location, or even task. This helps to determine the structure of your account more than other note-taking services.
Arguably, you could create this with database templates in Notion. However, this is built-in as a feature with a library to help you find more types to add to your note library. It's a slog to start, but it pays off over time with a structure you don't get with Notion as much.
Anytype also differs from Notion in that it focuses on privacy and security; at the same time, Notion has things in place. Anytype has this as one of its core values, with a local-first setup meaning that you can store everything locally on a device and use secure networks once you want it synced online.
Many people find this more attractive than Notion's primary offering. However, it also shares a pain point with Notion: the lack of an official offline mode.
Pros:
- Open-source note-taking
- Local-first and peer-to-peer networking
- Works with markdown and native on desktop
- It comes with sets and collections for set-ups
- Good-rated iOS, and Android on respective App Stores
- Privacy-focused notes with E2E secure notes
- Good community and audience
Cons:
- It can be overwhelming to use
- Limited database abilities compared to Notion
- Still developing features
Video: Anytype Review
Here's some of how Anytype looks in action to get a better idea of how it works:
What is Capacities?
Capacities is an object-based note-taking application that focuses on building relationships between notes. It is popular for journalling, making notes, and managing personal ideas. It comes with markdown notes, local-first optionality & PKM features.
It can be used to manage daily and personal notes and organize work meetings and beyond. Many people find Capabilities to be a good balance between Notion and Obsidian.
Is Capacities a good Notion alternative?
As a Notion alternative, Capacities has the design down to a close replica.
Capacities make an attractive option for those looking for that clean design that Notion offers. They are also prevalent in apps like Anytype, which want to give the user a minimal yet functional feel by creating blocks.
Much like Anytype, Capacities offers objects to create notes with.
How does Capacities compare with databases?
If you're looking to replace Notion with Capacities purely on databases, you might be disappointed. Much like Anytype, they provide the user with the basics, but nothing like you see in Notion.
For example, in Capacities, you can create a query that allows you to combine a string of objects and filters. This is a simple way to connect notes and comes with some views for visualizing that, but nothing extraordinary compared to Notion.
This helpful filtering search option replaces the need to routinely search, like a saved search that is more live and comes with a few fancy views.
What makes Capacities different from Notion?
The focus on note-taking makes Capacities more unique.
Capacities is much more of a comprehensive note-taking tool that has PKM feature than it is a Notion full replacement, if you don't use databases bases much, but rely on notes, daily notes and want to have the same feel, then Notion will be more suited to you.
They combine features like a calendar view to create content, from which you can make daily notes or see the combination of creations from the day you've had.
Notion has yet to implement daily notes again entirely. You can do it yourself with some quick setup, but it is not a dedicated feature with tools to use daily. This is something that requires a little bit of education for Notion users.
The graph view isn't standard in Notion. But it is a feature in Capacities that allows you to see note connectivity and relationships, a feature loved by PKM-style users. Many users in the PKM world will find graph view helpful for bringing their notes to life and seeing the relationships, and Capacities has one of the clearest of them all in terms of seeing how a note relates to another.
Another feature is AI chats (a premium feature) that allows users in Capacities to chat with any objects they've created. This makes for a compelling way to break down notes and for the AI to understand the structure and objective of the note itself before communicating with it, something we expect to get better over time.
Pros:
- Beautiful Notion-like design
- It comes with a calendar mode for daily notes
- Works well offline with near offline functionality
- Comes with AI features for chatting with notes
- Easy to use once you get started
Cons:
- Lacks powerful databases
- It can be complicated for the average note-taker
Pricing:
Capacities are free to use, with a $9.99 per-month upgrade needed to access premium abilities.
How much does Capacities cost per month?
Capacities charges a free and premium model for their note-taking apps.
Plans | Pricing (approx) | Included |
|---|---|---|
Basic | Free | Limited features |
Believer Annual | $10 per month | All features including early access to new features |
Believer Monthly | $12 per month | All features including early access to new features |
Is Capacities free?
Yes, Capacities does have a free version with limitations.
Recommendation
Craft Documents
What is Craft?
Craft is a note-taking, document & internal wiki app suitable for individuals and teams. A combination of abilities allows it to live under many hats.
Is Craft a good Notion alternative?
Craft is a document-style software that probably combats Notion the most on many fronts.
With a similar design, great document features, and speedy, native apps, Craft makes for a compelling alternative for teams looking for something that doesn't focus too much on database management and has otherworldly features.
Craft best matches to you or your team if documents are the heart of your system.
Does Craft do databases?
Craft doesn't have databases; it has tables, but nothing that resembles the power that Notion brings with that feature. Craft does have other features that make up for it, like whiteboards and a planned object-based note-taking structure.
