• long running

Notion.so - Now Free for Personal Use

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Notion is an all in one workspace (notes, tasks, wiki) and a good alternative for onenote/evernote. With the latest release, they have made their personal plan ($5/pm) free to for personal use.

Release notes

Here's the TL;DR from their Reddit post:

  • The old Free Plan had a limit of 1,000 blocks of content. Our new free Personal Plan has no cap on content.
  • Before, only guests or members could edit a page with you. Now we've added a new sharing feature that lets you give edit access to any Notion user by sharing the link to the page. Learn how to do that here
    We've added a new pricing plan called Personal Pro. More on this below.
  • Check out full details on this news and more at notion.so/personal - including examples and stories about how Notion can help you manage your life!

Here's a quick FAQ:

If you were already using Notion with a Free Plan, here's what changed:

  • No more block limit! Add as much content as you like.
  • The free Personal Plan now has a limit of 5 guests. Any guests that you already invited will still be there, but you'll need to upgrade to a Personal Pro Plan to add more.
  • You can also collaborate with others on the free plan via link sharing.
  • If you were using a Free Plan with multiple members, you've been switched to a Team Plan trial automatically. Other than the name, nothing is different for you until you hit 1,000 blocks of content. At that point, you can remove the other members and switch to a Personal Plan (make sure they back up their private pages first), or upgrade to our Team Plan.*

If you were using Notion with a paid Personal Plan subscription, or if you're a student or teacher, you've been automatically upgraded to the new Personal Pro Plan! It includes all the features of the free Personal Plan, plus:
* No limit on file uploads (5MB is the limit for free)
* Adding unlimited guest collaborators to any page
* Version history up to 30 days
* Priority customer support
* API access (coming soon, for real)

Related Stores

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Comments

  • +1

    Just downloaded and started checking it out, so far it looks really good. the preset templates are something I have not seen in any other similar app.

  • Anyone have any personal experience on this vs TickTick?

    • +1

      why ticktick not google calendar/tasks?

      • +4

        Google tasks is good for minimal use. Ticktick and Todoist is used by power users.

        • +1

          Personally using Amazing marvin here,

          Big fan, Only issue is price is expensive.

        • +3

          How do I know if I am a power user? I'd love to be a power user but I don't know where to start

          (kind of /s… but, i would)

          • @isthisreallife22: Well, How many projects you have?
            How many tasks do you input dialy?
            Do you use want to use " Fill out this form @10Pm tomorrow night" ?

            If you have read GTD, you would know.

      • +1

        I like TickTick because it has text parsing, like remember the milk (but cheaper)

    • +2

      Its not really a ticktick competitor more like an all in everything compeitor.

      Kinda like Onenote, Evernote ETC.

      I love it tbh,

      Having everything in one place was significantly better.

      Unless your using a pen, I prefer it significantly for my work flow.

      Sadly still using one note for hand writen notes.

    • +1

      TickTick is good, has natural language input and it's quick and fast to add new tasks if you're after something lightweight. But the free version has limits on how many lists you can create. Personally I've started using Notion for even light weight tasks such as sharing shopping lists etc and works just fine. Notion does have a steeper learning curve to make it work just right for you personally, but once you're familiar with it you'll love it. If you have a student .edu account you can even subscribe to the personal pro plan which has unlimited uploads i think. But the new free tier is great already.

    • +3

      Anyone have any personal experience on this vs TickTick?

      My kids asked if they could download TickTick on their ipads because their friends are all using it. Mum said no !!!

    • +3

      Lol for a sec there I thought you were talking about TikTok

      • +6

        JV made you think that

        • Nano-Deal-insert:

          We just rec'd a small pile of:

          • "MATH" hats (fr Andrew Yang's suspended 2020 campaign)

          MATH = "Making America Think Hard"

          …also works for AUSTRALIA, eg, on Nuclear MSR, due ~2030

          What cost US$ 25 or 30 (to supp. Yang B4 he suspended it)
          can be <= AU$ 9 via AliExpress [if you shop-around]

          [Mum -can't- say Not to MATH]

    • I still prefer Ticktick for to-do list.
      I use notion purely for note taking, planning, grocery list etc.

    • you mean Youtube vs TikTok ?

    • I use this for note taking for university, random databases/notes related to my hobbies/interests. TickTick is purely to-do app whereas Notion is more of an 'all in one master of none' type of application.

  • +1

    interested! im using free evernote now.
    currently researching and found: not sure this is current or not:

    https://www.keepproductive.com/blog/the-major-flaws-with-not…

    i think the biggest issue is with offline access

    • +1

      I've been using Notion for about 2 years so I can comment.

