Notion Free vs Paid: Which Plan Fits Your Workflow in 2025?
Ever wondered if you’re missing out by sticking to Notion’s Free plan? You’re not alone. Many users love the flexibility and features of the free version—but still ask, is the paid upgrade actually worth it? Notion offers a flexible pricing model for individuals, students, startups, and enterprise teams. While the Free plan packs serious value for solo users, the Paid plans unlock powerful collaboration tools, deeper security, and admin controls that can transform how teams work. So, what do you really get when you upgrade? Let’s break Notion Free vs Paid plans down.
📝 Overview: What Is Notion?
Notion is an all‑in‑one workspace app that combines note-taking, task management, databases, calendars, and wikis into one customizable platform. It helps you organize personal tasks, collaborate with teams, and manage projects. Notion’s flexibility allows you to design workspaces tailored to your workflow, from simple to‑do lists to complex project dashboards.
💸 Notion Plans and Pricing: A Quick Look
Notion offers multiple plans:
- Free Plan: For individuals and small teams needing basic organization.
- Plus Plan (formerly called Personal Pro): For individuals or small teams needing version history and larger file uploads.
- Business Plan: For growing teams requiring advanced collaboration and admin controls.
- Enterprise Plan: For large organizations with advanced security and support.
Comparison table
| 📋 Plan | 💰 Cost (2025) | ✨ Key Features | 🎯 Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month |
Unlimited pages & blocks Sync across devices Basic sharing Five collaborators Limited storage (5MB/file) Limited version history |
Personal use, simple note-taking and task management |
| Plus | $10/month per user (discounted annually) |
Everything in Free plus Unlimited file uploads 30-day version history Collaborative workspace with unlimited guests Priority support |
Freelancers, small teams needing more storage and collaboration |
| Business | $18/month per user (discounted annually) |
Everything in Plus plus Advanced permissions SSO (Single Sign-On) Up to 90-day version history Teamspace features Bulk exports |
Medium-sized teams needing admin controls and security |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing |
Everything in Business plus Enterprise-level security (SAML SSO) Unlimited version history Custom guest limits Advanced analytics Dedicated success manager |
Large organizations with stringent security and compliance needs |
➡️ Detailed Plan Breakdown
Free plan: What you get
- Pages and blocks: Unlimited creation of pages, databases, lists, calendars, and wikis.
- File upload limit: Files up to 5MB per upload.
- Collaboration: Share pages with up to five guests. Ideal for small collaborations.
- Version history: Limited to seven days. You can see and restore changes within that window.
- Use cases: Personal note-taking, journaling, goal tracking, student class notes, and personal habit trackers.
✅ Pros: Free, flexible, easy to start.
❌ Cons: Limited file size, short version history, and limited collaborators.
Plus plan: Stepping up
- Unlimited file uploads: No size limits—ideal for designers and businesses needing to upload large media files.
- Extended version history: Up to 30 days to track changes and revert if needed.
- Team collaboration: Invite unlimited guests and collaborate across projects.
- Support: Priority email support.
- Use cases: Freelancer project tracking, small team collaboration, designers with large assets, and solopreneurs.
✅ Pros: More storage, longer version history, team-friendly.
❌ Cons: Monthly cost per user; still limited on admin controls.
Business plan: For growing teams
- Advanced permissions: Fine‑tune who can view, edit, or comment on pages.
- Teamspaces: Organize pages by department or project with dedicated permissions.
- Extended version history: 90 days, giving more room for rollback.
- Single sign-on: Integrate with Okta, Google Workspace, or Microsoft SSO for secure access.
- Bulk export: Export entire workspaces for backup or migration.
- Use cases: Agencies, startups, product teams, operations teams needing structured collaboration.
✅ Pros: Robust for collaboration, better security, and more control.
❌ Cons: Higher monthly cost; limited features compared to Enterprise.
Enterprise plan: For large organizations
- Advanced security: SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, Data Loss Prevention integration.
- Audit logs: Detailed logs of user activity.
- Unlimited version history: Track changes over the entire life of your workspace.
- Custom guest limits: Control how external collaborators access your workspace.
- Dedicated success manager: Personalized onboarding and support.
- Use cases: Large corporations, enterprises with compliance requirements, and teams needing high security.