Why should I consider Craft over Notion?
Craft has a few features, such as whiteboards, daily notes, and cards, that make it stand out above the likes of Notion.
Cards are a helpful feature for building a wiki-like layout for you and your team. Internal wiki use is growing within Craft. This gives each Craft page more power, helping it stand out, whether you're creating a personal website or maybe even building out a look for your internal wiki as a team.
Daily notes are built into the app, allowing you to add reminders and checklists to your notes for easy access on the side panel. This is an excellent tool for journalling or keeping a to-do list of tasks, thanks to the overdue and to-do features within each note once you add a checklist to any of your Craft documents.
Whiteboards is a new feature that allows Craft users to visualize their ideas within Notion. This helps you take and bring to life notes you've created in a more visual manner, which is popular in apps like AFFiNE Pro and Milanote.
Whiteboards help you see notes in a more collaborative view and add more context for research and planning purposes, something Notion does not have.
Think of Craft as Google Documents on steroids. It can replace Notion, but if you are an individual looking for something more traditional in structure and layout than Notion's open-plan canvas, which many people find difficult to manage and navigate, Craft is the solution for you.
Craft Pros
- They have offline
- The apps are very fast & easy
- Great for individuals and teams alike
Craft Cons
- Doesn't come for Android
What is AFFiNE Pro?
AFFiNE, or AFFiNE Pro, as many people like to call it, is an open-source note-taking app for managing pages, notes, and collaborative whiteboards.
Is AFFiNE Pro a good Notion alternative?
As a Notion alternative, AFFiNE Pro is early days.
It offers some powerful features, like collaborative whiteboards, and changing between a document and a whiteboard is very smooth. Many people like that AFFiNE is also open-sourced and available offline, which makes it much smoother for visual thinkers who like to be offline. They are also invested in making more powerful AI abilities.
Pros:
- Has some light database abilities
- Amazing whiteboard to document abilities
- Comes with collaboration for team members
Cons:
- Lacks powerful databases
- Comes with a learning curve
How much does AFFiNE cost?
AFFiNE is free, with $8.99 monthly pricing for more storage and members.
Quick Facts
- Pricing: Free, starts at $4 per month
- What it does: Effective note-taking using PKM
- Type of tool: Personal knowledge management
- Alternative to Obsidian: Anytype, Logseq & Capacities
- Ease of use: Intermediate
Recommendation
Obsidian Notes
What is Obsidian?
Obsidian is a note-taking application designed to help you connect and organize your ideas effectively. It’s a local-first, markdown note-taking app, meaning your notes are stored securely on your device, prioritizing privacy.
Obsidian is accessible on Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android, and no account or sign-up is required unless you want to sync between devices. This makes it easy to use, and Obsidian is becoming a well-known Evernote alternative.
Is Obsidian a good Notion alternative?
Obsidian works as a good Notion alternative for note-taking and advanced notes.
Unlike Notion, Obsidian has a graph view and a way to connect notes more systematically. Focusing much more on notes and, in particular, doing an excellent job with PKM note-taking,
Obsidian is better for note-taking only but does come with some unique features.
Does Obsidian have databases?
Obsidian doesn't have any database abilities, but the Obsidian community plugins have abilities for turning notes in Kanban. However, these are all note manipulations versus pre-built features that the team has made for Obsidian.
How does Obsidian compare to Notion?
Much like Notion, Obsidian is free, which makes it great for those looking for a free note-taking application that focuses on notes and connects notes together.
Obsidian and Notion will take you the longest time to learn all the note-taking tools in this list, but they are worth the wait.
The graph view is a brilliant focus in Obsidian. It is a powerful way to connect notes together using backlinks and see the relationships. It has a set of filters and node breakdowns perfect for anyone trying to craft the perfect reflection.
Obsidian also has features that switch on and off for note-taking, like graph view and daily notes, but you can turn them on and off to your liking.
Canvas view is also a standout feature, allowing you to bring notes together for research and extensive breakdowns. People love this feature for connecting notes, files, and media in one place, and it is popular with students and researchers.
Everything is local-first and marked down with Obsidian, meaning notes are protected. The focus is on helping you take notes that you own.
If you do want to sync, you can do that with iCloud sync securely or via Sync, the service they offer for an additional $4 per user per month.
How much does Obsidian cost per month?
Obsidian is free, but it offers a $4 monthly sync option for syncing across devices and a $8 monthly publish option popular with digital gardening.
Plans | Pricing (approx) | Included |
|---|---|---|
Basic | Free | Unlimited notes, only local-first & no-sync |
Sync | $4 per month | Sync between devices, E2E secure notes |
Publish | $8 per month | Sharing abilities |
Early Access | $25 one-off | Early access & community access |
Commerical license | $50 per user per year | Commercial license |
Is Obsidian free?
