Santiago Mallea
Chief of Content At Gradehacker
Updated March, 2023
If you are looking for a modern app with the best features and a lower price to save all your ideas and documents, there is an option that might suit you, and we are here to give you all the information you need about it!
At Gradehacker, the non-traditional adult students’ #1 resource, we dedicate ourselves to providing valuable methods and resources that helped many students over the years.
And with this Notion Review, we want to show you why note-taking apps can be one of the best and easiest ways to improve one’s organizational skills, especially as an adult student!
If leaving all your handwritten notes scattered on your desk or creating files for every idea or reminder you have is not working for you anymore, let us introduce you to Notion, an app that may resolve all your problems! Or maybe not…
Ready to find out? Let’s start with the review!
What is Notion?
Notion is a project management tool for creating and organizing your work schedule. It is a productivity app that lets you save all your ideas, projects, and tasks in one place.
With a few years on the market, they have become one of the most used organizational tools, trusted by big companies like Curlogoy, Pixar, and Loom.
Even though everyone can use it as a note-taking tool, Notion’s popularity can be attributed to its evolution as a task management platform, making it stand out from the rest!
You can:
- Write thousands of notes for whatever you need
- Create to-do lists
- Set due dates and reminders
- Synchronize your content calendar with Google
- Built-in collaboration tools to work with your team through Notion Teamspace
And there are three ways you can have access when using Notion:
- Web-version
- Desktop version
- Mobile app
Notion works by synchronizing with all other devices in real time. So you can use it from your desktop while at work or from your phone when commuting to college or work.
But what are the key features that make Notion a must for anyone who wishes to improve their organizational skills?
Notion's Design And User Experience
Notion’s design is both modern and straightforward.
Their desktop and web version are just the same. Its layout consists only of a sidebar on the left and an easy-to-follow interface that makes the user experience simple and intuitive.
You only have to set a main project, and then you can create as many notes as you want, each with a different purpose and unique features. This way, you have all your documents organized and in one place.
When you add a new page, Notion automatically lets you choose one of its templates and features, such as calendars, tables, and lists you may need to start from scratch.
However, there is not much customization you can do on their layout.
You can choose between three different letter styles, change the screen if you want it on light or dark mode, close the sidebar, and set icons for your projects, but that’s it.
The interface is as simple as it gets. No additional widgets or home menus, only a side menu on the left with all the shortcuts you’ll ever need.
Regarding their mobile version, the only difference is that the menu is always hidden.
If you want access to it, you’ll need to click on the menu item, but by doing that, you will get out of your template, saving your work automatically. You can also easily access back to it!
But besides that, the interface and experience remain the same.
Notion's Features
Now, we are taking a closer look at all the key features that make Notion such an outstanding note-taking app:
Task Manager Tools
First, once we create an account and log in, we can access all their notes tools.
As we explained above, Notion is structured in a way that makes it easy for you to work and create different projects at the same time, and even better, there are dozens of tools within each project note that you can use.
Some of these are:
- Tables
- Boards
- Galleries
- Calendars
- Task lists
- Timelines
- Embeds for Notion's integrations
Project notes are unlimited!
You can write and add as many note tools as you wish. Plus, you can also use its reminders tool to keep track of due dates.
The best about these features is that all are included in Notion’s free version, and every time you are about to design tasks, you can also pick if you want to use a custom template.
First, we have all of their note tools. As we explained above, Notion’s workflow is structured into different projects that you have to create. There are dozens of tools within each project note that you can use.
Some of these are:
- Design
- Student
- Human Resources
- Engineering
- Marketing
- Personal
- Product Management
- Sales
- Support
All of these categories include many custom templates, which are available even for users with the free plan!
You can also go to their website and add new templates; some are free, and others you’ll have to pay. The price ranges are from $4 to $59, depending on which one you want.
Each template is unique and has the necessary features to use, but it will depend on what purpose you want to give it.
For example, if you go into Education templates and add “Class Notes” as your new tool, you’ll be redirected to the notes you took for other courses, which will be arranged by the class and type, with the option to include links to the reading material.
You can also count on their Chrome extension to have easier access to the platform!
With it, you can save any webpage to your Notion workspace.
You can keep a database of the important information you find online for future reference and send it to the projects you want.
You can add notes, make it a task, and share it with other team members.
The web clipper appears in the top right corner, and just by clicking on Notion’s logo, you can save the entire website.
So, we’ve talked about Notion as a note-taking app, but there is an excellent aspect of them we haven’t gotten into much detail yet: their project management software.
Because Notion can be an excellent choice for team working, they have essential built-in collaboration tools, such as:
- Live chat
- File sharing
- Task tracking
- Project planning features
With the project management tools, project managers can:
- Create and keep track of tasks
- Assign them to members of the team
- Set due dates
- Add information and links
- Change the project progress status
Notion lets you connect with other tools to improve organizing and collaborating with your team
They count on 16 integrated apps made by them plus 32 made partners.
