Microsoft OneNote vs Notion
We give Microsoft OneNote a 4.0 GPA and Notion a 3.2, out of 4.0. Microsoft OneNote grades higher on value for money, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft's free digital notebook for typed, inked and audio notes
Notion
Workspace for docs, wikis, databases and projects with built-in AI
How we grade them
| 4.0GPAMicrosoft OneNoteExcellent | 3.2GPANotionVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AOneNote itself costs nothing. The paid route is Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and that's less a notes upgrade than 1 TB of storage plus Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook with Copilot. | BTen dollars a person on Plus is fair when it replaces your docs, wiki and tracker. The sting is the AI agent and meeting notes sitting on Business, which is double. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree to download and use on every platform it supports. The limit is storage: a free Microsoft account has 5 GB, shared with your OneDrive files and Outlook.com attachments. Most people could stay here. | AIf it's only you, it's unlimited pages for nothing, plus 10 guests. We don't know a more generous free plan in this category. |
| Features | ATyped text, pen or stylus ink, pictures, videos and voice on one page. The phone app scans documents and pulls the text out, a free Web Clipper saves pages from Edge and Chrome, and notebooks can be shared. Copilot is in there too, on Microsoft 365 plans. | ADocs, databases, forms, websites, automations, a calendar app, AI agents. They added shareable agent skills in September 2026. There's a lot here, maybe too much. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from over a million App Store ratings. Reviewers like the notebooks and sections for keeping lots of subjects in order. Sync is the grumble, with repeated complaints about notes that are slow to reach another device. | CThis is the weak spot. People who get through setup love it, but "it took me ages to figure out" is the complaint you see most, and a blank workspace doesn't help. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWindows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, the web and a browser clipper, tied into OneDrive, SharePoint, Word and Excel. Linux gets the browser version only. | BWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, a web clipper, an API, and it talks to Slack, GitHub, Jira and friends. No Linux app on the download page though. |
| Best for | free notebooks on every device | planning and all-in-one workspaces |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Microsoft OneNote and Notion. How we grade
Where they differ
- Microsoft OneNote starts at $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year (Microsoft 365 Personal). Notion starts at $10 per member / month, billed yearly.
- Microsoft OneNote also covers transcription, dictation and web clipper.
- Notion also covers databases, wiki and templates.
At a glance
| Microsoft OneNote | Notion | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year (Microsoft 365 Personal) | $10 per member / month, billed yearly |
| Free plan | OneNote is free to download and use on every supported platform. A free Microsoft account includes 5 GB of cloud storage, shared with OneDrive files and Outlook.com attachments. | Unlimited pages and blocks for one person (a limited block allowance once a second member joins), 5 MB file uploads, 7 days of page history, 10 guests and 1 chart. |
| Free trial | 1-month free trial of Microsoft 365. A credit card is required, and it converts to a paid subscription unless canceled. | Some teams and organizations are eligible to try the Business plan for 30 days. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Microsoft | Notion Labs, Inc. |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | notion.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Microsoft OneNote
- People who already have a Microsoft account or a Microsoft 365 subscription
- Handwritten notes and sketches with a pen or stylus
- Teachers and students working in Class Notebooks
- Free note-taking across Windows, Mac, phones and the web
Notion
- Teams that want docs, a wiki and project tracking in one workspace
- Individuals who want a free personal workspace with unlimited pages
- Building custom trackers and dashboards from databases
Worth knowing
Microsoft OneNote
- A free Microsoft account stops at 5 GB of cloud storage, shared with OneDrive files and Outlook.com attachments.
- Only the Windows desktop app can keep notebooks on a local hard drive; the other versions work with cloud notebooks.
- Microsoft 365 AI features are limited to the subscription owner, with usage limits, even on the Family plan.
- Microsoft lists apps for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android but none for Linux, where OneNote is browser-only.
Notion
- Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes and Enterprise Search are only a limited trial on Free and Plus; full access starts at Business.
- The Free plan limits blocks once a second member joins, caps file uploads at 5 MB and keeps 7 days of page history.
- There is no Linux desktop app; Notion points Linux users to the browser version.
