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23rd Feb, 2024
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.
Combine tasks, calendar, meeting booking links & task consolidation into one.
Bring tasks from ClickUp, Notion, Gmail, Todoist & more in Akiflow for organizing in one.
We get it, Notion seems like a huge headache when you first enter the app.
It's all blank and looks nothing like what people share of it online. Although, it is a fantastic tool for managing notes, databases, and much more, over 30 million people are using Notion.
You might not have the time to learn how to use Notion, or you just aren't feeling it. If this is the case for you, there are other roads you can travel down. There are less in-depth and flexible tools you can use as an alternative to Notion.
If you want to take the time to learn about Notion, we have plenty of guides here on Tool Finder, we promise it will be worth it. However, if you want to try something else, we have a huge list of Notion alternatives here.
When we think of an alternative to Notion, we need to keep in mind the key factors of the app. All applications are of course different but their key components are what make them relevant alternatives.
The following apps in our list all have likewise features and provide a place for managing notes, tasks, projects, and creating systems that work for you.
Here are our best picks of apps for teams and personal use as Notion alternatives. Further down we have broken the list into two, for teams and personal use.
Here are the top three Notion alternatives for teams and collaborative work:
Coda is an all-in-one workspace that blends everything you need such as documents, spreadsheets, and apps. Coda allows users to create no-code apps that also work like documents. This helps with creating formulas, automation, and working as a team.
Coda presents a similar interface and uses documents that work like applications. You can also add in linked tables, and databases and design your no-code application to support your projects and automation.
Coda also uses AI integration using AI chat and assistance to help with brainstorming, asking questions, summarizing notes and even creating content. You can further expand your workspace by integrating other apps and tools too.
Coda is probably the best Notion Alternative, being very similar as an all-in-one workspace. However, Coda may work better for teams more focused on data, automation, and carrying out in-depth projects, whereas Notion can be more content-based.
Microsoft Loop is a really interesting tool and a great addition to anyone already working within the Microsoft Ecosystem. Loop essentially helps create a project space by bringing in relevant documents and information from other Microsoft tools.
This makes Microsoft Loop a good Notion alternative because it kind of looks and feels like you're inside Notion, however, it's a lot easier, and some of the guesswork is done for you. All you have to do is search, items will pop up and then you can create your workflow.
Microsoft Loop also means you don't have to switch between apps if you use other Microsoft tools. For example, you can manage lists, send emails, and chat with your team all in one place.
Microsoft Loop and Notion are both very similar. The differences are with what you can do and how much flexibility you have. Notion allows you to build from scratch, but you need to learn or choose from a range of templates.
Loop makes this process easier by giving you intelligent suggestions and helping you build your workspace. You can read more about Microsoft Loop vs Notion here.
Confluence is made by Atlassian, a solid company that creates many productivity apps such as Trello. Confluence is another all-in-one workspace just like Notion that gives you a space to collaborate with teams, manage projects, and organize notes.
With Confluence you can use pages and workspaces to brainstorm ideas, take notes, and share work with others. Collaborate with your team in real-time and use inline comments to stay up to date with each other.
Confluence is much like Notion in the sense of creating workspaces, you can also use many pre-built templates to help get you started and use AI assistance to help with writing and searching inside the app.
Notion does have a more flexible approach, allowing you to change and build your workspaces over time and as you grow. Confluence is very similar to the use of workspaces and pages, but you may need to use other tools to create a productive workflow.
Confluence is also owned by Atlassian with tools to plugin that they own too.
Slab is a really easy-to-use tool and it feels familiar to navigate around too. With Slab you can create a base for teams to access and learn from information within documents. You can also collaborate with your team inside docs and organize using topics.
With Slab you can create a space for teams and organizations to access key documents and information to assist with work and projects. Users can search for documents or keywords and find information with added context to help.
Integrate Slab with other tools to build up a system that works seamlessly for projects, notes, and other teamwork. Overall, Slab offers a good simple alternative to Notion when it comes to managing team information.
Slab is a good alternative to Notion but it is still quite different. It doesn't offer the same flexibility of use as Notion and focuses more on team documents and creating a knowledge base for users to work together.
Slite is very similar to Slab, focusing more on creating a team knowledge base rather than an all-around project management system with linked databases and structures. With Slite you can create wikis, notes, and more in one space.
Slite looks quite similar to Notion in look and feel with the sidebar containing all the pages and channels that hold the wikis, documents, lists, and more. You can also customize and craft pages much like you can in Notion.
Slite also uses AI to help create well-written wikis, you can fix spelling, translate text, change the tone, and summarise text for easier consumption. To make life even easier, use templates to create consistent documents for your team.
We wouldn't say Slite is better than Notion, however, it is a really beautiful app that's easy to navigate and create documents within. It's a good space for teams to use as a base for projects and for onboarding new team members.
ClickUp offers a more structured project management system rather than a flexible workspace for you to build up your way of working. With ClickUp you can arrange your space to work how you want, this might be easier than using Notion.
Collaborate with your team on projects inside documents, brainstorm with the whiteboard feature, and communicate all in one place. All whilst staying updated with the progress of projects using reports and within the dashboard.
A cool feature of ClickUp that makes it a great project tool and alternative to Notion is its automation abilities. You can streamline your processes for handling requests, onboarding new staff, sending forms, and more. If you are interested in learning how to use ClickUp, check out our Beginners Guide to ClickUp.
