The connected workspace for your docs, projects, and knowledge
Notion is an all-in-one workspace combining notes, databases, wikis, and project management. Trustpilot: 2.6/5 from 373 reviews. Key complaints: billing issues, AI that 'pops up on EVERY page', performance problems. Popular but polarizing.
Patterns extracted from real user feedback — not raw reviews.
Users report significant performance degradation once databases exceed 5,000 records. Loading times increase from instant to 3-5 seconds per page. Filtering, sorting, and searching large datasets feels sluggish compared to dedicated database tools like Airtable. The issue is particularly severe on mobile devices or slow internet connections due to Notion's client-side architecture that loads entire pages.
In May 2025, Notion discontinued the $8/user AI add-on and bundled unlimited AI exclusively into Business and Enterprise tiers. What used to be a reasonable add-on now requires upgrading to the $20/user/month Business plan. For a team of 10, accessing Notion AI costs at least $200/month ($2,400/year), including features like SAML SSO that small teams don't need.
Users report being completely locked out of their accounts when not renewing annual subscriptions or trying to downgrade to free plans. Even users who paid for a year of service couldn't view their workspaces. Guest-to-member auto-conversions trigger surprise charges, and removing members mid-cycle provides no refund. Multiple BBB complaints document this billing dispute pattern.
Paying Plus plan subscribers receive the same 20 lifetime AI responses as free users, not a monthly allocation. This limitation is buried in the pricing page and not disclosed at subscription time. Once exhausted, users must upgrade to Business at $20/month for actual AI access. Users feel deceived when they hit this wall after just 2 questions.
Notion has changed its pricing and feature sets multiple times since mid-2024, each time pushing users toward higher tiers. Users express concern that features included in their plan could be reshuffled again, potentially losing access to data or being forced to upgrade. The May 2025 pricing change that bundled AI only with Business tier particularly frustrated Plus plan subscribers.
Notion has a 2.6 rating on Trustpilot (40% 1-star reviews) and an F rating from the Better Business Bureau with 111 complaints over 3 years. Users report months-long waits for billing dispute resolution, condescending support interactions, and being locked out of accounts when downgrading plans. Some users report their only recourse was public Twitter pressure to get responses.
Notion released official offline mode in August 2025, but it has significant limitations: only works in desktop/mobile apps (not browser), databases limited to first 50 rows, subpages don't auto-download, and sync conflicts create duplicate pages requiring manual merging. A background sync bug was reported immediately after launch. Users needing reliable offline access for travel or commuting often find it insufficient.
New users often spend weeks learning Notion instead of doing actual work. Training a new team member takes about 2 weeks to become comfortable with databases and linked records. Some users report taking up to a year to fully learn the system, and many end up purchasing courses, tutorials, and templates costing hundreds of dollars. The flexibility that makes Notion powerful also makes it overwhelming.
Notion tries to be notes, wiki, database, and project management tool simultaneously but excels at none. It's too complex for simple note-taking but not powerful enough for serious database work. Users often need multiple external tools anyway (charts, annotations, advanced formulas). The productivity paradox: users spend more time organizing their Notion than doing actual work.
The mobile app requires complete reloads if left in background for more than a couple minutes. Users report being able to open Google Keep, make a note, and return to home screen before Notion would even let them type. Android users particularly suffer from slow launch times, jank, and stutters. Some iOS users experience blank screens requiring app reinstallation.
Due to the lack of end-to-end encryption, Notion has access to all user content. This is a dealbreaker for privacy-conscious users, regulated businesses, or anyone handling sensitive information. Users wanting local-first, encrypted solutions are increasingly switching to alternatives like Obsidian or Anytype.
Highly flexible block-based system
Notion's block-based approach allows users to build exactly what they need. Pages can combine text, databases, embeds, and more in any arrangement. The flexibility is unmatched for creating custom workflows, wikis, and documentation systems tailored to specific needs.
Strong template and integration ecosystem
Thousands of free and paid templates available for every use case. Native integrations with Slack, Google Drive, GitHub, Figma, and more. The API enables custom integrations and automations. Active community constantly creating new resources.
Excellent real-time collaboration
Multiple users can edit the same page simultaneously with real-time sync. Comments, mentions, and page-level permissions make team collaboration smooth. Better collaboration experience than most competitors for document-heavy workflows.
Generous free tier for individuals
The free plan offers unlimited pages and blocks for individual use with no time limit. Sufficient for personal note-taking and knowledge management without paying. One of the more generous free tiers among productivity tools.
Beautiful, clean interface
Notion's minimalist design is consistently praised for being visually appealing and distraction-free. The aesthetic quality makes it pleasant to use daily. Cover images, icons, and formatting options allow personalization without cluttering the interface.
Users: 1 user (can invite up to 10 guests)
Storage: 5MB per file upload limit
Limitations: No team workspaces, Limited page history (7 days), No admin tools, 20 AI responses lifetime (not renewable)
Users: 1 user (unlimited guests)
Storage: Unlimited file uploads
Limitations: No Notion AI beyond 20 responses, No SAML SSO, No advanced permissions, No private teamspaces
Users: Per user pricing
Storage: Unlimited
Limitations: No user provisioning (SCIM), No audit log, No advanced security controls
Users: Custom
Storage: Unlimited
Limitations: Must contact sales, Annual contracts only
Medium-to-large teams with complex wikis
Notion excels at team documentation, wikis, and knowledge bases when the team can invest time in setup. The collaboration features, permissions, and template system work well for 10-100 person teams building shared knowledge repositories.
