Notion positioned itself as the "all-in-one workspace" that replaces your docs, wikis, and project management. In 2026, Notion has matured—but so has its pricing, AI add-ons, and the competition.
This guide breaks down what Notion actually costs, what each plan includes, and whether it delivers on the "all-in-one" promise.
Notion Pricing Overview 2026
Notion uses per-member pricing across four tiers:
| Plan | Price/Member/Month | Key Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10 guest collaborators |
| Plus | $10 | Unlimited blocks, 100 guests |
| Business | $18 | SAML SSO, private teamspaces |
| Enterprise | Custom | Advanced security, audit logs |
All prices assume annual billing. Monthly billing adds 20%.
Plan-by-Plan Breakdown
Free Plan ($0)
What you get:
- Unlimited pages and blocks for individuals
- 10 guest collaborators
- 7-day page history
- Basic page analytics
- Synced databases across devices
- iOS, Android, Mac, Windows apps
What you don't get:
- Unlimited team members
- Admin tools
- Advanced permissions
- SAML SSO
- Extended page history
- Priority support
Reality check: Notion Free is generous for personal use. For teams, the 10-guest limit and lack of admin controls make it impractical.
Plus Plan ($10/member/month)
What you get (beyond Free):
- Unlimited team members
- Unlimited blocks for teams
- 100 guest collaborators
- 30-day page history
- Unlimited file uploads
- Custom domains for published sites
What you don't get:
- SAML SSO
- Private teamspaces
- Advanced security
- User provisioning (SCIM)
- Audit logs
Reality check: Plus is Notion's core team plan. Adequate for small teams without enterprise security requirements. The jump from Free to Plus is significant—you're now paying for every team member.
Plus pricing at scale:
| Team Size | Monthly (Annual) | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 5 members | $50 | $600 |
| 10 members | $100 | $1,200 |
| 25 members | $250 | $3,000 |
| 50 members | $500 | $6,000 |
Business Plan ($18/member/month)
What you get (beyond Plus):
- SAML SSO
- Private teamspaces
- 90-day page history
- Advanced permissions
- PDF bulk export
What you don't get:
- SCIM provisioning
- Audit logs
- User analytics dashboard
- Advanced compliance features
- Dedicated success manager
The jump: Business costs 80% more than Plus primarily for SSO and private teamspaces. If your organization requires SSO, there's no alternative—you must upgrade.
Business pricing at scale:
| Team Size | Monthly (Annual) | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 10 members | $180 | $2,160 |
| 25 members | $450 | $5,400 |
| 50 members | $900 | $10,800 |
| 100 members | $1,800 | $21,600 |
Enterprise Plan (Custom Pricing)
What you get (beyond Business):
- SCIM user provisioning
- Audit logs
- Advanced security controls
- Workspace analytics
- Dedicated customer success
- Custom contracts
Pricing: Not published. Expect $20-30/member/month depending on size and negotiation, with minimum seat commitments.
Reality check: Enterprise is mandatory for regulated industries needing audit logs and advanced compliance. For others, it's expensive insurance.
Notion AI: The Add-On Cost
Notion's AI assistant is priced separately:
Notion AI: $10/member/month (on top of plan cost)
Total with AI:
- Plus + AI: $20/member/month
- Business + AI: $28/member/month
- Enterprise + AI: $30-40/member/month
What Notion AI does:
- Summarize pages and databases
- Draft content from prompts
- Answer questions about your workspace
- Extract action items from notes
- Translate content
Reality check: Notion AI adds 50-100% to your bill. For a 25-person team on Plus, AI adds $3,000/year. Evaluate whether you'll use it enough to justify the cost.
The Hidden Costs of Notion
Hidden Cost #1: The Database Learning Curve
Notion's power comes from databases. But databases aren't intuitive.
Real cost: Days to weeks of learning time per team member. Ongoing confusion about relations, rollups, and formulas. Support burden on power users who become internal help desks.
