title: "Notion Review 2025: Is It Still the Best Productivity App?" description: "We've used Notion daily for two years. Here's our honest take on what it does well, where it falls short, and whether the AI features are worth it." date: "2024-12-28" category: "productivity" thumbnail: "/images/notion-review.jpg" readTime: "7 min read" author: "Alex Morgan" featured: false
Notion has gone from a cult favourite to a mainstream productivity tool used by millions. With the addition of Notion AI, it now competes directly with dedicated AI writing assistants. After two years of daily use, here's our verdict.
At a Glance
Notion
The most flexible all-in-one workspace — notes, databases, wikis, and AI writing in one place.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Incredibly flexible — adapts to almost any workflow
- Databases with multiple views (table, kanban, calendar, gallery)
- Excellent templates for quick setup
- Strong team collaboration features
- Notion AI generates drafts, summarises pages, and answers questions
- Generous free plan (unlimited pages)
Cons
- Steep learning curve for new users
- Can become cluttered without discipline
- Notion AI costs extra ($8-10/mo add-on)
- Mobile app is slower than desktop
- Not ideal for pure task management (Todoist is better for that)
What Notion Does Best
Databases
Notion's database system is genuinely powerful. You can create a database and view it as a table, Kanban board, calendar, gallery, or timeline — each view can have different filters and sorts. We use it for editorial calendars, project tracking, and CRM — things that would require three separate apps otherwise.
Wikis and Documentation
For team knowledge bases, Notion is hard to beat. The nesting structure, backlinks, and search make it easy to build and navigate large knowledge bases. We've replaced Confluence with Notion for internal docs.
Notion AI
The AI features work well for drafting and summarising. Ask it to "summarise this page" or "write a first draft of a blog post about X" and the results are genuinely useful. It's not a replacement for Claude or GPT-4 for complex tasks, but for in-context assistance it's valuable.
What It Does Poorly
Task management: Notion's task system lacks the simplicity and reliability of dedicated apps like Todoist or Things 3. Due dates are cumbersome, and there's no smart scheduling.
Speed: Heavy Notion workspaces can feel sluggish, especially on mobile. Pages with many embeds or large databases load noticeably slowly.
Offline access: Limited offline functionality is a frustration for anyone who works on planes or in areas with unreliable internet.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Unlimited pages, 7-day history |
| Plus | $8/mo | Unlimited history, guests |
| Business | $15/mo | Advanced permissions, analytics |
| Notion AI | +$8-10/mo | AI writing features |
The Verdict
Notion is the best all-in-one workspace for people who need flexibility — writers, solopreneurs, small teams, and developers who want to customise their workflow. The free plan is genuinely useful, and the Plus plan is worth $8/mo if you collaborate with others.
If you just need a task manager, look elsewhere. If you want a second brain that can do almost anything, Notion delivers.
