Notion Alternatives: 6 Tools Compared for Docs, Wikis and Projects
The best Notion alternatives compared: Confluence, ClickUp, Obsidian, Anytype, Airtable and a custom app. Pricing as of September 2026 and who each suits.
Mythex Team · · 6 min read
The best Notion alternatives depend on why you're leaving. Confluence is the closest fit for a team wiki, especially alongside Jira. ClickUp suits teams that want tasks, docs and project management in one tool. Obsidian and Anytype suit people who want more control over where their notes live. Airtable suits teams whose "Notion databases" have really become structured data. And if what you've built in Notion is really an app, a simple custom version is an option too.
Notion itself is still a strong all-in-one workspace, with docs, databases, forms, sites and AI agents on its Business plan. Switch for a specific reason, not because a tool is new.
What Notion offers today
As of September 2026, Notion offers:
- Free: $0, unlimited blocks for individuals (limited for teams of 2+), 5 MB uploads, 7-day page history, 10 guests, a trial of Notion AI.
- Plus: $10 per member/month billed yearly ($12 monthly).
- Business: $20 per member/month billed yearly ($24 monthly), with Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes and SAML SSO.
- Enterprise: custom.
Why people look for Notion alternatives
- Local, private notes. Notion is a cloud service. Some people want notes stored on their own device.
- Stronger project management. Notion databases can track tasks, but some teams want sprints, Gantt charts, time tracking and workload views built in.
- A dedicated wiki. Larger teams sometimes want a more structured knowledge base with permissions by space.
- Structured data at scale. Linked databases with many records can outgrow a docs tool.
- Cost per member. Notion charges for every member, which adds up for big teams.
Notion alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Entry paid price (as of Sept 2026) | Where data lives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confluence | Team wikis, especially with Jira | Up to 10 users, 2 GB | Standard and Premium, per user/month | Atlassian cloud |
| ClickUp | Tasks, docs and projects in one | Yes, 60 MB storage | Unlimited $7/user/month billed yearly | ClickUp cloud |
| Obsidian | Personal notes and knowledge | Free app, no sign-up | Sync $4/user/month billed yearly | Your device (optional sync) |
| Anytype | Private notes and team spaces | 100 MB remote storage | Plus $4/month | Anytype's network, or self-host your own |
| Airtable | Structured data and workflows | 1,000 records per base | Team $20/editor/month billed yearly | Airtable cloud |
| Custom app (e.g. Mythex) | A workspace that's really an app | Mythex Free: 10 credits/day | Mythex Pro $25/month | Your app's own database |
How we compared
We compared the publicly stated features, limits and prices on each vendor's own website as of September 2026. We did not do hands-on testing. Where we couldn't confirm a claim on the vendor's own site, we left it out. Prices are in US dollars and change often, so check each pricing page before you commit.
Confluence: the wiki for teams already on Atlassian
Confluence is Atlassian's knowledge-base tool, built around spaces and pages, with whiteboards, databases and templates for marketing, product and program teams.
- Pricing (as of September 2026): Free for up to 10 users with up to 2 GB of file storage. Standard and Premium are billed per user per month, and the price depends on your user count and billing cycle, so check Atlassian's pricing page for your team size. Enterprise is custom.
- Strengths: structured spaces and permissions for company knowledge; free guest access is listed among its features; natural fit with Jira.
- Limits: more structured and formal than Notion; the free plan caps out at 10 users.
- Pick it if you need a real company wiki, especially if engineering already lives in Jira. See Notion vs Confluence.
ClickUp: when tasks are the centre of your work
ClickUp combines tasks, docs, whiteboards, chat and dashboards in one app.
- Pricing (as of September 2026): Free Forever (60 MB storage, unlimited tasks, collaborative docs, kanban boards, sprint management). Unlimited is $7 per user/month billed yearly ($10 monthly) with unlimited storage, Gantt charts and time tracking. Business is $12 billed yearly ($19 monthly) and adds 5,000 automations a month and advanced dashboards. Enterprise is custom.
- Strengths: far more project-management features than Notion out of the box.
- Limits: lots of features means more to learn; the free plan's 60 MB of storage is small.
- Pick it if you tried running projects in Notion and kept wishing for sprints, Gantt charts and time tracking.
Obsidian: notes on your own device
Obsidian is a note-taking app that stores your notes locally. Its pricing page says it's free without limits and needs no sign-up.