Some of the integrated apps and websites are
You can bring Information into your workspace from platforms like:
- Google Docs
- Google Sheets
- Slides
This way, you’ll have a more developed and structured database.
Notion is prepared to be a collaborative workspace for people involved in programming! They have a beneficial API feature, allowing programmatic interaction with databases, pages, and content.
With Notion’s API, users can customize the app by adding other software tools and integrations into their workflow.
So, if you know how to program, and would like to build blocks or aggregate data into your workspace, then Notion is an excellent choice.
Notion also offers an AI feature to make using the platform even easier.
With Notion’s AI, users can quickly search for information, get ideas and easily organize notes.
The AI feature allows people in a team to find what they need without going through all their documents or files.
It works by suggesting a prompt, and based on what you requested, this AI will write about it. You can also ask questions, change the voice tone, get suggestions, and more.
For example, if you are writing about a specific topic by mentioning a keyword, Notion’s AI will suggest related topics to include in your article. This way, you don’t have to search for information manually, and your notes remain organized.
But like with any AI, we suggest editing and background-checking the information.
And the good news is that while the AI comes for free with a subscription to any plan, if you want to stick with the free version you can add it for only $10 monthly.
Want to learn more about how AI can change your college experience? Then be sure to check our review about Chat GPT and understand the basics of how to use it!
That’s all with their features. But we are not done with this Notion review since one of the most important parts is missing: How much does Notion cost?
Well, there are multiple plans you can choose from!
Personal Plan:
- Cost: Free
It is made for individuals and includes unlimited pages with all of the basic features.
It lets you share it with up to five guests, syncs across unlimited devices, and use their API feature.
Personal Plus Plan:
- Cost: $10 per month or $96 per year
You can choose this one to step up from the free version.
Besides everything included in the Personal Plan, you also get unlimited file uploads, unlimited guests, and 30-day version history.
Business Plan:
- Cost: $18 per month per user or $180 per year.
If you are working with a team, this option is the best for you!
This plan includes unlimited team members, admin tools, sharing permissions, and collaborative workspaces.
Enterprise Plan:
- Cost: Customized
For big companies who would like to use Notion as their workspace, they offer this plan which has:
- Unlimited page history
- Dedicated success manager from notion helping you navigate the app
- Advanced security & controls
- User provisioning (SCIM)
- Audit log
- Workspace analytics
- Custom guest limit
Because this plan is made for large-scale companies, the subscription depends on the company’s size, needs and usage, so, in case you are looking for this option you will need to contact Notion’s Sales department.
Our Verdict
So, what do we think about Notion?
In our opinion, Notion is the ultimate productivity tool. It has a simple design that makes its experience easy and intuitive. You can use it on any device and organize all your personal and professional tasks in one place.
It will suit you if you:
- Want to improve your productivity by keeping all your documents and tasks in one place
- Regularly use your phone and computer to organize your life
- Need an intuitive app with dozens of tools that are easy to understand and use
You’ll find hundreds of templates that fit into a wide range of specific needs and really important integrations that, if you want to sync the information, you can save it on other platforms.
If you are a programming expert, you can access Notion’s API and add all the data and software you want.
The best is that all these tools are available for users with the Personal Plan. While other note-taking apps like Evernote only limit their free versions and enable these features in their paid plans, Notion lets you use them even for free!
We consider their prices low and accessible, making it possible to upgrade one’s experience to the Personal Pro Plan, which isn’t really necessary if you are a college student.
They even added a new AI feature that makes it stand out from other organizational apps and places itself as one of the best.
Considering all of their key features, great prices, and many integrations, we believe that Notion is a worthy competitor and an app that every college student or professional should use!
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|
|
Low prices |
Isn't as advanced as other note-taking apps |
|
Really complete free version |
Limited customization on its interface |
|
Has the most important note-taking features |
|
|
Over 250 custom templates |
|
|
Includes important integrations |
|
|
Has an API |
|
|
Added a modern AI |
|
|
Useful Chrome extension |
|
|
Lets you create tasks and assign them |
|
|
Excellent option for teams |
Is Notion The Right Choice For You?
Well, what do you think about this app now? Ready to jump on it?
We recommend Notion’s free Personal Plan to any college student or professional.
We think it is incredible that they include all of their best note-taking features and databases, making it a perfect choice for anyone looking to improve how they organize their ideas, tasks, and documents.
And as an adult student, whether it is a study group or your working team, you can organize all your tasks in one place with the Team Plan by assigning them to each other and adding due dates, reminders, and additional information.
We hope this review helped you see how Notion works and decide if it’s a note-taking app that will make a difference in your life.
In case you are looking for more reviews and helpful tips on other apps and websites, you can check our related articles:
