shouldiuse.io

Categories

VERDICT

Notion Review

Worth it

Should I use Notion?

Build Custom Agents, search across all your apps, and automate busywork. The AI workspace where teams get more done, faster. - notion.so

· 1 month ago

Notion is a mature, widely adopted all-in-one workspace with a 4.6/5 rating across 13,836 G2 reviews, a free tier, and strong docs/wiki/project capabilities, making it a solid buy for most teams. Buy with eyes open: reviewers flag weak automation and a learning curve, and buyers handling sensitive data should run a security review given recent CVEs, an unpatched Notion AI exfiltration report, and an unverified 110M-record breach claim.

Confidence

High. Based on 40+ public sources reviewed across customer reviews (G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, YouTube), security disclosures (CVE trackers, UpGuard, PromptArmor, official Notion security pages), pricing guides, and company/funding profiles.

Ratings

  • Value for moneyNot disclosed
  • Ease of useNot disclosed
  • Feature depthNot disclosed
  • Support qualityNot disclosed
  • Security postureNot disclosed

Pricing

$0

Seat-based pricing with four tiers: Free, Plus, Business, and Enterprise. Plus is documented at $10/month/seat; Business pricing was not disclosed in the sources reviewed; Enterprise requires contacting sales and is expected to be significant. Pricing complaints (including for personal use) appear consistently in G2 reviews and third-party guides.

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Plus$10/month/seat
BusinessNot disclosed in sources reviewed
EnterpriseCustom — contact sales

Best for

  • Teams wanting docs, wikis, and project management consolidated in one flexible workspace
  • Organizations that value deep customization and knowledge management — Notion is a G2 Leader in Knowledge Management, AI Software, and Project Management
  • Teams adopting AI-assisted work — Notion has moved far beyond a notes app and is increasingly used as an AI workspace
  • Buyers on a budget who want to start free and scale into paid seats

Not for

  • Teams whose workflows depend on heavy automation — reviewers consistently describe Notion as 'brilliant for docs and wikis, frustrating for automation'
  • Organizations that need native email-client and other deep integrations out of the box — missing native connections are the most frequently cited criticism
  • Users who need fast, frictionless note capture — Reddit users report slow quick-access to notes and a real learning curve ('most non user friendly and annoying app' per one reviewer)
  • Enterprises needing transparent upfront pricing — the top tier requires contacting sales and you should 'expect it to be significant'

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Pricing is seat-based with four tiers, and guides warn of hidden limits on plans — audit per-seat costs across your whole team before committing

medium

Enterprise pricing is opaque: you must contact sales and should 'expect it to be significant'

medium

Notion's pricing has shifted recently, with the biggest change tied to new AI-related pricing realities — budget for AI features separately from base seats

medium

Initial setup burden is real — teams that neglect proper structure get into trouble, and many buyers churn to one of the dozens of alternatives marketed to frustrated Notion users

low

Users often complain about pricing, especially for personal use, so the paid tiers may feel expensive for individuals or small teams

Pros and cons

Pros

  • 4.6-star rating on G2 across 13,836 reviews, praised for customization
  • Users consistently praise Notion for its flexibility and ease of organization
  • Named a G2 Leader in Best AI Software, Best Project Management, and Enterprise categories based on 5,000+ reviews
  • Versatile productivity tool covering note-taking and project management, with users reporting increased efficiency
  • Generally considered cost-competitive versus alternatives
  • Offers strong security features including encryption and user authentication
  • SOC 2 certified with published infrastructure security and AI data-handling practices
  • Financially stable, established company: founded 2013, $343M raised, and crossed $500M in annual revenue in 2025

Cons

  • Frustrating for automation despite strength in docs and wikis
  • Most frequently cited criticism is weak native connections, e.g., to email clients
  • Not a quick-access note tool — poor fit if you need instant capture of notes
  • Steep learning curve for some — users report it takes a long time to get comfortable and some abandon dashboards early
  • Pricing complaints surface consistently across G2 reviews
  • Negative Trustpilot experiences exist, including 1-star reviews describing a decline in the product

