Last updated: 2026-09-30
What changed
Notion is a workspace product founded in 2016 that puts documents, wikis, databases and AI agents on one canvas. Its most recent numbered release is 3.7, which shipped shared agent skills. Free accommodates up to 10 outside guests, whereas the Notion Agent belongs to Business and higher.
About Notion
Notion is an all-in-one workspace that combines notes, documents, databases, wikis and project tracking with built-in AI agents. It launched in 2016 as a note-taking app and grew into a platform where teams build their own workflows out of blocks and databases, from a simple wiki to a CRM. Since 2026 the product story has centred on agents: Notion 3.7, released on 15 September 2026, added agent skills that a whole team can share, and earlier releases added model controls for agents (9 September), suggested edits (28 August) and a Notion Agents iPhone app (8 July).
Free suits an individual and keeps page history short. Plus removes the upload limit. Business is the first plan with the Notion Agent, AI meeting notes, Enterprise Search (in beta), SAML single sign-on and private teamspaces. Enterprise is priced by sales and adds zero data retention with the model providers, SCIM provisioning, audit logging and connections to DLP and SIEM tools. Custom Agents are free to try and then bill by credit. For a plain-language walkthrough see the guide what Notion is for.
Notion's real strength is flexibility. One database can appear as a table, board, calendar or timeline, and the same page can hold a spec, its tasks and the meeting notes that produced them. Teams that want AI across that content can pair it with Glean for search over other apps, or use Zapier to push data in and out. Meeting capture overlaps with Fireflies and Otter, and the model side is comparable to what ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity offer in a chat window.
Notion is not the right pick for everyone. A team that mainly needs sprints, dependencies and dashboards out of the box will usually be faster on ClickUp, Asana or monday.com, all of which ship more structure on day one; see the head-to-head monday.com vs Notion. Because Notion asks you to design your own system, new users often need weeks before a workspace feels organised, and the AI features that make the biggest difference sit behind the Business plan. If your main need is writing code with AI, Cursor is the better tool. To see which of these fits your situation, run Smart Match or browse the business operations agents category. Teams already standardised on Microsoft 365 may find Microsoft Copilot covers enough of the AI side.
Pricing
Free is $0 per member. Plus is $10 and Business is $20 per member per month on yearly billing; monthly billing costs more, and the vendor's own page says yearly saves up to 20%. Enterprise is custom.
Custom Agents are free to try, then $10 per 1,000 Notion credits. The Notion Agent, AI meeting notes and Enterprise Search start on Business; Free and Plus include a limited AI trial only. Compare ClickUp and Asana before committing to seats.
| Tier | Monthly price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Trial of Notion AI, Databases with subtasks and dependencies, Notion Calendar, Up to 10 guests, 7 days of page history, 5 MB file upload limit |
| Plus | $10/mo | Everything in Free, Unlimited file uploads, Custom forms and custom sites, Unlimited charts, Basic connections, 30 days of page history |
| Business | $20/mo | Everything in Plus, Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search (beta), SAML SSO, Private teamspaces |
| Enterprise | Custom | Everything in Business, Zero data retention with LLM providers, SCIM user provisioning, Audit log, DLP and SIEM connections, Customer success manager |
Feature Comparison by Tier
| Feature | Free | Plus | Business | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price (yearly billing) | $0 | $10 | $20 | Custom |
| Notion Agent | Limited trial | Limited trial | Included | Included |
| AI Meeting Notes | Limited trial | Limited trial | Included | Included |
| Enterprise Search | — | — | Beta | Beta |
| External guests | Up to 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| File uploads | Up to 5 MB | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Page history | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days | Unlimited |
| SAML SSO | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Private teamspaces | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| SCIM provisioning and audit log | — | — | — | ✓ |
| LLM provider data retention | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | Zero |
Key Features
- Notion Agent and Custom Agents: The Notion Agent completes multi-step tasks using workspace context, connected apps and the web on Business and above; Custom Agents run repetitive work autonomously and bill by credit after a free trial.
- Agent skills for teams: Notion 3.7 lets a whole team share agent skills, and a September update added controls over which AI models agents may use.
- Flexible database system: Databases render as tables, boards, calendars or timelines, with custom properties, subtasks and dependencies available even on the Free plan.
- Enterprise Search: Business plans get search across connected apps such as Slack and GitHub; the vendor marks the feature beta, and Jira, Box, OneDrive, Salesforce and Asana connectors are flagged beta too.
- AI Meeting Notes: Automatic meeting transcripts with summaries and follow-ups, without a meeting bot, are included from the Business plan.
