shouldiuse.io

Comparison

Memos vs Notion

Memos lands on Depends, and Notion lands on Worth it.

Notion

notion.so

Worth it
Confidence: High

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.

Read the full report

Memos versus Notion
CompareMemosNotion
VerdictDependsWorth it
Best forSelf-hosters comfortable with DockerTeams wanting docs, wikis, and project management consolidated in one flexible workspace
Who it's not forTeams wanting vendor support, SLAs, or compliance guaranteesTeams whose workflows depend on heavy automation . reviewers consistently describe Notion as 'brilliant for docs and wikis, frustrating for automation'
PrivacySelf-hosted, so data stays with you . but the project is pre-1.0 with three public CVEs since 2025.⁵Notion publishes SOC 2 certification, infrastructure security details, and AI data-handling practices, and issues security updates.
Public sentimentSelf-hosters on Reddit and reviewers describe Memos as a fast, simple daily-notes tool that is intentionally minimal.10Sentiment 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.
Biggest gotchaPatch fast: XSS (CVE-2026-30586) and other 2025-2026 CVEs are public⁷Pricing is seat-based with four tiers, and guides warn of hidden limits on plans . audit per-seat costs across your whole team before committing

Pick Memos when

  • Self-hosters comfortable with Docker
  • Personal daily logs and quick notes
  • Developers stashing snippets and links
  • Privacy-focused Markdown users

When Memos is not a fit

  • Teams wanting vendor support, SLAs, or compliance guarantees
  • Non-technical users who can't run a server
  • Anyone building structured wikis or databases . use Obsidian or Notion
  • Orgs that can't tolerate pre-1.0 software risk

Pick Notion when

  • Teams wanting docs, wikis, and project management consolidated in one flexible workspace (thebusinessdive.com/notion-review)
  • Organizations that value deep customization and knowledge management . Notion is a G2 Leader in Knowledge Management, AI Software, and Project Management (g2.com/sellers/notion-2026-07-28)
  • Teams adopting AI-assisted work . Notion has moved far beyond a notes app and is increasingly used as an AI workspace (gend.co/blog/notion-g2-best-software-awards-2026)
  • Buyers on a budget who want to start free and scale into paid seats (lifestack.ai/blog/notion-pricing)

When Notion is not a fit

  • Teams whose workflows depend on heavy automation . reviewers consistently describe Notion as 'brilliant for docs and wikis, frustrating for automation' (eesel.ai/blog/notion-review)
  • Organizations that need native email-client and other deep integrations out of the box . missing native connections are the most frequently cited criticism (seatable.com/notion-experiences)
  • 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) (reddit.com/r/productivity/comments/1odlc3g/does_anyone_actually_use_notion)
  • Enterprises needing transparent upfront pricing . the top tier requires contacting sales and you should 'expect it to be significant' (knowledgebase.net/software/notion-review)

Sources

  1. usememos/memos on GitHubgithub.com
    official
  2. Memos pricing pageusememos.com
    official
  3. Memos security docsusememos.com
    official
  4. Memos Security Policy (0.x status)github.com
    security
  5. CVE-2025-50738 . NVDnvd.nist.gov
    security
  6. CVE-2025-65796 . Kodem Securitykodemsecurity.com
    security
  7. CVE-2026-30586 XSS . SentinelOnesentinelone.com
    security
  8. Arbitrary account creation vulnerability . GitHubgithub.com
    security
  9. Tenable SCA advisory for usememos/memostenable.com
    security
  10. Memos is the dumbest note app I've ever self-hosted . XDAxda-developers.com
    review
  11. Memos: The EASY Way to Take Notes . DBTechdbtechreviews.com
    review
  12. Memos: A lightweight, self-hosted memo hub . Hacker Newsnews.ycombinator.com
    review
  13. Memos app or alternative . r/selfhostedreddit.com
    review
  14. Nice little note taking app . r/selfhostedreddit.com
    review
  15. Memos Review (2026) . IndieRadarindieradar.app
    review
  16. Fully Managed Memos . Elest.ioelest.io
    official