Notion has become ubiquitous in startup culture. We used it exclusively for 6 months across a 15-person team to see if it deserves the hype.
What is Notion?
Notion is an all-in-one workspace combining notes, docs, wikis, databases, and project management. It's designed to replace multiple tools with one flexible platform.
Pricing Breakdown
Free
- Unlimited pages and blocks
- Up to 10 guests
- 7-day page history
- Perfect for individuals and very small teams
Plus ($10/user/month)
- Unlimited file uploads
- 30-day page history
- Unlimited guests
- Basic integrations
Business ($18/user/month)
- 90-day page history
- Advanced permissions
- SAML SSO
- Bulk export
- Advanced analytics
Enterprise (Custom)
- Unlimited version history
- Advanced security
- Dedicated support
- Custom contracts
Real cost for 15-person startup:
- Year 1: Free tier works
- Year 2: Plus @ $10 × 15 = $150/month
- Total: $1,800/year
Compared to replacing Confluence ($10) + Asana ($11) + Google Docs (free) = $21/user, Notion is cheaper.
Use Cases We Tested
1. Documentation/Wiki ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Replaced our scattered docs. Now everything is searchable in one place.
2. Project Management ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Databases work well for tracking tasks. Not as polished as Linear but good enough.
3. Meeting Notes ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Templates + databases = game changer. Notes are organized and actionable.
4. Product Roadmap ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Boards and timelines visualize plans well. Real-time collaboration works.
5. Company Wiki ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The killer use case. Onboarding new hires is so much faster.
6. CRM (lightweight) ⭐⭐⭐
Works for very simple needs. Not a replacement for real CRM.
Performance Testing
Page load speed (median across 50 pages)
- Empty page: 0.8s
- Text-heavy: 1.2s
- Database-heavy: 2.5s
- Media-heavy: 3.8s
Sync speed (multi-user editing)
- Text changes: <200ms typically
- Occasional conflicts with concurrent editing
- Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Search
- Speed: Fast (<1s for most queries)
- Accuracy: Good but not perfect
- Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Offline mode
- Read: Works well
- Edit: Limited, syncs when online
- Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
Databases: The Secret Weapon
Notion's databases are what set it apart:
Views we used:
- Table: Spreadsheet-like view
- Board: Kanban for tasks
- Calendar: Timeline view
- Gallery: Visual content
- List: Simple list view
- Timeline: Gantt chart
Properties tested:
- Text, Number, Select, Multi-select ✅
- Date, Person, Files ✅
- Formula, Relation, Rollup ✅
- Button (automation) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Power: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Surprisingly powerful for a doc tool. Not as robust as Airtable but close.
Collaboration Features
Real-time editing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
See cursors and changes instantly. Occasional sync issues.
Comments: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thread conversations on any block. Resolve when done.
@mentions: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notify teammates. Works perfectly.
Sharing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Granular permissions. Public links. Password protection. Very flexible.
Templates: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Create reusable templates. Huge time-saver.
Integrations We Tested
Slack: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Get notified of changes. Search Notion from Slack.
GitHub: ⭐⭐⭐
Embed issues and PRs. Okay but not deep integration.
Figma: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Embed designs directly. Live updates. Great for design docs.
Google Drive: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Embed docs, sheets, slides. Works well.
API: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Build custom integrations. Well-documented.
Zapier: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Connect to 5,000+ apps. Enables powerful workflows.
Pros
✅ Flexibility: Build exactly what you need
✅ All-in-one: Replace multiple tools
✅ Beautiful: Best-looking productivity tool
✅ Databases: Surprisingly powerful
✅ Templates: Reusable structures save time
✅ Collaboration: Real-time editing works well
✅ Cost: Cheaper than tool sprawl
✅ Search: Find anything quickly
Cons
❌ Performance: Slow with large databases
❌ Offline: Limited functionality
❌ Mobile: App is decent but not great
❌ Learning curve: Flexibility = complexity
❌ Permissions: Can get confusing in large orgs
❌ No native forms: Need integrations
❌ Formula limitations: Not as powerful as Airtable
Real-World Usage: 6-Month Results
Team: 15 people (5 eng, 3 product, 3 design, 2 marketing, 2 ops)
Tools replaced:
- Confluence (docs)
- Trello (task boards)
- Google Docs (some use cases)
- Various spreadsheets
Stats after 6 months:
- Pages created: 847
- Databases: 23
- Most-visited page: Company Wiki (viewed 2,341 times)
- Search queries: ~200/day
- Active users: 15/15 (100%)
Time savings:
- Onboarding new hires: 40% faster (everything in one place)
- Finding information: 60% faster (unified search)
- Meeting notes: 30% more actionable (database structure)
Team feedback: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.3/5)
Quotes:
- "I can finally find things" - Engineer
- "Onboarding is so much easier" - Ops Manager
- "Wish it was faster with big databases" - Product Manager
- "Love the flexibility, hate the learning curve" - Designer
Comparison to Alternatives
vs. Confluence
- Notion is more flexible
- Confluence better for large enterprises
- Notion is more beautiful
- Confluence has better permissions
vs. Coda
- Similar concepts, different execution
- Coda has better formulas/automation
- Notion has better UX
- Notion is more popular (better templates)
vs. Airtable
- Airtable is database-first
- Notion is docs-first with databases
- Airtable has more powerful formulas
- Notion is better for knowledge management
vs. Linear
- Linear is purpose-built for issues
- Linear is faster and more polished
- Notion is more flexible
- Linear is better for engineering teams
vs. Google Docs
- Google Docs is simpler
- Notion is more structured
- Google Docs has better real-time editing
- Notion has databases
When to Use Notion
Perfect for:
- Startup teams (5-50 people)
- Remote/async-first companies
- Knowledge work and documentation
- Teams wanting to consolidate tools
- Product/design/ops teams
- Company wikis and handbooks
Not ideal for:
- Traditional project management (use Linear/Jira)
- CRM (use HubSpot/Salesforce)
- Large enterprises (100+ people)
- Teams needing offline-first
- High-performance database needs
Pro Tips from 6 Months
1. Start with templates
Don't build from scratch. Use community templates.
2. Keep structure simple
Easy to over-organize. Flat is often better.
3. Use databases liberally
They're more powerful than you think.
4. Set up a wiki early
Document as you go. Future you will thank you.
5. Link pages
Backlinks create a knowledge graph.
6. Use templates for recurring work
Meeting notes, project briefs, etc.
7. Don't migrate everything
Start fresh. Migrate only what's needed.
Common Mistakes
Over-engineering structure
Simpler is usually better.
Not using permissions
Set up proper sharing from the start.
Ignoring templates
Reusable templates save enormous time.
Creating too many workspaces
One workspace per team is usually enough.
Not training team
Invest time in onboarding. Pays off.
The Verdict
Rating: 8.5/10
Notion excels as a knowledge management and documentation platform. The flexibility is powerful but comes with complexity. Performance issues with large databases are the main pain point.
For our 15-person team, Notion became the single source of truth. The time savings in onboarding and finding information alone justified the cost.
Highly recommended for:
- Startup teams building async culture
- Companies wanting to consolidate tools
- Knowledge work and documentation
- Teams willing to invest in setup
- Remote-first organizations
Consider alternatives if:
- You need purpose-built project management
- Performance is critical (large datasets)
- Team is 100+ people
- You need offline-first
- You want zero learning curve
Notion isn't perfect, but for startups building their operating system, it's hard to beat the combination of flexibility, power, and cost.
