Notion is top-notch productivity software that helps you manage projects, upcoming tasks, and notes. The organizational system streamlines the workflow in your company due to its real-time collaboration, customizable pages, and ability to integrate with other applications. In this review, we will take a look at this best productivity tool and help you decide if it’s the best for your business.
Overview – What is Notion?
Notion is a project management software to boost the productivity of your business by creating customizable workplaces. It arranges live collaborations between all your teams. Moreover, this application has the ability of database creation & management and it easily integrates with a wide range of plugins, which is helpful if you need to extend the functionality.
Notion is considered one of the best productivity tools because of its flexibility. This software lets you create your workspace and personalize it as per your requirements. For instance, you can design a workflow for a new project, including the appointment details, deadlines, trackers, and documents to store all the client needs, your ideas, and related solutions.
The ability to integrate with other applications is another advantage of Notion. You can link its account with multiple other tools like Google Drive, Slack, and Trello. Exciting, isn’t it? Hence, you can seamlessly shuffle between all the dashboards and access all the files in one place. Hence, this application saves you time and boosts your productivity rate.
Notion also comes with a wide range of workplace templates, which are useful if you don’t know where to start. These prototypes have a variety of categories, including project management, team collaboration, and personal organization.
As we can understand, Notion is one of the best free task management software, which streamlines your workflow, and organizes your files efficiently. Its pre-made templates, integration features, and customizable workplaces, cater to multiple needs of your business. Let’s discuss some valuable features of Notion.
Features
A lot of users think of Notion as a note-taking system. However, its features give you a lot more. This application is a project management and productivity system, which streamlines various operations of your business.
To help you understand the features of Notion, we will discuss them according to the plans available. After knowing all the functions of the different versions, you can invest your money intelligently.
Notion Personal
The Personal plan of Notion is free for personal usage. It has multiple features to boost your productivity. For instance, this version lets you take notes and keep them organized, regardless of your situation. You can not down your ideas, plans for the future, tasks to follow, meetings, reminders, and everything else you can imagine. It remembers all your thoughts and tasks so that you can get everything when you need them.
The free task management software lets you organize your life and business. Therefore, you do not have to use multiple management applications. Use Notion free to create a base of all the life happenings and build them as you like.
Notion Personal lets you organize your projects, right from the work requests and the list of tasks to needing to accomplish. You can create a checklist or describe the responsibilities and then execute them one by one. Here comes the most interesting news. You can also use Notion Personal as a writing assistant. Start typing anywhere on its page and everything fades away automatically.
You can use Notion free to improve your lifestyle and maintain overall development throughout your life. It helps you achieve your goals, regardless of your industry or work type. Whether you plan to grow your business, maintain fitness, or change your habits, Notion got your back.
If we compare Notion Personal with software like TickTick, the former is better at multiple points. However, the free version does not have a support function. So, there are no backups if you go wrong anywhere.
Notion Plus
Notion Plus (previously known as Team) has all the features of the personal plan. Plus, this version lets you add unlimited guests. In addition, you can send links to other users if they wish to view the pages.
Notion Plus has the feature to build an internal knowledge base or wiki. Moreover, it comes with a full-fledged mobile application. So, you can enjoy the features of Notion Plus even on the move.
Notion Plus is one of the best productivity tools for new users because of its pre-designed templates. They are customizable. So, you can adjust the prototypes according to the workflow of your team. These are the reasons why Notion ranks as an industry-leading productivity software on G2.
With Notion Plus, you and your team members can work on the same file simultaneously. In addition, the project managers can assign roles and responsibilities to all the users. What’s more? The Pro plan allows you to add unlimited members and create unlimited workspaces. Therefore, you can make separate units to handle different parts of the projects.
Notion Business
Notion Business has all the features of Plus, In addition, it lets you invite 250 guests and access a 90-day page history. This plan is perfect if you have several teams in your organization.
Notion Enterprise
Notion Enterprise is a single workspace for your company where you can collaborate, share information and work on projects. It connects all the individuals in your organization so that you can execute the plans efficiently . Moreover, this package has high-grade security features, including SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) and granular controls.
The features of Notion Enterprise are similar to its Personal, Pro and Business. Furthermore, the Enterprise has automation of user provisioning and management. You can create, update and remove any users as per the needs.
Here comes the good news. Notion Enterprise comes with a dedicated success manager. Notion becomes your strategic partner once you go with its Enterprise version. So, you get a team to help you prepare and build workplaces, including training.
To conclude, all the versions of Notion have the following features.