Hidden Cost #2: Guest Limits
Plus allows 100 guests. Business allows unlimited. But guests add friction:
- Guest accounts don't integrate with your SSO
- Guests see only what you share, creating permission complexity
- External collaboration requires careful access management
Teams using Notion for client collaboration often hit guest limits or management complexity.
Hidden Cost #3: No Built-In Communication
Notion is documents and databases. It's not:
- Email (still need Gmail/Outlook)
- Real-time chat (still need Slack/Teams)
- Video meetings (still need Zoom/Meet)
- Calendar (integrates but doesn't replace)
The "all-in-one workspace" still requires other workspaces for communication.
Hidden Cost #4: Performance at Scale
Notion databases with thousands of entries slow down noticeably. Teams using Notion as a CRM, large project tracker, or operational database hit performance walls that dedicated tools don't have.
Hidden Cost #5: Limited Automation
Notion's automations are basic compared to competitors:
- No conditional logic
- Limited triggers
- Simple actions only
Teams needing workflow automation still need Zapier, Make, or another tool—adding cost and complexity.
Is Notion Worth It in 2026?
Notion Works Well For:
- Documentation and wikis: Notion excels at structured knowledge bases
- Flexible databases: When spreadsheets aren't enough but you don't need a real database
- Small teams: Under 25 people, pricing is reasonable
- Teams who like building: Notion rewards users who enjoy customizing
Notion Struggles For:
- Real project management: Task management is possible but not Notion's strength
- Large datasets: Performance degrades with scale
- Communication: No email, chat, or meetings built in
- Teams wanting out-of-box solutions: Notion requires setup and customization
- Regulated industries: Limited compliance features below Enterprise
The All-In-One Reality Check
Notion markets itself as replacing multiple tools. Here's what you actually need alongside Notion:
| Need | Notion | You'll Also Need |
|---|---|---|
| Documents | Yes | — |
| Databases | Yes | — |
| Wiki | Yes | — |
| No | Gmail/Outlook | |
| Calendar | Partial | Google/Outlook |
| Chat | No | Slack/Teams |
| Video | No | Zoom/Meet |
| Project Management | Basic | Maybe Asana/Monday |
| CRM | Possible | Probably dedicated CRM |
| Forms | Basic | Maybe Typeform |
"All-in-one" is marketing. Notion is "some-in-one."
Notion vs Alternatives in 2026
| Feature | Notion Plus | Coda | Confluence | WaymakerOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price/user | $10 | $10 | $6 | Varies |
| Databases | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (Tables) |
| Docs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No | No | No | Yes | |
| Calendar | No | No | No | Yes |
| Project Mgmt | Basic | Basic | No | Yes |
| AI included | +$10 | +$10 | +$$ | Yes |
Making the Decision
Stay with Notion if:
- Documentation is your primary use case
- Your team enjoys building custom databases
- You're under 25 members on Plus
- The learning curve investment has been made
Evaluate alternatives if:
- You need email, calendar, and docs in one place
- Database performance is becoming an issue
- AI costs are adding up
- You're spending significant time on Notion administration
- You still need Slack/Teams + email alongside Notion
Notion Pricing Recommendation
For individuals: Free plan is genuinely useful. Upgrade to Plus only if you need team collaboration.
For small teams (5-15): Plus at $10/member is reasonable if Notion fits your workflow. Add AI selectively, not for everyone.
For mid-size teams (25-100): Evaluate carefully. At $18/member for Business + $10 for AI, costs reach $28/member—comparable to more comprehensive platforms.
For enterprises: Compare Enterprise pricing against platforms that include more functionality. Notion's per-seat model scales linearly while your needs may not.
Looking beyond Notion? See our guide on Notion alternatives when databases aren't enough or explore how unified productivity solves the fragmentation problem.
Related reading: Understand why teams are leaving fragmented tools, learn to consolidate your tech stack, or compare project management tools.
About the Author
Stuart Leo
Stuart Leo founded Waymaker to solve a problem he kept seeing: businesses losing critical knowledge as they grow. He wrote Resolute to help leaders navigate change, lead with purpose, and build indestructible organizations. When he's not building software, he's enjoying the sand, surf, and open spaces of Australia.