Notion vs Novu
All-in-one workspace — docs, wikis, databases, projects, AI
vs. Open-source notification infrastructure — workflows across email, SMS, push, chat, in-app
Pricing tiers
Notion
Free
$0. Unlimited blocks for personal use, 5MB file uploads, 7-day version history. Max 10 collaborators.
Free
Notion AI (add-on)
$8/user/mo. Add AI to Plus. Free on Business and above.
$8/mo
Plus
$10/user/mo annual ($12/mo). Unlimited blocks for teams, unlimited file uploads, 30-day history.
$10/mo
Business
$15/user/mo annual ($18/mo). SAML SSO, private teamspaces, bulk export, 90-day history, Notion AI included.
$15/mo
Enterprise
$25/user/mo (est). SCIM, audit log, unlimited history, dedicated success manager.
$25/mo
Novu
Free
10K workflow runs/mo. All channels. 20 workflows, 2 environments, 3 team members, 24h retention.
Free
Self-hosted (OSS)
Open source (MIT). Run locally or on own infrastructure. No usage limits.
$0 base (usage-based)
Pro
From $30/mo. 30K+ runs, 7-day retention, branding removal, advanced email editor.
$30/mo
Team
From $250/mo. 250K+ runs, 10 envs, 90-day retention, RBAC, 600 RPS.
$250/mo
Enterprise
Custom. 10M+ runs, HIPAA BAA, SSO/OIDC, data residency (SG/UK/AU/JP/KR), self-hosted/VPC.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing free on Notion vs free on Novu.
| Metric | Notion | Novu |
|---|---|---|
| retention | — | 1 days |
| workflow runs monthly | — | 10000 runs/mo |
| workflows | — | 20 workflows |
Features
Notion · 16 features
- Databases — Relational data with views.
- Database Views — Table, board, gallery, calendar, timeline, list.
- Desktop Apps — Native Mac + Windows.
- Docs — Wiki + docs with rich editor.
- Formulas 2.0 — JS-like expressions.
- Granular Permissions — Per-page + teamspace ACLs.
- iOS + Android Apps — Native mobile.
- Notion AI — AI assist for writing + Q&A.
- Notion Calendar — Native calendar (ex-Cron).
- Notion Mail — Email client integrated.
- Relations + Rollups — Cross-DB linking + aggregations.
- REST API — Integrations + automations.
- Sync Databases — Pull external sources.
- Teamspaces — Isolated areas per team.
- Template Gallery — 10,000+ community templates.
- Widgets + Embeds — Third-party embeds.
Novu · 15 features
- Activity Feed — Message-by-message delivery timeline.
- Chat — Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Mattermost, WhatsApp, WeChat.
- Email — SendGrid, Postmark, Mailgun, AWS SES, Resend, SMTP, Plunk, Mailjet, Sparkpost, M…
- Inbox — React/Next/Vue/Angular in-app Inbox component.
- Layouts — Reusable email layouts with template nesting.
- Multi-tenancy — Per-tenant branding, templates, preferences.
- Novu Framework — Code-first workflow DSL (TypeScript) colocated with app code.
- Preferences — Per-subscriber + global notification preferences.
- Push — APNs, FCM, Expo, OneSignal, Pushpad, Pusher.
- Self-hosting — Docker Compose / Kubernetes deployment of full stack.
- SMS — Twilio, MessageBird, Plivo, Nexmo, Termii, Sendchamp, Africa's Talking, Kannel, …
- Subscribers — Subscriber profiles with channels, preferences, topics.
- Topics — Pub/sub style subscribe many users to a topic.
- Translations — i18n support for templates.
- Workflows — Code-first or visual notification workflows with steps, branches, delays.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Notion | Novu |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | — | Novu CLI |
| SDK | @notionhq/client | go-novu, @novu/api, @novu/framework, novu-java, novu-kotlin, novu-php, novu (Python), @novu/react (Inbox), novu-ruby |
| REST | Notion REST API | Novu REST API |
| MCP | Notion MCP (official) | — |
| OTHER | Notion AI, Notion Apps, OAuth 2.0 (public) | Outbound Webhooks, Self-hosted (Docker) |
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