✅ Pros: High control, top-notch support, scalable security.
❌ Cons: Custom pricing; may include features small teams don’t need.
🆓 Feature Comparison: Free vs Paid
When considering the free plan versus paid plans, look at these key features:
- Storage: Free plan restricts file size (5MB), while Plus and above allow unlimited file uploads. If you upload images, PDFs, or design files frequently, a paid plan is worth it.
- Version history: The Free version offers a one-week window. In Plus, you get 30 days; Business offers 90 days; Enterprise is unlimited. If you work on complex documents or collaborate often, a longer version history is important.
- Collaboration: The free plan supports only five guests. Paid plans allow unlimited guests and advanced permission control. For teams or client work, a paid plan is necessary.
- Security and controls: Business and Enterprise plans provide admin controls, teamspaces, and SSO integration. If you require compliance or work in regulated industries, the free plan is insufficient.
- Support: Paid plans provide priority support, while free users rely on the community forum and documentation.
🟢 How Everhour Enhances Your Notion Workflow
Everhour is a time tracking tool that integrates with popular project management platforms. While Notion doesn’t have built‑in time tracking, adding Everhour enables better tracking and reporting.
Where it helps:
- Project budgets: Track how many hours you spend on tasks, so you know if your project is within budget.
- Billing: If you work with clients, log billable hours directly in Everhour, then generate invoices.
- Productivity analysis: See which tasks consume the most time. Use this data to improve planning and allocation.
- Documentation and reporting: Create Everhour reports summarizing time spent on tasks. Embed these reports or links inside Notion pages.
How to integrate Everhour:
- Install the Everhour browser extension (Chrome or Firefox).
- Open Notion, and you’ll see a timer option next to tasks in your databases.
- Start and stop timers directly within Notion. All entries are automatically logged in Everhour.
- Generate reports from the Everhour dashboard to evaluate time spent per user or task.
💡 Tips & Best Practices
- Start with free, upgrade as you grow: Test Notion’s free plan for personal use. If collaboration, longer version history, or file size becomes limiting, upgrade.
- Use templates: Notion has templates for notes, projects, wikis, and databases. Save time by using pre-built structures.
- Keep structure simple: Too many pages or databases can get confusing. Begin with core pages and build up as your workflow evolves.
- Archive old items: Move completed projects or notes to an archive to avoid clutter.
- Use keyboard shortcuts: Press “Ctrl/Cmd + /” in Notion to see commands. Shortcuts improve efficiency.
- Leverage views: Use different database views (table, board, calendar, timeline) to analyze your tasks in multiple ways.
- Notion time tracking integration: Even in the free plan, pair Notion with Everhour. Accurate tracking makes planning realistic and highlights task overruns.
- Educate your team: Train team members on proper naming conventions, permissions, and best practices to maintain consistency.
📁 Storage Limits & File Uploads
Free users can only upload files under 5MB — frustrating if you’re dealing with large PDFs, videos, or design files. Paid plans remove this limit, making Notion much more scalable for media-rich content.
👥 Team Collaboration & Permissions
- Free: Limited to 5 guests
- Plus/Business: Unlimited collaborators
- Business: Role-based access control + custom workflows
🔄 Version History & Backup Access
- Free Plan: View changes for up to 7 days, suitable for solo users.
- Plus Plan: Access version history for 30 days, offering more flexibility for growing teams.
- Business Plan: Keep version history for 90 days. Perfect for team collaboration and long-term projects. Ensures peace of mind with easy access to previous versions.
🚀 Productivity Use Cases (Notion Free vs Paid)
| 🚀 Use Case | Best Plan |
|---|---|
| 📝 Solo productivity & journaling | Free |
| 🚀 Startup collaboration | Plus |
| 💼 Client-facing CRM | Business |
| 📚 Team documentation (SOPs, wikis) | Business |
| 🔐 Compliance and security | Enterprise |
📈 Who Should Upgrade to Notion Paid?
Upgrade if you:
- Work with more than 5 guests
- Need unlimited storage
- Want to share projects securely with clients
- Manage complex projects with multiple team members
- Need to recover past content versions
🎨 Templates & Customization Access
While free users enjoy thousands of community Notion templates, business plans allow for private workspace templates and standardization — perfect for scaling.