- Pricing (as of September 2026): the app is free. Optional Sync is $4 per user/month billed yearly ($5 monthly), with end-to-end encryption and version history. Optional Publish is $8 per site/month billed yearly ($10 monthly). A commercial licence ($50 per user per year) is optional and supports development.
- Strengths: your notes stay on your device; no account needed; Obsidian says its apps collect no telemetry.
- Limits: built for personal knowledge more than team project management; shared vaults need the paid Sync add-on.
- Pick it if you want a private, durable personal notes system.
Anytype: private workspaces with self-hosting
Anytype offers private and shared spaces for notes and collaboration, with a business version that covers knowledge, projects, CRM and chat.
- Pricing (as of September 2026): Free with 100 MB of remote storage and 10 shared channels. Plus is $4/month (1 GB), Pro $8/month (10 GB), Ultra $16/month (100 GB); yearly billing saves 20%. Its FAQ says you can self-host your own network without a membership.
- Strengths: self-hosting option; low paid prices; a 50% discount for educators and students.
- Limits: a smaller ecosystem of integrations and templates than Notion.
- Pick it if privacy and control over where your data lives matter most.
Airtable: when your Notion databases became real data
Airtable is a relational database with automations and interfaces on top.
- Pricing (as of September 2026): Free (1,000 records per base, up to 5 editors); Team $20 per editor/month billed yearly ($24 monthly); Business $45 ($54 monthly); Enterprise Scale custom. Read-only users are free.
- Strengths: linked tables, many views, automations, and interfaces for non-technical teammates.
- Limits: not a writing tool; per-editor pricing.
- Pick it if your Notion workspace is mostly databases. See Airtable vs Notion.
A custom app: when your workspace is really an app
Sometimes a Notion workspace grows into something that works like software: a client portal, an intake and approval flow, a CRM with rules. A tool built for docs isn't great at that.
An AI app builder like Mythex lets you describe what you need in chat. An AI agent writes the code, adds a dedicated Postgres database when the app needs one, and publishes it. There are no per-seat fees, and on Pro you can export the code. Free is $0 with 10 credits a day (up to 30 a month); Pro is $25/month. See the plans page.
Where Notion is better: for writing, wikis and everyday notes, Notion (or Confluence, or Obsidian) is simpler and more polished than anything you'd build yourself. A custom app makes sense only for the workflow part. See how to replace expensive SaaS with your own tool for the honest trade-offs, or how to build a task management app for an example.
Before you switch
- Export first. Export your Notion pages and databases and check the new tool's import options.
- Map your databases. Relations, rollups and formulas rarely move cleanly. List the ones you depend on.
- Check links. Internal links between pages may break after moving. Plan time to fix key ones.
- Move one team first. Pilot with a small group before moving everyone.
Our verdict
- Company wiki: Confluence.
- Projects and tasks: ClickUp.
- Private personal notes: Obsidian.
- Privacy with self-hosting: Anytype.
- Structured data: Airtable.
- A workflow that's become an app: a small custom build.
- Docs plus light databases at a fair price: Notion is still hard to beat.
For a structured way to decide, read build vs buy software for small business.
Questions
What is the best free alternative to Notion?
For personal notes, Obsidian is free to use with no sign-up and stores your notes on your own device; you pay only for optional Sync or Publish. For a small team wiki, Confluence's Free plan covers up to 10 users with 2 GB of storage, as of September 2026.
What is the best Notion alternative for a company wiki?
Confluence is the most direct choice, especially if your team already uses Jira. It is built around spaces and pages for team knowledge, with a free plan for up to 10 users and paid per-user plans above that.
Is there a Notion alternative that stores data locally?
Yes. Obsidian keeps notes on your device and says its optional Sync service uses end-to-end encryption. Anytype lets you self-host your own network with no membership required, according to its pricing page.
Is ClickUp better than Notion?
For task and project management, ClickUp has more built in: sprints, Gantt charts, time tracking and automations on its plans. For writing, wikis and flexible pages, Notion is usually the simpler tool. The right choice depends on whether tasks or documents are the centre of your work.
Why do people switch from Notion?
Common reasons are wanting local or offline-first notes, needing stronger project management, wanting a more structured database, or paying per member for a large team. It's worth writing down your specific reason before choosing, because each alternative fixes a different one.