- Workspaces: Notion lets you create and manage workplaces according to your workflow and other requirements.
- Integration: You can link your Notion account with multiple third-party workplaces like Google Drive, Slack, and Trello.
- Templates: Get access to workplace templates to use for project management, team collaboration and personal development or organization.
- Team collaboration: Invite other users to collaborate with your workplaces and work on the available projects.
- Database and tables: Notion allows you to create and manage databases. Plus, you can organize all their information in different formats, including lists, kanban boards, and lists.
- Third-party integration: Third-party integration is another beneficial feature of Notion. It works in sync with applications like GitHub and Google Calendar.
- Smartphone application: Notion smartphone application allows you to access your workspaces on the move. The app is available for iOS and Android. So, you can enjoy all its features regardless of your device’s operating system.
- Security: Two-factor authentication and password protection are the security features of Notion.
- Markdown support: You can format the text using markdown syntax to ensure readability and efficient organization.
Advantages of Notion
None of the productivity tools is complete. Notion also has a set of benefits and disadvantages. Let’s talk about the advantages first.
- High-level customizations: You can customize the Notion page designs, workplaces, and databases according to your requirements.
- Collaboration: All thanks to Notion’s collaborative functions, you can work together with your teammates in real time.
- Integration: Notion sync with multiple other applications like Trello, Slack, and Google Drive.
- Productivity features: Manage all your projects and stay ahead of your competitors with the help of Notion Productivity and organizational functions.
- User-friendly interface: Notion has an easy-to-understand dashboard. Plus, its website gives you a lot of guides and tutorials. Therefore, this application is perfect for new users.
Disadvantages of Notion
- Cost: Notion free is only suitable for personal usage. Its Business and Enterprise could be expensive for startups and entrepreneurs.
- Limited personalization: Notion lets you customize a lot of parts. However, applications like Asana or Airtable are comparatively more flexible.
- Learning curve: A lot of users might need training to understand all the functions of Notion.
- Limited number of templates: Notion comes with a wide range of templates. However, they might not cater to all industries.
- Restricted integrations: Notion integrates with several third-party applications. However, the number is lower when compared to other workplaces like Trello and Asana.
Pricing
The budget of productivity software differs according to the business type and multiple other requirements. The price of project management applications also varies and some of them could be super expensive for startups and small businesses. Fortunately, Notion does not have any price barrier. It has a plan for everyone, including the free version for single users, Pro, Business and Enterprise, which is suitable for medium to large organizations.
You cannot expect all the advanced functions in Notion Personal. However, the makers are liberal towards the features. So, you will not feel disappointed. Moreover, single users do not need all the ramifications of Business or Enterprise versions. Hence, you might not need other software apart from Notion free.
Upgrading Notion Free is easy and affordable. Its pricing plan is flexible. You can subscribe to a monthly or annual plan. The charges depend upon the number of users.
Notion Plus is available at $8 per month if you purchase the annual plan and $10 if you pay every month. It’s suitable for small teams, start-ups, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. By paying a small and reasonable amount, you can enjoy all the features of Notion Pro.
Try Notion Business if you own several teams or a unit comprising a significant amount of members. It offers the complete worth of your investment by offering all the features to streamline your workflow. You can subscribe to the Business plan at $15 per month in the annual plan and $18 if you go for the monthly plan. The cost of Notion Enterprise varies according to your requirements. Contact the Notion sales team to know the subscription charges. You have a chance to negotiate in this package.
User-friendliness
The interface of a project management software determines your experience once you start using the features. Regardless of the application you need for your business, ease of use is one of the determining factors when you pick one of the available options. In this section, we will talk about the Notion dashboard on desktops, smartphones, and browsers.
If we talk about design, Notion is attractive. You will love it or hate it, there is no middle way. A lot of users enjoy the application while others loathe it.
User guides
All the user guides are integrated into Notion. For instance, it has articles to create new tasks or journals. The information is useful for beginners and experts alike. However, you might feel bad while deleting a list or project, which is nothing less than a knowledge-base article.
No complaints about the user guide because they are easy to understand. They let you know how to use Notion. But, this content should be stored separately from tasks, journals, projects, and other pages.
Task management
Working on Notion is a little confusing. It’s not clear how to create Quick Notes, Task Lists, and To-Do lists. Trello is better in terms of usage. You can easily understand its interface and navigate all the options without any challenges. So, all productivity software should follow this standard.
