Notion alternatives: 6 tools that give Notion a tough time!
You may find Notion limiting according to your unique workflow and requirements. Here are the 6 best Notion alternatives that you may pick otherwise.
Notion is a super cool personal and team productivity software that lets you start with a blank slate, add notes, and create documents however you want.
Once you've got a bunch of ideas in the form of notes, you can turn them into a database and do all sorts of things with it. Such as creating an organized workflow, managing projects, collaborating with others, etc.
It's really satisfying to see something you built yourself actually work. But after a while, even the most skilled users start to hit a wall. You realize that Notion can't do everything you want it to.
If you're looking for something different or want more features, you’re in for a treat. I've been checking out a bunch of Notion alternatives, and some of them are actually pretty good.
Let's take a look at the best options out there!
Isn’t Notion perfect?
Well, we all know Notion is hailed as the near-perfect productivity and organization tool, and for good reason. Notion can do a ton. You can take notes, of course, but it's also a task manager, a database, a wiki, and an excellent project management tool in one.
However, like any tool, it's not the perfect solution for every task. Plus, a lot of users report a steep learning curve when starting out with Notion.
The mobile app, in particular, is cumbersome to deal with. It also doesn’t offer a full offline experience, which may be a dealbreaker for some.
So, when you're looking for Notion alternatives, don't try to find something that's better than Notion in every way, you may not find one.
Instead, look for an alternative that fits your specific requirements. There's probably an alternative to Notion out there that's perfect for what you find lacking in Notion.
6 Best Notion alternatives
Now, let’s review the 6 best notion alternatives.
Again, note that they are not superior to Notion in every possible way but I found some pretty cool features in these platforms that Notion isn’t the best at.
1. Nuclino
Notion has a lot of customization capabilities, the downside of which is before you know it, you're spending more time tweaking settings than actually getting stuff done.
Nuclino is one of the simple, fast Notion alternatives that get the job done without overcomplicating workflows.
It outperforms Notion with its super intuitive interface that is easy to learn and get started with. It is also optimized for speed, so you won't have to wait for any loading pages or spinners.
Pros
- Minimal learning curve
- Excellent collaborative interface
- Hierarchical organization to keep everything tidy
Cons
- Fewer integrations than Notion
- Limiting for projects that require extensive customization
Pricing
Nuclino offers three pricing plans:
- Free: $0/user/month—Up to 50 items, 3 canvases, 2GB storage.
- Starter: $6/user/month—Unlimited items/canvases, admin tools, 10GB storage per user, 30-day version history.
- Business: $10/user/month—Includes AI tools, audit logs, advanced security, SSO, and 20GB storage per user.
2. Upbase
Notion's more like a project manager, but Upbase acts both as a personal assistant and a project management tool.
It helps you with both work and personal stuff, all in one place. You can plan your day, work with your team, and keep track of your personal goals, all from one space.
Its personal productivity features like the daily planner, time blocking, pomodoro timer, weekly backlog, and advanced recurring tasks clearly surpass Notion.
Upbase is also more affordable and easier to learn hence small teams may find it more appealing.
Pros
- Combines chat, task management, educational note-taking, and personal productivity features
- Comparable communication and collaboration tools to Notion
- Very affordable
Cons
- No differentiation between personal and team use, so there’s a risk of tasks mixing up
- Limited integrations
Pricing
Upbase has simple, two pricing options, free and premium.
The free plan offers tasks like:
- Lists
- Members
- Storage with access to list, board, and calendar views
- A daily planner
- Mobile apps for iOS and Android
Premium plan is priced at $5/user/month. It includes everything in the free plan, plus custom fields, unlimited guest access, Google Calendar integration, reminders, and recurring tasks with priority support.
3. Asana
Asana simplifies project management with automation features and integrations. Like Notion, it has a single project management product that works across many industries using Agile methods.
The versatile dashboard for managing individual projects or entire portfolios is ideal for complex sectors like software development. It beats Notion’s collaboration features with built-in chat, task assignments, comments, and templates.
Pros
- Higher value free plan than Notion
- Includes an automated workflow builder
- Advanced progress-tracking capabilities
- Allows you to send DMs to people, teams, or everyone working on a project directly
Cons
- Comparatively expensive
- Asana AI doesn’t offer writing or translation features
- Asana’s task cards are not as detailed as Notion’s pages
Pricing
You will find 5 pricing plans at Asana.
For individuals and small teams:
- Personal plan for free with basic task management, three project views, and 2FA security
- Starter: $10.99/user/month (annually) – Adds timeline view, automation, AI features, and dashboards.
- Advanced: $24.99/user/month (annually) – Includes portfolios, advanced workflows, and time tracking.
