Notion is undeniably popular, and for good reason. It was the first proper PKM tool I’ve used that gave me advanced features for my notes and projects. So a part of me is still a little attached to it. However, Notion is far from perfect. For starters, it slows down my PC, at least when I’m handling large documents. It also locks key features behind a paywall. Plus, your data isn’t exactly yours; everything is stored in the cloud.

I’ve explored a lot of free and open-source Notion alternatives this year. Not all of them measure up, but a handful are just as good if not better. These tools all have advanced project management and note-taking features, prioritize privacy, and don’t lock important features behind subscriptions. They’re worth a look if you’re looking for Notion alternatives.

AFFiNE

Fast and reliable

My top Notion alternative has always been AFFiNE. It almost looks a little like Notion at first glance, but operates very differently. AFFiNE is a free, open-source project management and note-taking app that has everything you could possibly need in a productivity toolkit. It also stores everything locally by default, so you’re in complete control of your files.

It has databases, a myriad of formatting and insert features via the slash command, movable note blocks, document tabs, tags, backlinking, folder organization, and advanced filters. It supports Markdown writing and editing, which is the primary syntax I use for my documents. It also has a really good AI assistant that’s developed on the RAG framework (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), kind of like NotebookLM.

Furthermore, and this is my favorite part, it has an infinitely scrollable whiteboard. As a visual thinker, this tool has become integral to my work and setups in AFFiNE. It’s almost like a mini design tool with how many features it offers. You can add shapes, sticky notes, arrows, use the drawing tools, embed pages and connect them, and add some pre-designed illustrations.

AFFiNE is available on Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android.

AppFlowy

A minimalist option

AppFlowy is a free and open-source productivity tool designed to give you the core capabilities of Notion but without the clutter. It’s very minimalist in design, making it much easier and quicker to navigate, but it doesn’t slack on features. Like AFFiNE, all your data is stored locally by default, but there is a paid version if you need unlimited cloud storage. AppFlowy also outshines Notion when it comes to offline usability with a dedicated offline mode.

It uses note blocks with a ton of formatting and insert options. Although primarily a rich text editor, it also supports Markdown editing, so it still fits into a plain text stack. You can create elaborate tables, Kanban boards, and calendars, and also visually customize your pages, kind like you would with a dashboard in Notion. Overall, it’s the perfect working space to build knowledge bases and manage your tasks and projects - or just take simple notes.

AppFlowy is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Joplin

A great plain-text editor

Joplin is one of my top plain text and Markdown note-taking apps. It’s free, open-source, and stores all your notes locally. While it doesn’t have databases the same way Notion does, it offers a solid set of tools for project and task management. It also has offline support.

One way Joplin is quite different from Notion is in its structure - it’s very text-heavy and doesn’t offer much in terms of visual customization or organization. This actually makes for a very clean and minimal user experience. It gives you a hierarchical folder structure in that you have notebooks with notes, and everything is linkable and taggable across the app, making search a breeze.

It’s built on Markdown, so your formatting options are quite simple, but this is how I prefer it, and you can also customize the app with some plugins. Joplin is available on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS.

Logseq

A unique approach

Logseq is a free, open-source, local-first note-taking app that feels very different from Notion. It operates on a block-based outline format, in that every line you write is a separate, editable, linkable, and taggable block. Logseq is built for creating flexible and interconnected knowledge systems and notes thanks to this non-linear format. Another way this approach is reflected is with its graph view, where you get a visual overview of your content as nodes and how they’re linked together.

Logseq primarily uses the Markdown syntax, and it also supports Org-mode for formatting delimiters like bold and italic. It probably has the most formatting and insert options via the slash command than any other tool on this list, including images, video embeds, links, code blocks, task options, dates, and much more. It’s also a great program for studying thanks to the Flashcard tool, plus it has a whiteboard similar to AFFiNE.

Logseq is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Notion isn't the only option

Notion isn't bad, there are just better options out there that don't lock important tools behind a subscription and give you more ownership over your data. All of these tools are also more lightweight than Notion and barely slow my PC down.