Sources & method

- 21 sources - Notion publishes SOC 2 certification, infrastructure security details, and AI data-handling practices, and issues security updates (e.g., a July '26 update). However, vulnerability trackers list 4 known CVEs with a risk score of 37/100 including at least one critical/high, PromptArmor reported an unpatched Notion AI data-exfiltration vector, pages were found leaking user emails and profile pictures, and hackers claimed exfiltration of 110 million records — a claim Notion did not confirm and publicly denies. Note: a vendor risk report found no reports of unsolicited scanning in the last 90 days.

official x4review x10security x5news x2
  • 4 known CVEs with elevated risk score, Vulnerability tracking lists Notion with 4 known CVEs, a risk score of 37/100, and 1 critical/high severity issue, including CVE-2024-23745.
  • Notion AI data exfiltration reported as unpatched, PromptArmor published research describing a data-exfiltration vector via Notion AI that it characterized as unpatched.
  • Unverified claim of 110 million records exfiltrated, Hackers claimed to have exfiltrated 110 million records from Notion; an automated Notion reply stated it 'cannot confirm a specific' incident, and Notion denies any data breaches after investigating claims.
  • Public pages found leaking user emails and profile pictures, A report documented Notion public pages exposing user emails and profile pictures.

Key stats

  • Not rated

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 21

    Sources

  • Analyzed

Pricing

Free

$0

Plus

$10/month/seat

Business

Not disclosed

Enterprise

Not disclosed

Seat-based pricing with four tiers: Free, Plus, Business, and Enterprise. Plus is documented at $10/month/seat; Business pricing was not disclosed in the sources reviewed; Enterprise requires contacting sales and is expected to be significant. Pricing complaints (including for personal use) appear consistently in G2 reviews and third-party guides.

Security

Notion publishes SOC 2 certification, infrastructure security details, and AI data-handling practices, and issues security updates (e.g., a July '26 update).

  • 4 known CVEs with elevated risk scoreVulnerability tracking lists Notion with 4 known CVEs, a risk score of 37/100, and 1 critical/high severity issue, including CVE-2024-23745.11
  • Notion AI data exfiltration reported as unpatchedPromptArmor published research describing a data-exfiltration vector via Notion AI that it characterized as unpatched.12

However, vulnerability trackers list 4 known CVEs with a risk score of 37/100 including at least one critical/high, PromptArmor reported an unpatched Notion AI data-exfiltration vector, pages were found leaking user emails and profile pictures, and hackers claimed exfiltration of 110 million records — a claim Notion did not confirm and publicly denies. Note: a vendor risk report found no reports of unsolicited scanning in the last 90 days.

  • Unverified claim of 110 million records exfiltratedHackers claimed to have exfiltrated 110 million records from Notion; an automated Notion reply stated it 'cannot confirm a specific' incident, and Notion denies any data breaches after investigating claims.13
  • Public pages found leaking user emails and profile picturesA report documented Notion public pages exposing user emails and profile pictures.15

What users say

Sentiment is broadly positive at scale: a 4.6/5 G2 rating across 13,836 reviews with consistent praise for flexibility, customization, and organization, and G2 reviewers report Notion excels in overall user satisfaction.

The recurring negatives are weak automation, missing native email-client integrations, a real learning curve (some Reddit users call it non-user-friendly early on), and pricing gripes; Trustpilot shows a minority of very negative experiences.

Alternatives

Compare Notion with each alternative.

  • Coda

    Listed among the most popular Notion alternatives for teams wanting a doc-plus-database workspace.

  • ClickUp

    A frequently recommended Notion alternative, particularly for project-management-heavy teams.

  • Trello

    A simpler, board-first option cited among the most popular Notion alternatives.

    Notion vs Trello

  • Slite

    Positioned for teams wanting a knowledge base without Notion's setup overhead.

