Notion Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
Notion alternatives: Obsidian, AppFlowy, AFFiNE, Logseq and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 22, 2026.
•3 min read•Notes & Knowledge
Verdict:Notion's free plan is not stingy for one person: unlimited pages, 5 MB file uploads, 10 guests and 7 days of history. The squeeze arrives when a second member joins and blocks become limited, and Plus is $10 per member. So the right alternative depends on whether you are one person or a team. For one person, Obsidian is free even for commercial use and keeps notes on your device, Logseq is an AGPL-3.0 outliner, and Joplin adds encrypted sync across six platforms. For a team that wants Notion's workspace feel without Notion's limits, AppFlowy is the closest open-source copy and can be self-hosted, and AFFiNE gives up to 3 free cloud members with 10 GB plus a canvas for diagrams. None of these replaces Notion's databases and integrations one for one, and we did not test any import from Notion, so move one real workspace across before you commit and export from Notion first. Prices here are the figures on each vendor page on the checked date; AFFiNE's Pro price carries no billing term on its page, so confirm it. If your only pain is the member-based price, trying the free Cloud Basic plans of AFFiNE or AppFlowy for a month costs nothing but an afternoon of migration.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | Free (core app with no limits, including commercial use); paid from $4 per user/month, billed annually (Sync add-on; $5 billed monthly) | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Individuals who want local, linked notes | Docs only |
| AppFlowy | Free (Personal plan with 1 workspace owner, 100 MB of storage, 7 MB uploads and 7-day version history); paid from $12 per member/month, billed annually ($16 billed monthly, Pro) | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Self-hosted | Teams that want a Notion-like workspace they can host | Docs only |
| AFFiNE | Free (local workspaces; Cloud Basic has 10 GB of storage, up to 3 members and 10 MB files); paid from $6.75 per month (Pro; the page does not name the billing term) | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted | Small teams that want docs and whiteboards together | Docs only |
| Logseq | Free (open-source outliner and knowledge base with no paid plan listed) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, iOS | Personal knowledge management in an outliner | Docs only |
| Joplin | Free (open-source note app; Joplin Cloud is the paid sync option) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Terminal | Privacy-minded note taking across all devices | Docs only |
| ClickUp | Free (Free Forever plan with unlimited members, 60 MB of storage, 5 Spaces and 100 automation actions a month) | Web, iOS, Android | Project management | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- Local, linked notes for one person (Obsidian is the pick)
- A Notion-like workspace you can self-host (AppFlowy is the pick)
- Docs and a whiteboard canvas together (AFFiNE is the pick)
- An outliner for daily notes (Logseq is the pick)
- Encrypted sync across phone, desktop and terminal (Joplin is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Notion features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Notion today: Free (unlimited pages and blocks for individuals but limited for workspaces of 2 or more members, 5 MB per file, 10 guests, 7-day page history); paid from $10 per member/month (Plus; check the pricing page for the billing term) (Notion pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Why people look for Notion alternatives
Notion's free plan gets restrictive once a workspace has two or more members: files are capped at 5 MB, guests at 10 and page history at 7 days. Plus is $10 per member per month and Business $20 when billed monthly (yearly billing saves up to 20%), and history stretches to 30 days on Plus and 90 on Business. SAML single sign-on, private teamspaces and granular database permissions sit on Business, so teams that need them pay double the entry price. Custom Agents cost $10 per 1,000 monthly Notion credits after a free trial.
Obsidian
Compared with Notion: Obsidian is free for personal and commercial use and stores notes on your own device, but multi-device Sync is a $4 per user monthly add-on billed annually. It is single-user first, so check how your team would share notes before you choose it.
Price: Free (core app with no limits, including commercial use); paid from $4 per user/month, billed annually (Sync add-on; $5 billed monthly) (Obsidian pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Individuals who want local, linked notes.
AppFlowy
Compared with Notion: AppFlowy is the closest open-source copy of Notion's workspace, under AGPL-3.0, with a free Personal plan (1 workspace owner, 100 MB storage) and a self-hosting option. Pro is $12 per member billed annually, above Notion Plus's $10.
Price: Free (Personal plan with 1 workspace owner, 100 MB of storage, 7 MB uploads and 7-day version history); paid from $12 per member/month, billed annually ($16 billed monthly, Pro) (AppFlowy pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 77.8k GitHub stars · latest release 0.14.11 (Oct 26, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Teams that want a Notion-like workspace they can host.
AFFiNE
Compared with Notion: AFFiNE pairs documents with a canvas, MIT-licensed, with free local workspaces and a free Cloud Basic of 10 GB for up to 3 members. Pro is $6.75 a month, though the page names no billing term, so compare with care against Notion Plus.
Price: Free (local workspaces; Cloud Basic has 10 GB of storage, up to 3 members and 10 MB files); paid from $6.75 per month (Pro; the page does not name the billing term) (AFFiNE pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 73.9k GitHub stars · latest release v0.27.4 (Aug 18, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Small teams that want docs and whiteboards together.
Logseq
Compared with Notion: Logseq is an outliner under AGPL-3.0 with no paid plan on its GitHub page. It replaces Notion's personal notes rather than shared team wikis, and its GitHub page says the database version's mobile app is on iOS with Android coming soon.
Price: Free (open-source outliner and knowledge base with no paid plan listed) (Logseq pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, iOS. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 45.4k GitHub stars · latest release 2.0.2 (Oct 7, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Personal knowledge management in an outliner.
Joplin
Compared with Notion: Joplin suits people who want end-to-end encrypted sync on services they choose: AGPL-3.0-or-later, apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and a terminal, syncing through Joplin Cloud, Dropbox or OneDrive. It is a notes app with no Notion-style databases.
Price: Free (open-source note app; Joplin Cloud is the paid sync option) (Joplin pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Terminal. AGPL-3.0-or-later (open source).
Project activity: 56.9k GitHub stars · latest release v3.7.21 (Sep 25, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Privacy-minded note taking across all devices.
Other popular options (paid)
ClickUp
Compared with Notion: Notion alternative that leans toward project management: unlimited members on the free plan with 60 MB of storage, 5 Spaces and 100 automation actions a month. Paid prices vary by plan, so check before comparing with Notion's $10 Plus.
Price: Free (Free Forever plan with unlimited members, 60 MB of storage, 5 Spaces and 100 automation actions a month) (ClickUp pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
- Local, linked notes for one person: Obsidian
- A Notion-like workspace you can self-host: AppFlowy
- Docs and a whiteboard canvas together: AFFiNE
- An outliner for daily notes: Logseq
- Encrypted sync across phone, desktop and terminal: Joplin
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Obsidian, AppFlowy, AFFiNE, Logseq, Joplin: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Notion. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked 2026-10-22: Notion, Obsidian, AppFlowy, AFFiNE, Logseq, Joplin, ClickUp. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.