Individual power users willing to learn
Solo users who invest time learning Notion's system can build powerful personal workflows. The free tier is generous for individuals, and the flexibility allows for custom productivity systems. Expect a 2-4 week learning curve.
Marketing teams
Excellent for content calendars, campaign planning, and brand asset organization. Marketing teams love the visual databases and embedded media support.
Content creators and freelancers
Notion works well for content planning, client portals, and project tracking. However, the mobile app limitations and offline issues can be frustrating. Good choice if primarily working from desktop with stable internet.
Engineering teams
Notion works for documentation but lacks native code snippets, Git integration, and technical workflows. Engineers often find it too slow for large codebases documentation and prefer tools like Obsidian or Confluence.
Users needing reliable offline access
Despite the August 2025 offline mode release, it remains unreliable with database limitations (only 50 rows), sync conflicts, and no browser support. Users who travel frequently, commute, or work in areas with spotty internet should use Obsidian, Apple Notes, or other local-first tools.
Small teams wanting AI features
AI features require the $20/user/month Business plan. A team of 5 would pay $1,200/year just to access AI. The Plus plan's 20 lifetime AI responses is effectively useless. Teams wanting AI assistance should consider tools with AI included at lower tiers.
Users with large databases (10,000+ records)
Performance degrades significantly at 5,000+ records and becomes unusable at 10,000+. Complex formulas, rollups, and relations make it worse. Heavy data users should use Airtable, dedicated database tools, or spreadsheets instead.
Privacy-conscious users or regulated industries
No end-to-end encryption means Notion can access all your content. Not suitable for sensitive business data, healthcare (HIPAA), legal documents, or users who want control over their data. Consider Obsidian, Standard Notes, or self-hosted alternatives.
Users wanting quick mobile note capture
Mobile app is slow to launch, requires frequent reloads, and struggles with basic operations. For quick capture, Apple Notes, Google Keep, or dedicated note apps are significantly faster and more reliable.
Sales teams
No CRM functionality, no deal tracking, no email integration. Sales teams need HubSpot, Pipedrive, or Salesforce - Notion is not a sales tool.
Common buyer's remorse scenarios reported by users.
Users spend 2-4 weeks building elaborate systems with databases, relations, and templates. Once their data grows past 5,000 records, everything becomes slow. The sunk cost of learning keeps them trying workarounds before eventually migrating to Airtable or similar tools for database-heavy work.
Users see AI marketing, upgrade to Plus plan assuming AI is included, then discover they only get 20 lifetime responses - same as free. Realizing actual AI access requires doubling their cost to Business tier feels like bait-and-switch. Many feel misled by the pricing presentation.
Users who don't renew annual subscriptions or try to downgrade find themselves completely locked out - unable to even view their data. Notion's billing policy holds data hostage until disputes are resolved, which can take months given poor support responsiveness.
Teams invest in training everyone on Notion, only to discover the mobile app is too slow for field workers, sales reps, or anyone needing quick access. The desktop experience doesn't translate to mobile, fragmenting the team's tool adoption.
The productivity paradox: Notion's flexibility enables endless customization, leading users to constantly tweak their systems instead of doing actual work. Some describe it as 'designing websites' rather than taking notes. The tool becomes the project itself.
Scenarios where this product tends to fail users.
Performance degrades significantly at this threshold. Page loads slow from instant to 3-5 seconds, filtering becomes sluggish, and mobile access becomes nearly unusable. Users must implement workarounds like archiving, aggressive filtering, or migrating to dedicated database tools.
When teams realize the 20 AI response limit on Plus is meaningless, they face a binary choice: upgrade everyone to $20/user Business tier or use external AI tools. The cost jump from Plus to Business ($10 to $20/user) doubles the investment.
Teams deploying Notion to field workers, sales reps, or frequently mobile staff discover the app is too slow for quick data entry. The reload requirement after backgrounding, slow launch times, and occasional blank screens make it impractical for mobile-first workflows.
Despite the August 2025 offline mode, users on planes, trains, or in rural areas find limitations: only 50 database rows available, subpages not auto-downloaded, and sync conflicts when reconnecting. For reliable offline work, the feature falls short of dedicated offline tools.
When security audits or compliance requirements (HIPAA, SOC2, etc.) review Notion usage, the lack of end-to-end encryption becomes an issue. Sensitive data in Notion means Notion Labs has access. Some regulated industries cannot use Notion for certain data types.
Users discover Notion doesn't support password protection on individual pages. For sharing specific documents externally while keeping others private within the same workspace, users must create separate workspaces or use external sharing solutions.
ClickUp
Teams switch for better project management features, faster performance with large datasets, and AI included at lower pricing tiers. Often cited as a more purpose-built solution for project-heavy teams.
Airtable
Users with heavy database needs switch for dramatically better performance, proper relational database features, and faster operations. Notion databases are often described as 'Airtable lite' by power users.
Logseq
Privacy-focused users and those preferring outliner-style note-taking switch to Logseq for local storage, open-source transparency, and graph-based linking. Works offline by default.
Monday.com
Teams needing robust project management with less setup time switch to Monday.com. More structured approach requires less configuration than Notion's blank canvas.
Coda
Teams switch for better automation and doc-as-app functionality. Gain: powerful formulas, Packs integrations, better tables. Trade-off: less visual, smaller community.
Obsidian
Users switch for offline-first local storage, faster performance, and true data ownership. Gain: instant loading, Markdown files you own, 1000+ plugins. Trade-off: no real-time collaboration, steeper learning curve.
Confluence
Enterprise teams switch for Jira integration and compliance features. Gain: native Jira sync, enterprise security, better permissions. Trade-off: clunky UI, expensive.