    Notion vs Slite

  • Open-source alternatives (e.g., free self-hosted tools)

    Free and open-source options are marketed to buyers who want to avoid Notion's pricing and lock-in.

Full analysis

Based on 40+ public sources reviewed across customer reviews (G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, YouTube), security disclosures (CVE trackers, UpGuard, PromptArmor, official Notion security pages), pricing guides, and company/funding profiles.

Seat-based pricing with four tiers: Free, Plus, Business, and Enterprise. Plus is documented at $10/month/seat; Business pricing was not disclosed in the sources reviewed; Enterprise requires contacting sales and is expected to be significant. Pricing complaints (including for personal use) appear consistently in G2 reviews and third-party guides.

More pros

  • Offers strong security features including encryption and user authentication
  • SOC 2 certified with published infrastructure security and AI data-handling practices
  • Financially stable, established company: founded 2013, $343M raised, and crossed $500M in annual revenue in 2025

More cons

  • Negative Trustpilot experiences exist, including 1-star reviews describing a decline in the product

More gotchas

  • Initial setup burden is real — teams that neglect proper structure get into trouble, and many buyers churn to one of the dozens of alternatives marketed to frustrated Notion users

More alternatives

  • Open-source alternatives (e.g., free self-hosted tools)

Methodology

Based on 40+ public sources reviewed across customer reviews (G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, YouTube), security disclosures (CVE trackers, UpGuard, PromptArmor, official Notion security pages), pricing guides, and company/funding profiles.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Notion has a 4.6-star rating on G2, praised for customizationg2.com
    review
  2. Notion Reviews on G2 — flexibility and ease of organizationg2.com
    review
  3. Notion review (2026): brilliant for docs and wikis, frustrating for automation | eesel AIeesel.ai
    review
  4. Notion review (2026): most cited criticisms are native connections to email clients | Seatableseatable.com
    review
  5. My Honest Notion Review After Using It For +2 Yearsthebusinessdive.com
    review
  6. Notion Pricing Tiers & Costs — The Digital Project Managerthedigitalprojectmanager.com
    review
  7. Notion Pricing Guide: Free vs Paid Plans (Plus $10/month/seat)cloudeagle.ai
    official
  8. Notion Pricing 2026: All Plans Explained | Lifestacklifestack.ai
    review
  9. Notion Pricing Explained (2026): Plans, Costs and Hidden Limits | Gendgend.co
    review
  10. Notion Review — Knowledgebase.net (Enterprise contact-sales pricing)knowledgebase.net
    review
  11. Notion security vulnerabilities — 4 CVEs, risk score 37/100 | SecAlertssecalerts.co
    security
  12. Notion AI: Data Exfiltration (unpatched) | PromptArmorpromptarmor.com
    security
  13. 110 million records exfiltrated from Notion, hackers claim | Cybernewscybernews.com
    security
  14. Is Notion Secure? Key Risks | Metomicmetomic.io
    security
  15. Notion public pages found leaking user emails and profile pictures | DigitalShieldescudodigital.com
    security
  16. Notion Security & Compliance | SOC 2 Certifiednotion.com
    official
  17. Security update (July '26) | Notionnotion.com
    official
  18. Notion rides AI boom to $500 million in annual revenue | CNBCcnbc.com
    news
  19. Notion: Funding, Team & Investors | Startup Introsstartupintros.com
    news
  20. The 10 Best Notion Alternatives 2026 | Sliteslite.com
    review
  21. Notion rides G2 Leader recognition (Notion LinkedIn post)linkedin.com
    official

Add this review to your site

Notion earned a Worth it check.

Put the badge on your site, pricing page, or docs.

Visitors see an independent review.

The link points here, and search engines follow it.

This is the badge visitors see on your site.

Worth it Notion Independent review on Should I Use It

Paste one snippet. Keep the link as it is. A nofollow tag stops search engines from following it.

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.