For large teams:
- Enterprise: Adds unlimited portfolios, advanced security, and custom branding at custom pricing
- Enterprise+: Offers enhanced compliance and precise control features at custom pricing
4. Coda
Coda, launched in 2019, is probably the only tool in our list of Notion alternatives with a steeper learning curve than Notion. It comes with advanced automation and database features. Primarily, Coda streamlines data integration between documents and spreadsheets.
It allows users to create customized Coda docs that pull information from various sources into a single document.
Key features include Pack extensions, which connect docs to apps like Github, Figma, and Gmail, etc for real-time data syncing.
Users can set alerts via Slack or email, and access a template library for different tasks.
Pros
- Much more advanced data integration than most Notion competitors
- Unlimited editor and viewer users allowed
- Updates to improve the platform roll out almost every week
Cons
- Starting out with Coda is difficult due to the complex features
- Document formatting may get changed once on Coda
Pricing
Coda provides four pricing tiers:
- Free plan with basic features, unlimited doc size for unshared docs, free packs (Spotify, Wikipedia, etc.)
- Pro ($10/month) with unlimited doc size, custom branding, AI for doc makers, pro packs (Gmail, Slack)
- Team ($30/month) plan for better collaboration tools, unlimited automation, team packs (Jira, GitHub)
- Enterprise plan with custom pricing for advanced security, user management, and enterprise packs (Salesforce, Microsoft Teams).
5. Tana
Tana, another best alternative to Notion, is a cloud-based outlining tool where you can organize and visualize information, create relationships between data types, and retrieve info with live searches. It also supports AI-powered data capture and processing.
Its super tags act like databases with multiple properties, and users can filter data using "search nodes." Tana’s fast search and robust backlinking improve cross-referencing compared to Notion. It’s ideal for outlining and data organization, but less suited for writing.
Pros
- Fast and better search functionality
- Unlike notion, Tana does not require planning and sorting before you enter your data
- More feature-rich references and backlinks
Cons
- The AI assistant is not very good at writing and transcribing
- Native integrations are limited
Pricing
You can choose one of three pricing plans at Tana:
- Free plan comes with basic features, 3 shared workspaces, 0.5 GB storage, and 5 MB file uploads.
- Core plan for $14/month includes unlimited workspaces, 10 GB storage, AI tools, GPT-4 integration, smart integrations, and more.
- Team's plan is custom priced and includes core features, advanced security, unlimited storage, AI credits, and tailored support.
6. Wrike
Wrike has features like Gantt charts, Kanban boards, time tracking, and workflow automation where teams can track tasks, manage workloads, and collaborate in real-time.
Wrike is an open source Notion alternative that better facilitates budget tracking and billing organization.
It supports startups and enterprises alike with its extensive reporting and insights to assess project success, though you may find it limiting when it comes to customization.
Pros
- Breaks down complex projects into simple, manageable chunks
- Customizable dashboards and workflows with an easy-to-use interface
Cons
- The free plan is pretty limited
- Lacks advanced agile reporting and budgeting tools unless you opt for the most expensive plan.
Pricing
Wrike has a range of pricing plans to suit different team needs:
- A free plan with basic task management with web, desktop, and mobile access
- Team plan: $9.80/user/month
- Business plan: $24.80/user/month
- Enterprise plan at custom pricing for large teams
- Pinnacle plan, also at custom pricing for complex work needs
FAQs
Is notion the best note taking app?
Notion is among the best note-taking android apps, if not the best. It is particularly very good at team note taking and AI-assisted notes, though it may be too over the top for simple, personal note-taking purposes.
What is the main use of Notion?
Notion is primarily a productivity tool that organizes all your documents in one place. It is highly customizable, plus it acts as a central database for all your brainstorming, writing, and planning needs.
Integrate Fomaloo with Notion and its alternatives for added benefits
None of the Notion alternatives discussed above is the “perfect” tool that will solve all your Notion icks. But each of them has some pretty cool features that you find limiting in Notion.
In the end, whatever alternatives to Notion you end up choosing, you can always extend its functionality by integrating with Formaloo.
Formaloo is a complete package for businesses and teams that includes a form builder, a CRM, a dashboard builder, and a no-code app builder.
Notion app features, for example, aren't as advanced as Formaloo’s, especially for form building.
You could easily connect Notion with Formaloo and get access to 200+ templates that come with conditional logic and real-time analysis of responses.
Similarly, users often find Tana’s AI writing capabilities falling short. If you’re a fan of Tana’s outlining and backlinking but also want robust AI writing capabilities centrally, integrate it with Formaloo and let Formaloo AI do it for you.
Click here to sign up for Formaloo today.