3 indie Notion alternatives.
Notion costs $144 a year paid monthly. The cheapest pick here costs $0 in its first year, $144 less. Here is what each one costs and what you give up.
| Notion | AppFlowy | Joplin | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $12/mo · $120/yr | Free plan | Free | Free plan |
| First year | $144 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Plan | Plus | Personal (free) | Free app | Free app |
| Made by | Notion Labs | Open source | Open source | Small team |
| Platforms | web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows | Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android |
| You give up | — | Smaller template ecosystem; free cloud storage capped at 100 MB. | Plain notebooks only: no databases, boards or shared pages. | No built-in databases or real-time team editing; Sync costs $4–5/month. |
| Price source | checked 2026-10-24 | checked 2026-10-24 | checked 2026-10-24 | checked 2026-10-24 |
US prices for one person, read on each vendor's own pricing page. Tax not included. Spot a wrong price? Tell us.
The picks
AppFlowy
Open-source Notion-style workspace for docs, databases and wikis.
−$144vs Notion
Joplin
Free open-source notes and to-do app with encrypted sync.
−$144vs Notion
Obsidian
Private notes app storing plain Markdown files on your device.
−$144vs Notion