You can use Obsidian for free as a local-first note-taking application.
Pros:
- Comes with PKM abilities
- Powerful graph view for networked notes
- Obsidian adds new features fairly regularly
- You can switch on and off features
Cons:
- Lacks project management
- Does not have database abilities
Pricing:
Obsidian is free to use with no limits; there is a $4 per month pricing for E2E notes & sync.
Best Notion Alternatives for Team Use
Let's observe the best choices for team members seeking out the best Notion alternatives to better help you find the correct one for team access and use:
Notion Alternative | Popular For |
|---|---|
1. Coda | Building no-code workspaces |
Connecting your Microsoft 365 apps | |
3. Almanac | Building a wiki base for your team |
4. Confluence | Collaborating on documentation |
5. ClickUp | Managing projects & documents |
6. Slite | Crafting a team wiki with AI abilities |
Coda
What is Coda?
Coda is one of the underrated tools for no-code workspace management. Coda allows you to build databases much like Notion that can be used in a team capacity to shape projects, documents, files, and building tools for the work at hand.
Is Coda a good Notion alternative?
Coda is a good Notion alternative and one of the closest on the market.
It works by allowing teams and individuals to build databases, much like Notion, to their liking. You can manage documents like you would in Google Docs and Notion in Coda and many people say it is like having a documents app on steroids.
Features that are similar to Notion include database building, integrations with databases for consolidating information from apps like Jira, spreadsheets, and Gantt-like abilities for managing timelines and workload together. For teams, this is one of the most similar Notion alternatives on the market.
Coda Pros
- Powerful database abilities
- Comes with plenty of integrations
- Known for their advancements in AI
- Search across all apps to help find things
Coda Cons
- Can be even more overwhelming to start than Notion
- Team education might be needed to implement these tools
Coda Pricing
Coda is free for unlimited documents. Doc makers who created Coda documents are paid users and are charged $12 per user, per month.
Microsoft Loop
What is Microsoft Loop?
Microsoft Loop is a software used with teams that allows you to build a wiki for your team's documents, project management, and light task management. It also connects with Microsoft 365 apps for seamless use without needing Loop.
Is Microsoft Loop a good Notion alternative?
Microsoft Loop has been called a Notion killer, but what does it do? And does it make for a good alternative for your team to move towards?
Loop allows you to create documents, databases (albeit much less powerful than Notion), and something called components. These Loop components are used to create tools, spreadsheets, databases, and even text that can be edited in real-time inside apps like Microsoft Teams, Microsoft OneNote, and other tools in Microsoft 365 simply by pasting them.
These components then are live and interactive without the need to jump to the application for editing meaning they live and breathe across the framework of Microsoft business tools something that Notion doesn't and likely cannot offer.
Microsoft Loop Pros
- Good if you use other Microsoft 356 apps
- Comes with powerful Loop components
Microsoft Loop Cons
- Gives the basics of databases
- Can be a complex way to get started again
Microsoft Loop Pricing
Microsoft Loop is part of the Microsoft 365 business plans.
Almanac
What is Almanac?
Almanac is an advanced wiki application that can be used to bring together a team's documentation and use flow management to manage the progression of this.
Is Almanac a good Notion alternative?
Almanac claims to be the fastest wiki application on the market.
It wants to be your team's knowledge base and comes with feature views that allow you to see the progression of documentation from draft to reviewed and stored. This means that teams can better collaborate on documents in a more structured manner. Many people credit Almanac for being a more robust, less open-plan way to manage documents.
Almanac Pros
- Structured documentation
- Manage the versions of documents
- Better process management for documentation
Almanac Cons
- Might not be suitable for smaller teams
Almanac Pricing
Almanac is free for up to 3 seats. Team plans start from $49 per month.
Confluence
What is Confluence?
Confluence is owned and managed by Atlassian who also owns Trello & Jira. Confluence is designed to manage documentation for your team and connect to popular apps like Jira to allow for seamless development documentation and can be used a wide use case.
Is Confluence a good Notion alternative?
Confluence is a good Notion replacement as a more all-round experience.
Confluence Pros
- Comes from a credible provider Atlassian
- Powerful ways to connect with Trello & Jira
- Good and easy-to-use documentation
Confluence Cons
- Can be expensive in the long-term
Confluence Pricing
Confluence is free, with adaptive pricing depending on team size. Prices can start from $6 per month.
ClickUp
What is ClickUp?
ClickUp is a project management software designed for all-around use.
Is ClickUp a good Notion alternative?