      Offline Access on a mobile device is pretty much limited to the last 10 to 15 pages you have accessed, there's some sort of cache. Haven't had much experience on a laptop. It might be a dealbreaker if you plan on being offline a lot, or like to be able to access everything. Otherwise, I've never really had problems syncing offline when going back online. If you need to you just create a new page and type on that, then copy/paste that back into a page that you need to.

      For me, I've used Notion for trip planning and was a bit disappointed during my last travels when I wasn't able to bring up some of my travel notes when I was in a country that my travel sim didn't support. These days though data is fairly cheap when at home so I just leave data on.

      YMMV. I've tried Simplenotes, Notion, and was looking at Joplin but never got around to it. Simplenotes had syncing issues at the time which is why I migrated. My use case might differ from you though, I prefer to use Markdown over everything.

      • +1

        and you dont give evernote a go? seems they are the best especially if you dont mind paying premium fee. i am still at free, happy with 2 devices only and limited feature. but i can see all my notes with aeroplane mode on mobile once they synced

        • +1

          Evernote doesn't support Markdown. For me, that's a dealbreaker.

      • +1

        Highly recommend Joplin, it's my daily.

        • +1

          I'm a Joplin convert, came from notable. Great app.

      • Simplenote user here. Syncing has gotten much better in the last few years.

        • Actually the other thing that bothered me was the lack of "folders". Everything was at the top level, you could only tag things. Became difficult once I had more than 100 or so notes.

  • what advantage do these apps have over just the stock ios reminders?

    • +9

      For starters, you're comparing apples and oranges.

      • -3

        Better than comparing Apples and Googles.

  • +8

    Might be worth noting that the personal (education/pro) plan is free for all students.

  • +1

    Cannot recommend this enough. It's replaced all my note taking workflows and is just a great jack of all trades in the productivity sphere.

    • +2

      how about offline access? can i write a note online from my laptop, sync to my android mobile phone app, few hours later can i see it on mobile without internet?

      • It doesn't support offline at the moment. You have to keep the specific page open while working offline.

      • This is where OneNote reigns supreme for me. Any offline work syncs once you are connected the internet again.

  • Nice - this app is really good for a lot of things.
    -I.e. Recipe book, Study …etc

  • +9

    From memory some privacy issues - their ToS say employees can view you notes at any time for any reason or something along those lines. So probably not a good platform for any sensitive info.

    That being said, I assume other platforms have similar privacy issues. I know evernote did.

    Either way nice post - useful for recepies and study notes all the same

  • +2

    I'll give it a go for my notes (and maybe wikis now). I've been using a very basic Simplenote: https://app.simplenote.com/.

    Apple Notes are too often out of sync and I lose content because of that, ie. I add something on my phone, then open my laptop and Notes uploads and overwrite what I've just done on the phone. Terrible.

  • JIRA. I am here!

  • -1

    Why not just use Google Tasks? Simple and quick.

    • Very different tools. Notion is kind of a knowledge base that could also be used as note taking and planner.

  • +1

    I think I could really learn to like Notion, if it could search embedded PDFs. Until then - Onenote it is.

  • This vs. OneNote? :) If anyone has a take on that

    • +2

      Notion for sure if you're after personal organisation, notekeeping, creating your own ecosystem etc. OneNote is better if all you need is basic pages/notebook structure.

      I find OneNote too clunky and nowhere near as intuitive as Notion.

      • Thanks! I've never heard of this one before but definitely sounds like it's worth checking out :)

        • +2

          Onenote sadly still has the best "pen" support so I would recomend that if you use it for free flow notes.

    • Onenote is too slow TBH. I use the simple mac os note or google keep app for quick note, and notion for more detailed, structured information.

    • Notion does not seem to have pen support though. Couldnt use my apple pencil on my ipad for handwritten notes like i do with onenote.

  • +1

    Can‘t even share a note with at least one person like my wife on the free plan.

    • +1

      really? https://www.notion.so/personal

      it says share with 5 ?

      Personal
      free
      Free for individuals
      Unlimited pages & blocks
      Share with 5 guests
      Sync across devices

      Personal Pro
      $5
      per month
      Everything in Personal, plus
      Unlimited file uploads
      Unlimited guests
      Version history
      API accessCOMING SOON

      • Thanks, worked it out was confused with the one person only.

      • I think guests can see the document but cannot edit.

