Verdict
Notion holds notes, to-do lists, trackers and documents in one place, and its AI can search all of it, summarise files and transcribe meetings. Free and Plus accounts only get a trial of the AI, and full access costs £16.50 a month per person on Business, although ChatGPT Plus subscribers can link their plan since September 2026. PCMag rated it 3 out of 5 and called it overly complex for most people.
Best for
People who already keep their life or work in Notion
Skip if
Anyone wanting a simple notes app or working offline
Key facts
- Made by
- Notion Labs, Inc.
- Based in
- United States
- Launched
- 2016
- Works on
- iPhone, Android, Web, Windows, Mac
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- £8.5 a month
- Free plan
- Free for individuals with unlimited pages and a limited one-off trial of Notion AI
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Plus (per member, billed yearly) | £8.5 | month |
| Business (per member, billed yearly) | £16.5 | month |
What it does
- builds pages, notes and documents from flexible blocks
- organises projects and tasks in databases with charts
- creates forms and publishes pages as websites
- manages schedules with Notion Calendar
- completes multi-step tasks with the Notion Agent (Business)
- writes AI meeting notes without a bot joining the call (Business)
Ratings
What people say
Users praise how much fits in one app and how quickly it can be set up, but 2026 user threads complain about AI limits running out and AI being locked behind the higher plan. Store ratings are high (4.6 to 4.7) while Trustpilot sits at 2.2 from 438 reviews, mostly over billing and support.
“It's a polished, all-in-one workspace and the onboarding is instant. You open it and just start building.”
Individual user review, 3 May 2026 · source
“It's getting really expensive for me to maintain tbh. I can't even use the ai tool anymore, i have become to reliant to it and now they lock you out if you can't pay.”
Individual user review, 29 July 2026 · source
“I genuinely don't think charging for AI is greedy considering how much of notion is free.”
Individual user review, 29 July 2026 · source
“Is anyone else burning through the Notion AI monthly limit way too fast?”
Individual user review, 9 September 2026 · source
“Notion is crazy because how did they make it feel vibecoded before ai even existed”
Post on X, 28 September 2026 · source
Press reviews
- PCMag 2026-08-13
Rated 3.0 (Average); good for collaboration with excellent AI integration, but 'overly complicated and doesn't work offline'.
- TechRadar 2026-01-03
Meeting Notes transcription and Notion Agent are the standout additions, but full Agent access needs the Business plan (£16.50 a month).
- Tom's Guide 2026-02-25
Came away impressed by Custom Agents, though the reviewer saw the most value for larger teams rather than a freelancer's own work.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- No. Notion says it and its AI subprocessors do not use customer data to train models, unless a user opts in to share data
- Opt-out
- Not needed; training is off unless the user opts in
- Retention
- AI providers keep data for 30 days or fewer on non-Enterprise plans (zero retention on Enterprise); deleted pages recoverable for 30 days, embeddings deleted within 60 days
- Incidents
- Jan 2026: PromptArmor showed Notion AI could leak workspace data via a hidden prompt injection; Notion patched it on 7 Jan 2026 after first closing the report. Sep 2025: researchers showed a similar agent data-theft attack (CodeIntegrity, Schneier on Security). No fines or regulatory actions found in searches of HN and news.
- Age limit
- Not directed at children; the privacy policy says data collected from children without required parental consent will be deleted. No age check found.
Official videos
- Introducing Notion 3.0: Agents 2025-09-18
- Getting started with Notion Agent 2025-09-19
FAQ
Is Notion free?
Yes for one person, with unlimited pages. The AI is only a limited trial on the Free and Plus plans, and full AI needs the Business plan at £16.50 per person a month.
Does Notion use my notes to train AI?
Notion says neither it nor its AI providers train models on customer data unless a user opts in. Providers keep AI data for up to 30 days.
Does Notion work offline?
Only partly. Recent and favourite pages download for offline use, and PCMag still lists no offline access as a drawback.
Can I use my ChatGPT subscription in Notion?
Notion announced on 29 September 2026 that ChatGPT Plus or Pro subscribers can connect their plan to cover AI use in Notion.
Is Notion free for students?
Notion's pricing page says the Plus plan is free for students and teachers who sign up with a school email address.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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