Notion Problems & Issues

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.

Since May 2025 full Notion AI (Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search) is only included in the Business plan at $20/seat/month billed yearly ($24 monthly) and Enterprise; the old AI add-on is gone. Free and Plus only get a limited AI trial, so a 10-person team pays at least $2,400/year to use AI.

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 subscribers get the same limited Notion AI trial as free users (widely reported as about 20 responses per workspace that never reset), not an ongoing allowance. Once it runs out, the only path to AI is upgrading every member to Business, and Plus workspaces cannot buy Notion credits.

Notion has reshuffled pricing repeatedly: the Business plan rose to $20/seat and absorbed AI in May 2025, the AI add-on was retired, and in May 2026 Custom Agents started consuming paid Notion credits. Users worry each change pushes them to a higher tier or a new usage meter.

Custom Agents were free on Business and Enterprise until May 3, 2026; since May 4 they consume Notion credits sold at $10 per 1,000 per month, which reset monthly and do not roll over. Agents pause when credits run out, so heavy automation can add a second, usage-based bill on top of $20/seat.

Notion's Trustpilot score has dropped to 2.2/5 across about 440 reviews, roughly 44% of them 1-star, and Notion does not reply to negative reviews. Recurring themes: email-only support taking 1-3 days, tickets closed without a fix, charges after cancelling or after trials end, and refunds being refused.

Offline mode (Aug 2025) only works in the desktop and mobile apps, downloads just the first 50 rows of a database's first view, does not include subpages, and is set up per device. Embeds, AI blocks, forms and buttons do not work offline, and conflicting property edits made offline keep only one value.

Notion's status history shows multiple 2026 incidents: a major degraded-performance event in late March, a multi-day Notion AI query issue in April, a core product slowdown in July, and delayed real-time updates and API slowness on October 13. During these, pages load slowly or show 'Something went wrong'.

Users hit errors like 'Cannot save changes', 'There was an issue persisting your edits' or an 'Offline' banner while online. Notion's own help center attributes most cases to VPNs, firewalls, proxies or DNS filters blocking *.notion.com, stale local cache, or unsupported devices (ChromeOS, iOS 15 and older).

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.