The short answer
- Working alone? Notion Free has unlimited pages and blocks for individuals; you pay for teams, guests and AI. Modeled first-year saving per seat: $132. the math
- For public docs or a small handbook, the recipe's Replace with AI path generates a static docs site from your Notion export, with no per-member fee. recipe
- Self-hosting AFFiNE or AppFlowy is modeled to cost $1,316 more than Notion Plus in year one for 1 seat, once your upkeep time counts. the math
- Keep Notion if several people edit together every day, you run work in Notion databases, or you use Notion AI. recipe
Who should switch, and who shouldn't
Switch if
- You write alone, or share pages read-only: Free is unlimited for individuals but limits blocks once 2 or more members edit. notion.com
- Your workspace is mostly static docs or a public handbook that changes a few times a month. recipe
- A 7-day page history is enough for how you work. notion.com
Stay if
- Several people edit the same pages at the same time every day. recipe
- Your work runs in Notion databases with relations, views and automations. recipe
- You use Notion AI: the free plan has a trial only. notion.com
What Notion costs today
List prices from the vendor's pricing page, as stored in the Stackcut catalog. Each price links its source.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notion Plus | $12/user/mo | $10/user/mo | Unlimited collaborative blocks and file uploads, 30-day page history |
| Notion Business | $24/user/mo | $20/user/mo | Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes, enterprise search, SAML SSO, 90-day page history |
The alternatives, ranked
4 ways out, ranked by modeled saving in the first year after setup and upkeep (3 priced). Modeled, not measured: each figure links the math on the recipe page.
- Paths are modeled per seat against Notion Plus at $12/user/mo. recipe
What a docs workspace costs at 1, 5 and 20 users
Notion and AppFlowy charge per member. Free plans cap members; self-hosting has no seat price but you run the server.
| Option | List price | 1 user | 5 users | 20 users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notion Plus today | $12/user/mobilled monthly | $12 | $60 | $240 |
| Notion Business today | $24/user/mobilled monthly | $24 | $120 | $480 |
| Notion Freelimited blocks for 2+ members | $0free plan | $0free tier | $0free tier | $0free tier |
| AppFlowy Pro | $12.50/user/mobilled monthly | $12.50 | $62.50 | $250 |
| AppFlowy Free | $0free plan | $0free tier | up to 2 users | up to 2 users |
| AFFiNE Free (cloud) | $0free plan | $0free tier | up to 3 users | up to 3 users |
| AFFiNE (self-hosted) | $0 licenseopen source | $0+ your server | $0+ your server | $0+ your server |
How to leave Notion
Export first, then cancel. Every step links the vendor's own help page, checked on the date shown.
How to leave Notion
Export first
- Whole workspace: Settings → General → Export all workspace content (Markdown & CSV, HTML, PDF). Large exports arrive by email with a link that expires after 7 days and can take up to 30 hours. Form views can't be exported. notion.com
- A single page: The ••• menu at the top right of the page → Export (Markdown & CSV, HTML, PDF) notion.com
Cancel
- Export the whole workspace first (see export).
- Settings → Billing → Change plan → pick the plan → Continue → give feedback → Downgrade.
- Takes effect
- At the end of your billing cycle.
- Refunds
- Only within 3 days of the invoice on monthly billing, or 30 days on annual billing, requested from the workspace owner's or billing email.
- After you cancel
- You land on the Free plan: Unlimited pages/blocks for individuals but limited blocks for 2+ members; 5 MB per file upload; 7-day page history; 10 external guests; Notion AI trial only.
Not covered by the paths above, per the recipe: Real-time collaborative workspace, Notion databases, Full comments/history migration, Notion AI. If you rely on one of these, keep the incumbent or check the path closely.
Open-source and forkable options
- AFFiNE: Open-source, local-first docs + whiteboards + databases; self-host free. License: open_source
- AppFlowy: Open-source Notion alternative; free plan, Pro $10/user annual. License: open_source
Open source means no license fee, not free to run: the server, backups and upgrades are yours. Read the license before you fork or resell; several of these are open-core or source-available.
Replace with AI, or hand it to an agent skill
Replace with AI Replace with AI: static public docs or a small internal handbook: Generate a documentation site from exported content; use the existing identity system for internal content. Not priced in the catalog yet.
- The spec keeps real-time collaboration, Notion databases and full history out of scope: it publishes what you already wrote. recipe
FAQ
How do I export everything from Notion?
Settings → General → Export all workspace content, as Markdown & CSV, HTML or PDF. Large exports arrive by email with a link that expires after 7 days, and can take up to 30 hours. notion.com
When does a Notion downgrade take effect?
At the end of your billing cycle, so you keep paid features until then. notion.com
Can I get a refund on Notion?
Only within 3 days of the invoice on monthly billing, or 30 days on annual billing, and the request has to come from the workspace owner's or billing email. notion.com
Is AppFlowy a free Notion?
AppFlowy covers docs, databases and boards. Its free plan allows 1 collaborative workspace up to 2 members, 5 GB storage, and Pro costs $12.50/user/mo. appflowy.com
Keep reading
Check your own stack
Get your free stack audit
Stackcut finds every software subscription in your inbox and shows what to cancel, what to pay per use, and what AI can replace, with a spec and a cost for each. Your stack audit is free and takes about 2 minutes.
Or ask your agent
Connect the Stackcut MCP server (https://stackcut.io/mcp, no API key) and ask: “We're 5 people on Notion Plus, and it's mostly our handbook and a few docs. What should we do?”
find_alternatives({"vendor": "Notion", "seats": 5,
"features_used": ["Pages", "Navigation", "Search"]})