🤝 Best Use Cases by Role
| Role | Recommended Plan |
|---|---|
| 👩🎓 Students | Free |
| 💼 Freelancers | Free or Plus |
| 📈 Marketing Teams | Plus |
| 🎨 Agencies | Business |
| 🏢 Large Organizations | Enterprise |
🌟 Real User Reviews
🔎 “Notion was the first app I used on my Macbook Pro to organize my entire life, track all of my notes, coursework progress, document drafting, saving bookmarks, publishing public pages to the web and sharing information with others. These are just some of the older features, recently they’ve added new tools to customize and make the most out of the app. There are plenty of free features to make this app very useful.” [Capterra review]
🔎 “For me, Notion it’s a super cool app that can help you stay organized and productive! Notion is like an all-in-one workspace that you can customize to fit your needs, so you can do everything from taking notes to managing tasks. The best part is that it’s really easy to use, thanks to its intuitive user interface and handy search function. Not only that, but Notion also lets you collaborate with others in real time, so you can work together with your team no matter where you are. Whether you’re a student, freelancer, or part of a company, Notion is a great tool for streamlining your workflows and getting stuff done. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.” [G2 review]
🔎 “It’s [Free plan] shockingly generous. I’ve been using it daily for several months now and I haven’t hit any limits. I’ll pay when they start asking for it, but until then it’s a good free service for me.” [Reddit comment]
❓ FAQs: Notion Free vs Paid
Is the Notion free plan enough?
For personal projects, note-taking, or small school assignments, yes. If you need larger files, a longer version history, or more guests, consider upgrading.
Can I switch plans easily?
Yes. Notion allows you to upgrade or downgrade at any time. Payment is pro-rated.
Do paid plans include all features?
Paid plans unlock unlimited storage, extended version history, and advanced permissions. Enterprise adds security and support.
Does Notion have built‑in time tracking?
No. Use Everhour or other integrations to track time inside Notion tasks.
Are there discounts for students?
Notion offers free personal Pro plans (Plus Plan features) to students and educators. Check Notion’s website for verification.
What about data security?
Notion encrypts data at rest and in transit. For advanced security (SSO, SCIM), choose Business or Enterprise.
How do I choose between Plus and Business?
Assess your team size and security needs. Plus Plan works for small teams needing more storage and guest capacity; Business Plan suits growing teams that require advanced permission controls and 90-day version history.
Can I use Notion offline?
Yes. Desktop and mobile apps allow offline editing. Changes sync when you reconnect.
What’s new in Notion for 2025?
Notion continues to introduce AI features, like content generation and summarization, and improves integrations. Visit Notion’s release notes for updates.
How do I cancel my paid plan?
Navigate to “Plans & Billing” under Settings. Cancelling downgrades you to the free version at the end of the billing cycle.
🏁 Final Verdict: Which Notion Plan is Best in 2025?
- 🥇 If you’re a solo creator, student, or casual user — Free has everything you need.
- 🥇 If you’re working with clients, managing projects, or building systems, Plus or Business will unlock Notion’s full potential.
If you’re looking to enhance your Notion experience even further, Everhour offers a powerful time tracker that integrates seamlessly with Notion. With its smooth integration, you can easily track time in Notion, making it the perfect tool to complement your Notion setup. Try it out today and streamline your workflow! 🚀
🌟 Learn what users say about using Everhour:
“The tool has a user-friendly interface making it easy to schedule and create invoice” [Otieno, Capterra]
“Ease of integrations with our existing software. Great UX/UI. Easy to create custom reports and monitor budgets on each project we are working on. Simple to introduce to new team members.” [Sarah, G2]
“Took a few days to get used to. Very easy to integrate and helps so much with time tracking.” [Kaden, Capterra]
If you still have any questions about Notion pricing, check out their official Notion pricing page! For developers or teams looking to integrate Notion’s powerful features, be sure to explore the Notion API docs to better understand the available endpoints.
Learn more about Notion in our Notion vs Google Docs, Notion AI vs ChatGPT, or Craft vs Notion breakdowns!
Maria
A dedicated content enthusiast with extensive experience in international teams and projects of all sizes. Maria thrives on creativity and attention to detail, fueled by a love for fantasy novels, music, classic black-and-white films, and always finding ways to make things better.