ClickUp focuses more on project management, whereas Notion can do project management, just in a very build-your-own way.
Notion does have project management templates that you can implement however, when it comes to using it, it takes more education and more onboarding on how to use it than other apps like monday.com or ClickUp with their more structured approach to project management.
ClickUp Pros
- Comes with more structured project management
ClickUp Cons
- Lacks the build-your-own nature of Notion
ClickUp Pricing
ClickUp is free. Pricing starts from $10 per user, per month.
Slite
What is Slite?
Slite is a wiki application for knowledge management in your team.
Is Slite a good Notion alternative?
Slite has a lot more structure than Notion with features like Q&A that allow you to search across documents in a way that allows for a forum-type approach to questions and answers that team members have left. Those Q&A items are then indexed into a Slite AI chat that allows you to ask questions about things entered within them.
Slite also has abilities like documentation process management allowing you to see what documents are drafted and what documents need your attention. It also has light project management abilities from bringing document-specific project work together.
Slite Pros
- Competitive AI features
- Growing in features monthly
- Good knowledge management abilities
Slite Cons
- Not as cost-effective with no free subscription
- Designed for small-to-medium-sized teams
Slite Pricing
Slite has no free plan and costs $10 per user, per month on the basic pricing.
Quick Questions
What is the best offline Notion alternative?
Notion doesn't have a formal offline mode. The best alternative to Notion that offers access offline and local-first is Anytype. Apps like Obsidian, Capacities & Craft all have offline modes that are formal to making offline changes without internet connection.
Does Microsoft have a Notion alternative?
Microsoft has a Notion alternative called Microsoft Loop. It can be accessed as part of Microsoft 365 and comes with the ability to create Loop Components which can be shared across Microsoft Teams, OneNote, and many more 365 apps for better team collaboration.
What is the best Notion alternative for teams?
The best team alternative to Notion would have to be Coda. Coda allows you to collaborate, build workspaces, and use power features like formulas. Coda also invests more in AI elements for enterprise search, building pages, and searching across your account. Coda is much more suitable for medium-to-large teams.
What is the most attractive alternative to Notion?
The best-looking alternative to Notion has to be Capacities. It resembles Notion but comes with a focus on notes that brings a beautiful-looking calendar and a way to manage your notes in a very visual way with galleries for notes you add and objects to organize with.
Is there a better app than Notion?
The best Notion alternatives are Craft, Anytype, and for teams Coda. Although these tools aren't like-for-like alternatives Notion, they are the closest competitive alternatives.
Will Notion add encryption features for notes?
With Notion's acquisition of Skiff, there is a chance that they might add features that allow for secure note-taking and sharing within their platform.
How to delete your Notion account?
Go to "Settings & members" > "My Account" and scroll down to "Delete Account". This is important to check what access you have to other team spaces and workspaces as if you are the administrator, these places will be deleted or accessed past to another owner.
Why is Notion free?
Notion offers unlimited blocks in the free subscription. The free subscription allows members to get access to almost all features but is supported by premium features that allow the company, Notion, to make money and support the business.
What is the Google alternative to Notion?
Google has Google Documents for document management, Google Sheets for databases, and Google Keep for light note-taking. As a Notion alternative, Google Docs is the closest Google-made alternative to Notion and allows you to create blocks, share access & collaborate in real-time on documents, but cannot manage databases.
Help me pick a Notion alternative
Let's narrow down your choices for your specific scenarios for best results:
What is the best Notion alternative for project management?
Handling projects in the same way as Notion might be hard to do as Notion is more database-focused. The best alternative to Notion for project-based work is ClickUp, as it is more structured and allows your team to collaborate fixedly.
What is the best free alternative to Notion?
The best free alternative to Notion is between Anytype and Obsidian which both have great free subscriptions with unlimited access to adding notes and documents.
What is the best no-code Notion alternative?
The best no-code Notion alternatives are Airtable and Coda. Both are powerful no-code apps that can be used with apps like Zapier to enhance the no-code functionality.
What is the best Notion alternative for team collaboration?
Coda is one of the best and leading alternatives to Notion for collaborating in the same capacity as Notion. Many people say Coda is the more advanced version of Notion.
What is the best wiki-focused alternative to Notion?
Slite is one of the best wiki-based apps and focuses on helping your team create a knowledge base. There are few other tools like Slite, but when it comes to a Notion alternative that focuses on wiki management for your team's knowledge, Slite is the best we've seen on the market.
What is the best open-source alternative to Notion?
The best open-source alternatives to Notion are Anytype and AFFiNE Pro. For teams, an open-source alternative is AppFlowy which has real-time collaboration but lacks power features like databases.
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