Notion is, today, one of the most popular tools for take notes, create wiki pages and organize teamwork. Or simply to launch a website in minutes. Its versatility is the key of his success. And it is not surprising that on the Internet you find a multitude of templates and pages dedicated to taking advantage of it. But although the idea behind this app is good, not everyone is completely satisfied. Luckily, there are alternatives to Notion that maintain its philosophy. But they go a little further.
If many use Notion it is because it is very customizable, saves work thanks to its templates, you can use it on any device connected to the internet, facilitates teamwork sharing links. And it works the same for making a to-do list or a notepad as it does for managing projects or creating a database for your department. It is not surprising that competitors have emerged. Very similar tools with which to achieve the same objectives, but that, to differentiate themselves, have some particularity.
The best alternatives to Notion
Below, we have compiled the frequently mentioned applications in all recommendations when someone asks for alternatives to Notion. Some are so obvious that it is difficult to differentiate them from Notion. Others, however, keep the good things about it and also contribute something more. In short, whatever you choose, it’s hard to make a mistake. They all deliver, whether you use them alone, with someone else, at home or at work.
Anytype
We start this list of alternatives to Notion with a proposal that defines itself as “the app for everything.” Anytype sold as one free tooland open source, for “those who celebrate trust and autonomy”. And what does this mean? Well, prioritize privacy and data control. To do this, use a decentralized system P2P type and end-to-end encryption. This does not mean that Notion is insecure. But its operation is the usual one, to which we are accustomed, using your own servers to host your data and documents.
The fact that Anytype prioritizes local over online does not prevent it from offering storage spaceas well as data synchronization between devices. Nor is it incompatible with the possibility of share your content and workspaces with other people. In addition to your free account, as you need more online storage and more extra features, you can subscribe to their paid versions. But if you use it locally, it’s free.
But let’s get down to business. What is it for? Anytype? Well, as its own creators say, this alternative to notion is suitable for everything. That is to say, its versatility is on par with Notion. So it will allow you create in minutes a calendara to-do list, a wikia Kanban-type team manager, a bulletin board, a foruma personal diary, a blog, a official website…Whatever you need.
AppFlowy
Also open source, AppFlowy It is a productivity and organization app, two concepts that encompass many things. As in the case of Anytype, it wants to differentiate itself from other proposals by privacy and control of your data. In everything else, it is practically identical to Notion. And it’s not bad at all, on the contrary. Thanks to its templates, you can launch your own Trello, an Asana-type project manager, a website with a minimalist but professional look and, in short, whatever you want. Databases, wikis, online documents…
One of the incentives that AppFlowy promotes the most is its artificial intelligence integration. The one you choose. By default, it uses Mistral 7B and Llama 3 in local mode. But with this alternative to Notion you can also ask for help GPT 4.0, GPT 4-o, Claude 3 Sonnet and Claude 3 Opus. With AI, it will be easier for you to answer questions, fill in blank spaces, and process your content and documents to generate workspaces or formats to share online.
The free version of AppFlowy It supports up to two people working in the same collaborative space, 5 GB of online space, 100 AI requests and unlimited page creation limits. If you need work in large teams or use AI on a recurring basis, you may be interested in subscribing to the paid version.
Coda
An all-in-one collaboration space. Coda It’s a lot like Notion when it comes to minimalism, versatility and group work. No more working with Google Drive or Microsoft Teams. Although that does not prevent Coda can get along with more than 254 apps as popular as the aforementioned. And others like Jira, Figma, Slack, Google Calendar, Zoom, Gmail or GitHub. So in no time, you’ll have created a spreadsheet, database, simple document, to-do list, work management tool, or whatever you want.
As Coda is up to date, it does not forget include artificial intelligence. Its own AI is used to answer questions, do intelligent searches, process your documents to create something new and truly useful. Or for summarize, translate or correct texts. And as with Notion and the other alternatives to Notion, its template selection It’s impressive. Organized, of course, by department or type of function. So if you don’t dare or don’t see yourself capable of creating complex documents, the templates are created for you.
Coda has several paid plans and one free. Choosing one or the other will depend on whether you use it for yourself or if you need share documents and content. In all plans you can use Coda AI, its artificial intelligence, you can attach documents of at least 1 GB, integrate third-party applications and activate automations. A very useful feature to create reminders or automate recurring tasks.
Obsidian
Notion may overwhelm you with how much you can do with it. So if all you need is a supervitamined notepadmaybe it suits you better Obsidian. Or as its creators say, “a flexible writing app that adapts to the way you think.” This means that, on the one hand, it allows you to create notes and notebooks, open several notes at the same time, create and edit them with complete comfort, etc. But, on the other hand, it allows link notes as a web page or a wiki. And also see a graph in which to see the relationships between your notes.
And if you want to turn Obsidian into something else, that’s what they’re for your plugins. Calendar, outliner, Kanban board, integrate artificial intelligence, various automations, automatic formatting and endless new features. The plugins must add themesto customize the look and functionality of your notes. Otherwise, prioritize local storage on your devices. And if you’re looking for online space and synchronization between devices, you’ll have to pay for it.
Smartsheet
The spreadsheets have, unfortunately, become the solution for everything in many companies and work groups. This is a problem, since its reason for being is very specific. And its handling between several people is not always fluid or agile. But Smartsheet is an alternative to Notion that comes to the rescue with a proposal that allows create all kinds of tools: calendars, task lists, project managers, reports, panels, classic spreadsheets, forms… Any information you need save, process and give it a spin To make it more accessible, you can place it there.
From the beginning, Smartsheet is intended to be used as a team. Hence, it facilitates group work, sharing content and managing projects. Besides, integrates with other applications for companies such as Office, Workspace, Salesforce, Jira… Otherwise, it stands out for its ease of use and workflow automationso you don’t have to do the most repetitive but necessary tasks yourself that you may encounter in your daily life.
