Notion and Monday.com seem comparable at first glance, but are built for different ways of working. Notion is a flexible workspace where you design everything yourself. Monday.com is project management software with clear structure. Which one fits your way of working?
Notion in brief
Notion combines notes, tasks, databases, and wikis in one platform. You build your own workspace with blocks and pages, exactly how you want to work. The system is extremely flexible: turn it into a task manager, a knowledge base, or a combination. Ideal for teams that want to manage documentation and projects together. The learning curve is steeper than traditional tools, but the possibilities are virtually unlimited. Recently added: offline mode, native forms, and a built-in email client.
Monday.com in brief
Monday.com is a visual Work OS platform for project management and workflow automation. You work with boards, columns, and cards in a sleek, colorful interface. The tool excels at no-code automations, time tracking, and reporting. Perfect for teams that want to track deadlines, resources, and progress without much configuration. The interface is intuitive, but the pricing structure is confusing. Monday.com has expanded with specific products for CRM, development, and portfolio management.
Notion vs Monday.com: the differences
The fundamental difference lies in the philosophy. Notion gives you a blank canvas and says: build what you need. Monday.com gives you a project board and says: fill in your tasks. That freedom makes Notion powerful for knowledge management and documentation. You write long texts, build wikis, and link databases together. Monday.com focuses on task management and workflows. Writing long texts? You can, but it feels awkward.
Automations work fundamentally differently. With Monday.com, you click automations together in a visual builder. “If status changes to Done, send a notification and move to the next board.” No code, no hassle. Notion has databases with formulas and relations, but for real automations you need external tools like Make or Zapier. Where Monday.com wins in out-of-the-box automation, Notion wins in data structure and flexibility.
Working offline was a pain point for Notion for years. That situation has changed with the introduction of offline mode, although it works differently than you’d expect. You have to manually download pages for offline access. Monday.com has a better offline experience, although not everything works without internet there either. For teams that are often on the go or working in locations without a stable connection, this remains an important difference.
Reports and dashboards are Monday.com’s strongest weapon. You combine data from multiple boards into visual dashboards with charts and widgets. Managers see at a glance where projects stand. Notion has recently added Charts for data visualization, but it feels basic compared to Monday.com’s dashboards. Do you work with resource management, workload balancing, or time tracking? Then Monday.com is clearly built for your use case.
The mobile experience also differs. Notion has a full-fledged mobile app where you edit pages, fill databases, and collaborate. Monday.com focuses on notifications, quick updates, and checking tasks. For extensive work on your phone, Notion is more pleasant. For quick status updates and checking off tasks, Monday.com suffices just fine.
Pricing compared
Both tools have a free plan, but with different limitations. Notion Free is generous for individual users: unlimited pages and blocks, but limited file size of 5MB and only 7 days of page history. For teams it becomes more limited with a cap on the number of blocks. Monday.com Free is limited to 2 users and 3 boards, without access to automations or integrations. For solo use Notion wins, for duos wanting basic project management Monday.com is usable.
The paid plans differ in structure. Notion Plus costs € 10 per user per month with annual billing, or € 12 monthly. You get unlimited files, 30 days of history, and guest access. Notion Business costs € 20 per user per month and now also includes AI features, SAML SSO, and advanced permissions. Monday.com Basic starts at € 9 per user per month, but note: you must purchase a minimum of 3 seats. The actual starting price is therefore € 27 per month. Standard costs € 12 per seat, Pro € 19 per seat. All prices apply with annual billing.
For small teams of 2-3 people, Notion is cheaper. Two users on Notion Plus pay € 20 per month. With Monday.com, you pay at least € 27 for three seats, even if you only use two. From five users onward, the difference becomes smaller. Monday.com offers more out-of-the-box functionality for project management, which can save on external integrations. Notion sometimes requires paid add-ons like Zapier for automations that Monday.com has as standard.
Also watch out for hidden costs. Monday.com has split different products: Work Management, CRM, Dev. Want to use everything? Then you pay more. Notion has one platform where everything is included, but the AI features are only in the Business plan. For teams that need heavy automations or CRM functionality, the extra costs of Monday.com may be worth it.
Conclusion
Notion wins for teams that want to combine documentation and project management in one workspace. The flexibility, better mobile app, and lower entry price make it attractive for startups, content teams, and knowledge workers. The addition of offline mode, forms, and better data visualization have filled important gaps. Monday.com is the better choice for project managers who want structure, automations, and reporting out-of-the-box. The visual dashboards, native time-tracking, and workload management are built for teams with strict deadlines and resource planning. For most teams starting with project management software, Notion is the safer choice: cheaper, more versatile, and fewer commitments. Only when you take project management really seriously and are willing to invest in a specialized tool does Monday.com become interesting.