        • can edit…
          https://www.notion.so/Guest-access-823e981ce5e44b348e6df0521…

          but not sure about if guess need to create notion account to view/edit? if so that's is annoying for the guests
          edit: can without creating account/

          If you'd like your students to be able to view the page without needing to have a Notion account, you can turn on "Public Access" for the page. They won't be able to make any edits without an account though.

    • Changed with this release. Now you can share (read/write) with up to 5 people

  • Blocked by my company IT policy as well. Not sure why.

    • use your own email account.

    • Yea, Its same for me. I can't access Nothion from company laptop. IT block all such websites so we only use recommended note app (OneNote)

    • +1

      The reason it is blocked is because notion has the domain name ".so" which is Somalia. IT assumes it is a scan site. Contact your IT department to unblock it.

  • +1

    Notion seems to have functionality more like Confluence (macros, etc.) than a general task manager.

  • +1

    I've been trying out different productivity/collaboration/wiki software over the last couple weeks.
    Notion, ClickUp and Airtables are all pretty good.
    I think Notion gets the nod if they're offering unlimited storage and blocks!

    • +1

      Tried almost all available productivity apps recently and settled on clickup. Best by far if you're trying to manage tasks with it for multiple projects.

      Notion is good as a wiki or information database sort of thing but sucks for task management.

  • +5

    I like Notion. If you have an educational email. You can get the pro account for free.

    • How did you manage to get a pro account? I signed up with my educational .edu email and only got personal account.

      • same here. signed up with educational account but got personal only.

        • +3

          You just need to change your plan in the settings. Wasn't able within the app, so go through the web app

  • Anyone replaced Trello with Notion? Looking to see if it's a solid replacement for 'To Dos' and (multiple) Project Management.

    • It would be a no brainer to replace Trello with Notion for personal use. You can have a small trello-like board within a page for example

    • Tried all of these and found Clickup was the best by far. Notion doesn't have good task management functions. Clickup also has optional Kanban views like Trello if you like those. I prefer list views though as you can see more information at once.

  • +1

    Interesting. I've been using Roam Research and it's really quite good - I've not used another note taking app like it. however, I know that they will be coming out of beta soon and may have a fee - not sure if there will be a free tier at all. if it's too expensive then I might migrate to Notion's free plan

    • +1

      +1000000 for Roam Research. Has completely changed the way I think about maintaining knowledge and taking notes. Also doubles as a great personal CRM.

      THeir waitlist is huge but will be opening up this Friday I think.

      Just search #Roamcult on Twitter for all the cool stories on how people are using it.

      • I signed up a few weeks ago and didn't have to go on a waitlist. however, I think because they've had a massive influx of users over the past few weeks they must have stopped signups for the moment. word on the street is that it will cost $15usd/month once out of beta. again, unsure if there will be a free tier.

  • +12

    Notion is fantastic, I'm on the personal education/pro plan as a student. The main drawback to this plan is you can't collaborate to the extent that the 'Team' plan allows you to do, which allows for an unlimited amount of members.

    Many power-users of Notion see it as an extension of themselves, operating as almost a second brain, such as one of my favourite YouTubers, Ali Abdaal. I found it quite difficult to get started with Notion at the start, as there's so much you can do with it, beyond using it as a linear note-taking app. There are still so many features I haven't yet been able to take advantage of. In terms of note-taking, the main reason why I love Notion is because of the 'toggle' feature it has that allows you to set up your notes really neatly. The toggle feature is also perfect for creating active recall questions because you can create a question and then 'embed' the answer into that toggle. It forces you to think about the answer to a question and limits the chance that you might drift your eyes towards the answer before you've had a go at really thinking about the question.

    Screenshotting pages and embedding them within your toggles is also a killer feature.

    Another function I use it for is as an online journal which complements the daily journal I write in. I include info about new people I've met, activities I've done on the day, the amount of sleep I've obtained, the subjects that I've studied, whether I've exercised etc.

    If you're interested, I really recommend this YouTube video by Ali Abdaal on how he uses it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONG26-2mIHU&t=1034s. Some other well renown Notion users are 'Marie Poulin' (widely known as the master of Notion), 'Thomas Frank' and 'Keep Productive'.

    I still use Microsoft Word for assessment tasks etc and Todoist as my task manager, but Notion has become my hub for virtually everything else. Ultimately, what's most important is finding the process that works for you, as some people have killer routines and productivity set-ups that don't obviously rely on using Notion, such as some of the Roam Research users here (which I haven't heard of before today). It's definitely worth giving Notion a shot, just watch some videos on how different people use it to get an idea of how it might fit into your life and don't be discouraged if you find it a little bit difficult to grasp at the beginning when compared to Evernote, OneNote etc. You'll get there!