In Notion, you can create new tasks, journals, to-do lists, and much more from its menu on the left. You can type anywhere to start and use drag and drop to rearrange the content. However, the navigation is not clear instantly, especially if you are a new user. We are not saying this application is tricky. But, it’s not straightforward like other software such as Trello.
Note taker and document creator
Notion has a document creator, which is not as advanced as MS Word, but it does the job. You can create a new document by selecting the new age option at the bottom left. You can also add H1 and H2 headings to the text. Therefore, you don’t have to use a third-party content generator if you are on Notion.
Mobile application
Notion has mobile apps for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac. All these versions have a similar setup and theme. All of them work seamlessly without any delay or crashes.
Creating a user account is quick and easy. You can use your Google or Facebook to log in. Navigation is smooth once you reach the dashboard. However, its interface is a bit different from other free task management software. Hence, new users might find the functions complicated. Once you find a way to use Notion, it’s one of the best places to manage your projects, collect your ideas, make your goals, and manage your workload.
Security & Privacy
Notion uses TSL, which means all your data is encrypted. But, no end-to-end encryption here. Hence, Notion employees can read your documents.
The application uses AWS (Amazon Web Services) to store your data. These servers come with CloudTrail, which can record user activities on Notion. However, the company keeps it switched off. Therefore, you are not being tracked.
Here comes the good news. Notion has a SOC 2 Type 2 certification, which means its security practices are verified by a third party. Furthermore, the application has a privacy policy covering almost 13 pages. We will tell you the parts you want to know.
Notion stores your name, email address, position in the company, and profile image.
The company never uses your data to upsell any third-party products. However, the brand has the right to promote its services. So, it might share your information with its affiliates and business partners.
Support function
High-quality project management software should be equipped with a top-notch support function so that you can enjoy all its features. Notion is an easy-to-understand application. Still, a support team ensures everything falls in place once you start using this software.
Finding answers to your questions is easy on Notion. Apart from step-by-step guides, you have the option to chat. Plus, there is a Help section that contains all the support articles and how-to videos. However, Notion does not have telephonic support.
FAQs
Why is Notion the best productivity software?
The expectations from productivity software differ according to the individuals or companies. However, Notion deserves your attention because of its customizations, flexibility, and security. Moreover, this application integrates with third-party workplaces and offers templates including pre-designed workspaces.
Notion is highly flexible and lets you customize all its aspects. Most of the free task management software offers limited personalization options, but Notion is different. It lets you create your workplaces to suit your projects and daily tasks. Hence, you can easily organize and manage your daily business operations.
In addition, Notion lets you sync it with third-party applications like Slack, Trello, and Google Drive. Hence, you can access all your files in one place. Such a function saves your time and increases productivity.
What’s more? Notion comes with a wide range of templates, including workplaces, team collaboration, and personal organization. Hence, you can start using it without much effort, even if you are a beginner.
Moreover, Notion lets you invite guests and collaborate with your teammates. Its smartphone application lets you work even on the move. Overall, Notion could be the best productivity software if you need efficient and flexible project management software or a note-taker.
Will Notion work offline?
Notion is a web-based software, which needs an internet connection to operate on your smartphone or computer. But, you can also use it offline. If all the parts of a page are loaded and the network goes off, you can still write and edit the database. Everything syncs once your device restores its internet connection. Do not press the back button or close the page before the internet comes back. Otherwise, you will lose all the data.
Keep in mind that Notion Offline is still in progress. So, you might lose some data once the connection restores. Sometimes the data mixes up, which leads to a mess. However, Notion is working on these issues, which will improve your experience in the future.
What are the best productivity apps for students?
The internet has a wide range of applications to boost the efficiency of the young ones. However, Notion is one of the best productivity apps for students. It helps you to schedule tasks, create agendas, set reminders, and manage all your files related to studies or school projects. In other words, it organizes your day-day-activities, which helps you to stay more focused on your goals.
If you don’t like Notion, Google Calendar, Microsoft To Do, and Todoist are some of the other free task management software to try. If you want to up your note-taking game, then try Microsoft OneNote or Evernote. Go for Forest, Tide, Motion, or Cold Turkey if you want to improve your focus on your studies.
Final thoughts
Notion tries to be a project management application and a note-taking tool. Its free plan is perfect for personal workload management and note-taking. The premium packages also work well if you are handling a team. Overall, Notion is one of the best productivity tools if you are on a budget.
Notion is not the most advanced productivity software. However, this application deserves your attention because of its task management and productivity features. There are other helpful features for your business and hence, you might never feel disappointed with this system.