- Custom Agents run on Notion credits, an add-on for Business and Enterprise priced at $10 per 1,000 monthly credits.
Key features
Microsoft OneNote
- Typed, handwritten and scanned notes
- Pages hold typed text, digital ink from a pen or stylus, pictures and videos. The mobile app also scans documents and extracts their text.
- Voice transcription and dictation
- Voice transcription captures spoken notes for later review, and the iPhone and iPad app takes dictation in 27 languages, some of them in preview.
- Copilot in OneNote
- Copilot responds to prompts to draft plans, generate ideas, create lists and organize information. Microsoft 365 plans include the desktop apps with Copilot, subject to usage limits.
- Sharing and collaboration
- Notebooks are cloud-connected, so they can be shared with other people and opened on a PC, a Mac, a phone, a tablet or in a browser.
- Web Clipper
- A free browser add-on for Edge and Chrome captures web content into a notebook, where it can be edited, annotated and shared.
- Class and Staff Notebooks
- Class Notebook gives each student a personal workspace, a content library for handouts and a collaboration space. Staff Notebook does the same for school teams.
Notion
- Docs and pages
- Pages hold text, media and embeds. Several people can edit the same page, leave comments and @-mention each other.
- Databases
- Databases organize hundreds or thousands of items such as projects or tasks. Charts are limited to 1 on Free, and database automations start on Plus.
- Wikis
- A knowledge base keeps team documentation in one place. Private teamspaces for restricting access need the Business plan.
- Notion Agent, Meeting Notes and Search
- The AI agent, meeting transcription with summaries and search across connected apps are included from Business. Free and Plus get a limited trial.
- Forms and Sites
- Collect responses into a database and publish pages to the web. Custom forms start on Plus, conditional logic on Business, and custom domains are billed per domain.
- Offline pages
- The desktop and mobile apps can view, edit and create pages offline. Free users pick pages to download; paid plans also download recent and favorite pages automatically.
Plans
Microsoft OneNote
OneNote$0
The standalone app on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and the web, used with a free Microsoft account and its 5 GB of cloud storage.
Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99
per month, or $99.99 per year
For 1 person: 1 TB of cloud storage and the OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook desktop apps with Copilot, on up to 5 devices at once.
Microsoft 365 Family$12.99
per month, or $129.99 per year
For 1 to 6 people, with 1 TB of storage per person (up to 6 TB). AI features are for the subscription owner only.
Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99
per month, or $199.99 per year
Everything in Family, plus extensive Copilot chat usage, agentic AI features for research and analytics, and more AI image creation.
Notion
Free$0
For individuals: unlimited pages and blocks for one person, 5 MB file uploads, 7-day page history, 10 guests and basic forms.
Plus$10
per member / month, billed yearly
Unlimited file uploads, 30-day page history, unlimited guests, custom forms, unlimited charts and database automations.
Business$20
per member / month, billed yearly
Everything in Plus, plus Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search (beta), SAML SSO, private teamspaces and 90-day page history.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Business, plus SCIM user provisioning, audit logs, advanced security controls and unlimited page history.
Ways to pay less
Microsoft OneNote
- Annual discount
About 17% lower cost with yearly billing
Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99 per year against $9.99 per month ($119.88 over twelve months). Family and Premium show the same gap between yearly and monthly prices.
- Education
Free Office 365 Education for students and educators
Microsoft's education site says students and educators with a valid school email address are eligible for Office 365 Education, which includes OneNote, at no cost.
Notion
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with yearly billing
Notion's pricing page says paying yearly instead of monthly saves up to 20% on the Plus and Business plans.
- Education
Free Education plan for students and educators
Students and educators at accredited colleges and universities get a free one-member workspace with Plus features by signing up with a school email. K-12 is not eligible.
- Nonprofit
50% off the Business plan for nonprofits
Verified nonprofit organizations can apply for 50% off the Business plan on up to three workspaces. Verification takes 3 to 7 business days.
- Startups
Up to 6 months of Business free for startups
Startups under 100 employees that are not yet paying customers can apply for 1, 3 or 6 months of the Business plan free, depending on partner affiliation and company details.