  • -1

    It's really not that good. Application on desktop is extremely laggy and I'm not even on a bad computer.

  • This is fantastic. I've been on the Personal Pro tier. I can't recall a cheaper tier at the time, when I upped my sub I went from free to the cheapest unlimited block option.

  • +2

    I've been using Notion for the last few months now and it has seriously made things so much easier for me in university. Before when using OneNote, I felt it wasn't as easy to navigate my notes.

    The only downside to Notion is that it doesn't offer much word-processing features and getting used to the 'block' style content can be a bit jarring at first. All the features available in Notion does have a bit of a learning curve (e.g. using relational databases) but once you get used to it, it feels like second nature

    I'll just link an image my current uni setup

    As you can see from the sidebar, I have things categorised into personal/work/education. I've been using almost exclusively Notion + Anki for my studies and it has been great so far.

    I'm really glad they opened this up so that even more people can start using Notion. Can't sing its praises enough honestly!

    • Can you explain your table? How many databases did you create and how have you linked them? For example, when you have a lecture, what do you create first? Lecture notes in your unit database?

  • is there a windows app version? i really dont like using websites for this stuff

    • Yep there's a windows app

    • +1

      Yes, there is! Its boot-up time isn't the best, but I know from reading their updates that they've been working on reducing start-up times across all platforms.

  • +1

    Been using notion for a while and can definitely recommend it for students or people writing notes in general. The templates they provide are actually useful, although as some others have said, getting used to "blocks" will take a bit of time.

    For those asking about why IT departments might have blocked it, it's probably got to do with Notion's terms and conditions.

    Monitoring Content: Although we’re not obligated to monitor access to or use of the Service or Content or to review or edit any Content, we have the right to do so for the purpose of operating the Service, to ensure compliance with these Terms and to comply with applicable law or other legal requirements. We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to remove or disable access to any Content, including User Content, at any time and without notice, including, but not limited to, if we, at our sole discretion, consider any Content to be objectionable or in violation of these Terms. We have the right to investigate violations of these Terms or conduct that affects the Services. We may also consult and cooperate with law enforcement authorities to prosecute users who violate the law.

    So probably stay away for personal info and other sensitive information.

    Also the android app is pretty slow so there's that.

  • I’ve switched to notion from OneNote to use the toggle feature so I can practice active recall. But am frustrated with the inability to annotate notes with my surface pen and the inability to search in PDFs, which means I can’t search for anything in my research notes.

    Anyone found a way to use a toggle-like feature on OneNote?

    • +2

      Hey mate, I've been using OneNote for work a lot more recently and was happy to discover there is a toggle like feature. Doesn't work as well as Notion's, but it's functional (the toggle box isn't permanent).

      https://bealers.com/hiding-text-onenote/

      • This could be a game changer!!! Thanks so much!

  • BEST. APP. EVER.

    Also their android app isn't crappy anymore which is great \o/

  • So excited that they have removed the block limit. 1,000 blocks went so quickly. I have been using Joplin and Slite but now might migrate over to Notion. Thanks OP.

  • +1

    How long is this going to be free for? They're not trying to pull a google are they?

  • I've been using google keep to share shopping list and egiftcard with my partner, the only downside is I cannot use voice command on google home to add item to the list.

    Does notion.so have integration with Google voice to text?

  • Transferring from OneNote, I wish Notion could support global tags.
    BTW,I give a lot of credit to OneNote tags, tag anywhere on a page is classic!

  • +1

    If I use Google Keep, any reason for this?

    • Wondering the same.

      I'm gonna download Notion and give it a play.

    • I think keep Is too simple, Evernote is more comparable with this

  • Notion v Evernote?

    • Also an Evernote user. The way Evernote keep restricting the free tier over recent years makes me want to take a serious look into this.

      • In notion you can create folders in a folder. As far as I remember, in Evernote we are not able to create a notebook inside a notebook.

        One of the downside is that you don't have full offline access as you can with Evernote

  • No linux support :(
    Getting sick of onenote being web only, other nix note taking apps don't have cross support either unless they're web based.

  • Needs 2fa. Nice looking notes app though.

  • Can you use notion for content creation to publish on blogs like blogger or wordpress?

    • Did you ever figure this out?

  • Thank you for posting this, I'm loving it at the moment!

  • I feel like I am not utilising Notion to its full potential.

    It seems so powerful and I am only using it to store notes and some snippets :|

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