Featurebase

What is Notion

Notion is an all-in-one workspace application that provides components such as notes, databases, Kanban boards, wikis, calendars, and reminders. Users can connect these components to create their own systems for knowledge management, note taking, data management, and project management. The tool is designed for both individual use and team collaboration. It was founded in 2013 by Ivan Zhao, Simon Last, and Toby Schachman. The company, Notion Labs Inc., is based in San Francisco, California. Its main purpose is to bring many different workplace tools into one single platform, reducing the need to switch between multiple applications.

Notion Features

Notion offers a flexible set of features that can be combined in many ways.

• Connected Workspace: All your work is in one place. You can create documents, databases, and wikis and link them together to build a central source of information.
• Blocks: Every piece of content in Notion is a 'block'. This can be a paragraph of text, a bullet point, an image, a checklist item, or even an embedded database. This block-based system makes it easy to rearrange content.
• Databases: Create powerful databases with different views like tables, lists, calendars, Kanban boards, and galleries. You can use them to manage projects, track tasks, or organize any kind of information.
• Templates: Notion has a large library of pre-built templates for many common tasks, such as project plans, meeting notes, content calendars, and personal habit trackers. Users can also create and share their own templates.
• Real-Time Collaboration: Teams can work on pages at the same time. You can see who is on a page, leave comments, and use @-mentions to notify colleagues.
• Notion AI: An integrated artificial intelligence assistant that can help summarize long documents, brainstorm ideas, write drafts, and improve your writing.
• Web Clipper: A browser extension that lets you save any webpage, article, or image directly into your Notion workspace.

Notion Pricing Plans

Notion provides several pricing tiers to fit different user needs.

• Free Plan: Designed for individuals. It offers unlimited pages and blocks, but has limits on file upload size and the number of guest collaborators.
• Plus Plan: Aimed at power users and small groups. This plan removes the block limit for teams and offers larger file uploads and a longer page history.
• Business Plan: Built for companies and teams. It includes all features of the Plus plan, plus advanced collaboration tools, private teamspaces, and SAML SSO for better security.
• Enterprise Plan: For large organizations that need advanced security, controls, and support. It offers features like a dedicated success manager, advanced security settings, and unlimited page history.

Notion Free Plan

Notion offers a very generous free plan. It is not a trial and can be used for free forever. The free plan includes unlimited pages and blocks for individual use. You can invite up to 10 guests to collaborate on specific pages. The main limitations are a 5MB file upload limit per file and a 7-day page history, which means you can only restore page versions from the last seven days.

How to use Notion

Getting started with Notion is straightforward.

1. Create an Account: Sign up on the Notion website with your email or a Google/Apple account.
2. Create Your First Page: After signing in, you will be in your workspace. Click on 'Add a page' in the left sidebar.
3. Use Blocks: On the new page, you can just start typing. To add different types of content, type / to open a menu of all available blocks. You can add headings, to-do lists, images, and more.
4. Build a Database: A common use is to create a task list. Type /table and select 'Table - Full page'. You can add columns for task name, due date, status, and priority.
5. Use a Template: To speed things up, click on 'Templates' in the sidebar. Browse categories like 'Project Management' or 'Personal' and select a template that fits your needs. Notion will create the page with all the necessary structure.
6. Invite Collaborators: To share a page, click the 'Share' button at the top right. You can invite people by email or share a public link.

Pros and Cons of Notion

Notion is a powerful tool, but it has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Pros:

• Flexibility: It is extremely versatile. You can build almost any kind of workflow or system you need.
• All-in-One: It combines the functionality of many apps, like Google Docs, Trello, and Airtable, into one place.
• Powerful Databases: The database feature is very strong, with multiple views, filters, sorts, and relations.
• Generous Free Plan: The free plan is sufficient for most individual users.
• Clean Interface: The user interface is minimal and clean, which helps with focus.

Cons:

• Steep Learning Curve: Because it is so flexible, it can be overwhelming for new users to learn all its features.
• Performance Issues: Workspaces with many pages and large databases can sometimes feel slow to load.
• Limited Offline Mode: While some offline access is available, it is not fully reliable. You need an internet connection for most functions.
• Mobile App Limitations: The mobile app is good for viewing and simple edits, but it is not as powerful as the desktop or web version for building complex pages.

Notion integrations

Notion connects with many popular applications to help you centralize your work.

• Slack integration: Send notifications from Notion databases to Slack channels. You can also create or update Notion pages directly from Slack.
• Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive integration: Embed files and documents from these cloud storage services directly into your Notion pages.
• Figma and Miro integration: Embed design files and whiteboards for your team to see and discuss within Notion.
• GitHub integration: Link pull requests and issues to your tasks in Notion to track development progress.
• Zapier and Make (Integromat) integration: Connect Notion to thousands of other apps to automate workflows, such as creating a new Notion database item from a new Google Calendar event.

Notion Alternatives

If Notion is not the right fit, there are several other good options.

• Obsidian: A powerful knowledge base that works on top of local Markdown files. It is best for building a personal knowledge graph with linked notes and is faster because it is local-first.
• Trello: A simple and visual project management tool based on Kanban boards. It is easier to use for straightforward project tracking but lacks Notion's database and document features.
• Asana: A more structured project management tool for teams. It has stronger features for managing complex projects, timelines, and workloads, but is less flexible for note-taking and knowledge management.
• Evernote: A long-standing note-taking app. It is excellent for capturing information quickly, with strong web clipping and document scanning, but it does not have Notion's database capabilities.
• ClickUp: Another all-in-one productivity platform that competes directly with Notion. It offers a different approach to task management, documents, and goals, often with more built-in features out of the box.

Notion API

Yes, Notion provides a public API for developers. This allows you to build custom integrations and connect Notion with other software. You can use the API to read, create, update, and delete pages, databases, and content blocks.

To get an API key, called an integration token, you need to:

1. Go to your Notion workspace.
2. Click on Settings & Members in the left sidebar, then go to the Integrations tab.
3. Click Develop your own integrations.
4. Click + New integration, give it a name, and click Submit.
5. You will see your internal integration token. Copy this key to use in your applications.

Here is an example using curl to create a new page in a database:

curl -X POST https://api.notion.com/v1/pages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_INTEGRATION_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Notion-Version: 2022-06-28" \
  --data '{
    "parent": { "database_id": "YOUR_DATABASE_ID" },
    "properties": {
      "Name": {
        "title": [
          {
            "text": {
              "content": "New Task from API"
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }'

Notion Affiliate program

Notion has an official affiliate program that allows you to earn money by referring new customers. The program is managed through the partner platform PartnerStack.

• Commission Rate: Affiliates earn a 50% commission on all payments made by a referred user for the first 12 months.
• How to Join: You can apply to the Notion Affiliate Program through their official partners page. You will need to fill out an application form describing how you plan to promote Notion. The team reviews all applications.
• Getting Paid: Once you are approved and start earning commissions, payments are processed and paid out through your PartnerStack account, typically via PayPal or direct bank transfer.