- Notion Calendar: A connected calendar that manages several calendars alongside work, included on the Free plan.
- Notion Workers (beta): A hosted runtime for custom code that builds agent tools, syncs external data and triggers workflows; the vendor lists it as beta with separate pricing.
- Security controls: SAML SSO and private teamspaces arrive on Business; Enterprise adds SCIM, an audit log and DLP and SIEM connections.
Pros
- Flexible databases turn one page into a table, board, calendar or timeline without a separate tool
- The Free plan includes databases, Notion Calendar and guest access
- Business bundles agent, meeting-note and search features into one seat price
- Enterprise gets zero data retention with the LLM providers, and the vendor says customer data is not used to train models
- Agent skills let a team share one set of instructions across everyone
Cons
- New users must design their own system, so setup takes longer than in opinionated tools such as ClickUp or Asana
- Agent, meeting-note and search features all sit above Plus, and Free and Plus only get an AI trial
- Custom Agents use a separate credit meter, so AI spend is harder to predict
- Non-Enterprise plans let the LLM providers retain data for up to 30 days
- Free caps uploads, page history and guest numbers well below the paid plans
Product Information
- Cloud
- Yes
- Self-Hosted
- No
- On-Premise
- No
- Languages
- English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional)
- Training
- Official documentation, Help center with 500+ articles, Video tutorials library, Community forums (100M+ users), Discord community, Template gallery, Notion Academy (certification)
Data Handling
- Training-data policy
- Notion says neither it nor its AI subprocessors use customer data to train models by default, and contracts with the subprocessors prohibit it (notion.com/help/notion-ai-security-practices, accessed 2026-09-30).
- Compliance
- SOC 2 Type 2 · ISO 27001 · HIPAA support (Notion AI security practices page · accessed 2026-09-30)
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Notion cost per user?
Three seat plans are public: nothing for Free, then $10 for Plus and $20 for Business, per member each month when billed yearly. Paying monthly is dearer, and Enterprise needs a sales quote. Agents that run on their own draw on a separate credit balance.
Is there a free version of Notion?
Yes, and it is a real plan rather than a trial: databases and the calendar app work, and outside collaborators are capped at a small number. The catch is AI, since Free only gets a limited trial and the agent tools begin on Business.
What are the best alternatives to Notion?
ClickUp and Asana bring more built-in project structure, monday.com suits teams that live in boards, and Glean is worth a look if the real need is search across many apps. Notion wins where you want to design the workspace yourself.
Is Notion better than monday.com?
Notion is stronger for docs, wikis and custom databases in one place; monday.com is stronger for ready-made project boards and automations. Pick by whether your team wants to build a system or start with one.
Does Notion use your data to train AI models?
By default, no: the vendor says contracts with its AI subprocessors forbid training on customer data. Retention differs by plan, with model providers holding prompts briefly on lower tiers and holding nothing on Enterprise.
Top Alternatives
- ClickUp: Pick ClickUp if you want an all-in-one workspace with simpler onboarding; pick Notion if you need absolute flexibility and AI Agents.
- Asana: Pick Asana for team project management with built-in workflows; pick Notion if you need custom databases and cross-tool AI search.
- Cursor: Pick Cursor if you're a developer needing AI in your IDE; pick Notion if you need a unified workspace for docs, tasks, and team knowledge.
Hokai guides covering Notion
- Is Notion AI Worth It? The $10 Add-On Is Gone: Notion dropped its $10 AI add-on in 2025. Full AI now needs the $20-a-seat Business plan, built for agents and custom code, billed separately in credits.
- Is Budy Worth It If You Already Pay for Notion?: Budy Board and Notion both handle SMB onboarding, but only Budy Collect automates invoice reminders and disputes. Verified 2026 pricing for every tier.
- monday.com vs Notion: Which Should You Use in 2026?: monday.com vs Notion in 2026, re-checked 8 Nov: $9-$19 seats against $10-$20 members, AI credits against agents, and which fits tracked work or written work.
- How to Automate Repetitive Work With AI (Without Writing Code): Zapier now bills AI steps at 1, 3 or 5 tasks, Make bills in credits, and Notion added external agents. Pick a no-code platform and price a flow before building.
Also mentioned in
- Best AI Assistant for Office Work in 2026: Which AI assistant fits an office in 2026? Compare Microsoft 365 Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude Team and email and meeting tools with real seat prices.
- Revnu vs Meta Muse for Small Business: A $99 Growth Hire or Meta's Free Agent?: Revnu costs $99 a month and runs Google, LinkedIn and cold outreach. Muse for Small Business is free and reads your Meta ads. Pricing, channels, which to pick.