ClickUp is in this list for those who want a more dedicated and structured space for project management, but still want to create an all-in-one space for their teams to work, just like you can in Notion. One is not better than the other, just a great alternative.
Tettra is another team knowledge base that works a little like Notion, hence why it's on this list. Tettra provides a space for teams to access existing knowledge, learn, and for organizations to speed up the onboarding process. Overall it's nice, easy-to-use knowledgebase.
You can create documents inside Tettra with its internal simple editor, or you can import existing content from Google Docs, local files, and Notion. This makes it easy to gather all information from multiple locations in one single space.
A neat feature of Tettra that makes it stand out is its Questions and Answers tool. Teammates can ask questions inside Tettra and AI will search and give an answer from content inside the app. If AI can't figure it out, it will direct you to the right person.
Tettra is a really neat team knowledge base system with great search and question functions. However, it still doesn't provide the same flexibility and customization as Notion. That being said, it is easier to create a knowledge base here by importing existing documents.
These Notion alternatives are more suitable for personal use and individual projects.
Capacities offer an interesting approach to knowledge management by using object-based notes rather than endless files. Capacities want users to expand their thinking and their abilities by linking notes and ditching structured file organization.
Just like in Notion, you can also build workspaces with pages inside, and create spaces that work for you and your notes. With Capacities you have more freedom to create a space that makes sense, also likewise to Notion and its flexible block-based building.
The premise is, that you create objects such as books you have read, recipes you want to try, and so on, and then create notes inside these objects. These notes then link together to form a graph of connected ideas.
Check out our Beginners Guide to Capacities to learn more.
Capacities is mostly a personal use application for managing thoughts, ideas, and notes using an object-based note-taking system. This is of course different from Notion which used pages and workspaces. They are similar because they are both minimal in look and feel, and create a space for managing notes easily.
Anytype is an end-end encrypted personal note-taking tool which stored locally on your device. You can use Anytpe offline and self-host your backups. This all sounds a lot but it's a great tool for anyone focusing on security and privacy for their notes.
Much like Notion, Anytype uses a block-based editor to add different elements to a page. You also have the flexibility to create notes about anything and everything from journal entries to movie reviews. If you want, you can use templates to help get you started writing about tasks, ideas, and goals.
Anytype also uses databases to help you manage your to-dos and personal projects, you can have different tasks inside pages to tick off when you are done. All of your objects and notes will then be linked inside a graph and you can use different views such as Kanban and Table.
Anytype is a really neat and easy-to-use note-taking tool for individuals to manage pretty much anything they want to write down or work toward. It is really similar to Notion but probably just a bit easier to use and a little less overwhelming.
AFFiNE Pro is a new open-source alternative to Notion as a way to collaborate on notes, turn notes into whiteboards and bring ideas together in the same fashion as Notion.
As a Notion alternative, you can use it offline and with a privacy-first nature and in real-time too, so you can see the cursors of other people you're working with. Inside the pages, you can add tables, a kanban board, images, multimedia and all the regular formatting you'd expect to see in an alternative to Notion - but it does lack any major database abilities.
The one thing that AFFiNE does better than Notion is whiteboards.
The ability to turn any page into a whiteboard is shockingly easy and it doesn't damage the existing document structure and base of managing it, meaning no stress.
AFFiNE Pro sure is a nice looking tool, works open-source and offline well, but it doesn't replace Notion as an all-in-one workspace.
Although, if you view AFFiNE Pro as a secure, offline, docs + whiteboard alternative to Notion for more visual thinking and team collaboration, then it does offer some of those things that Notion doesn't quite have as we outline above.
This is a new tool, but works surprisingly fast and well for taking notes.
Supernotes is a neat note-taking and note-organization tool. It's on the list to be a Notion alternative for those who are mostly looking for a flexible and easy-to-use note-taking tool. Supernotes is also superfast, hence the name.
Supernotes use something called Notecards rather than files and folders. This makes it easier to see snippets of your knowledge the then dive into, make linkable, nestable, and share with others. You can organize your notecards with tags and by making them parent cards of other cards.
For example, you can have food and drink as a parent card, and inside add notes about more niche genres within this category. You can then see all your notes connected inside a 2D or 3D graph to see where your thoughts connect.
Supernotes is very different from Notion, so one is not better than the other. Supernotes just provides a more specific note-taking tool that is easier to use and navigate. With Notion, you might only want the note-taking features, and even that takes some learning.
Craft is a cool document application and knowledge-base creator. It's great for teams and individuals to craft beautiful documents, organize them, and share them with others. You can create documents about anything and everything and make them look nice too.
Craft is a good Notion alternative for those who just want to create a personal knowledge base with longer documents of information. For example, if you want to write a book, you can plan this here, or if you want to write a diary of your holiday, you can create documents for that too.
Use the daily notes section to manage your tasks for the day and add notes throughout the day of things you want to remember or add to your documents. It's everything you need for your wikis and organization.
Craft is super easy to get the hang of and it's mostly just for creating documents and personal wikis. There isn't really much of a learning curve here either. So, if you are looking for something just for your own notes and to get started quickly, Craft may be a good choice.
We'd recommend the following tools for the following needs:
For better structured management of wiki and team knowledge, we'd recommend:
For many it will be Anytype and Affine that offer the best of the breed of this need:
We'd recommend more structure than Notion can offer initially:
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