Both Notion and Airtable are popular productivity platforms that have undergone rapid evolution, particularly with the introduction of new AI features and integrations in 2025. Notion started as a note-taking and wiki tool and evolved into an all-in-one workspace, while Airtable began as a supercharged spreadsheet and transformed into a powerful, no-code database platform. This comparison outlines the latest features, updates, strengths, and weaknesses of Notion and Airtable. By the end, you’ll know which platform is the best fit for you or your team.
Table of contents
Notion vs. Airtable: Quick look
| Aspect | Notion | Airtable |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Flexible workspace for docs, wikis and light project tracking | Managing structured data and automations for workflows like CRM or inventory |
| Core focus | All-in-one workspace combining documents with simple database tables | Relational database and no-code app builder on a spreadsheet interface |
| Ease of use | Intuitive for note-taking and page creation; moderate curve for databases | Familiar spreadsheet feel; requires planning and structuring bases |
| Automations | Basic triggers via API or third-party tools like Zapier | Advanced built-in triggers, actions and multi-step workflows |
| Integrations | Solid API, embeds and third-party connectors | Extensive native integrations with two-way data sync |
| AI features | Notion AI for content generation, summaries and Q&A | Airtable AI assistant and copilot for formulas, base creation and insights |
| Collaboration | Real-time co-editing, comments and @mentions | Real-time record edits, field-level comments and granular permissions |
| Mobile UX | Good for reading, editing text and basic updates; limited offline support | Great for data entry and updates; base design only on desktop |
| Pricing (2025) | Free; Plus $10/user/mo (annual); Business $20/user/mo (annual) | Free; Team $20/user/mo (annual); Business $45/user/mo (annual) |
Reasons to choose Notion
- All-in-one pages with embedded tables and boards.
- Rich text editing and customizable templates.
- Notion AI generates content and summaries in-app.
- Real-time collaboration with comments and mentions.
- Hierarchical page structure for wikis and docs.
- Public sharing enables non-user access.
- Unlimited blocks on paid plans.
Reasons to choose Airtable
- True relational tables with linked records.
- Built-in automations with multi-step workflows.
- Multiple views: grid, calendar, Kanban, gallery.
- Two-way data sync with external apps.
- Extensive native integrations (Google, Slack, etc.)
- Interface Designer for custom dashboards.
- High record and attachment limits per base.
User interface and ease of use
Notion’s interface is clean and minimalistic, centered around a sidebar of pages and an open canvas for content.
You create pages and fill them with blocks (text, headings, checkboxes, images, embeds, etc.), which you can drag and drop to restructure as needed.
This free-form page design makes Notion incredibly flexible. You can start with a blank page and shape it into a meeting notes doc, a task board, a wiki article, or all of the above.
For new users, the blank-canvas freedom can be both a blessing and a curse: it’s easy to use for basic notes, but building out a complex workspace has a learning curve as you figure out databases, relations, and advanced features.
The good news is that Notion provides many templates (for project plans, HR manuals, roadmaps, etc.) and an active community sharing their setups, which helps shorten the onboarding time.
Airtable’s interface will feel familiar if you’ve ever worked with spreadsheets.
When you open a base, you see rows and columns of data. This makes basic data entry straightforward for new users.
Beyond the grid, the left sidebar in Airtable lets you switch between different views of your data (one table can have a grid view, a calendar view, a Kanban board, etc.) with a click.
This is a strong point: the interface enables non-technical users to visually slice and dice their data without writing code.
Airtable also has a top bar with options for sharing, automations, and integrations, keeping important functions within reach.
Overall, the ease of use is high for basic operations: most users grasp adding rows and fields quickly because it’s spreadsheet-like.
The challenge arises with more complex capabilities, such as setting up linked records between tables, configuring complex filters or formulas, or designing an Interface dashboard for the first time.
These tasks are not difficult per se (Airtable offers tutorials and templates), but they require a more structured mindset than Notion.
Documents and databases
One of the biggest differences between Notion and Airtable is how they handle information.
Notion does text and documents first, with databases as a secondary feature. Every Notion database (whether it’s a table of tasks or a list of projects in Kanban view) lives on a page and can have rich text content around it.
This means you can write a detailed project brief on the same page that contains the project tasks database, a very fluid experience for mixing content and data.
Notion’s database features have expanded (you can create tables with relations, rollups, formulas, etc.), but they’re still simpler compared to a full-fledged database system.
Also, the line between a document and a database is a bit blurry since a page can be part of a database and also contain its own sub-pages or content.
Airtable does databases first.
Every piece of data is a record in a table, and every table is part of a base (database).
You can link records between tables (e.g., a Projects table and a Clients table can be related), implement more sophisticated formulas (Airtable formulas can manipulate dates, text, do lookups, etc.), and handle larger data sets.
Airtable shines when you need multiple views and specialized fields: you can have a Grid view for data entry, a Calendar view to see due dates, a Kanban for workflow, a Gallery for visual catalog, and more, all derived from the same data.
However, Airtable is not a document or note-taking tool; you wouldn’t write a multi-paragraph project brief inside a cell (though you could, it’s not a convenient approach).
It’s best paired with other tools for long-form content, whereas Notion merges those use cases together.
Knowledge management
Notion is far better for knowledge bases and documentation.
You can maintain an internal wiki with hierarchical pages, easily interlink pages, and use features like toggles, callout blocks, and built-in templates for common documents.
Airtable, while it has rich text fields and attachments, isn’t designed to replace your documentation hub; it is not trying to be a team knowledge base.
Many companies actually use the two in tandem: e.g., Airtable to store structured data and Notion for documentation and guides.
Notion’s advantage here is its extremely customizable page layouts and text formatting options, which Airtable lacks.
You can drop in an image, a Figma embed, a code snippet, and a to-do list all on the same Notion page, which is fantastic for creating dynamic documentation or dashboards for your team.
Notion even supports synced blocks (edit one snippet of content and have it update across pages), which is great for maintaining standard info in multiple places.
Automations and AI
When it comes to automation, Airtable shines. It features a built-in automation engine that allows you to create triggers and actions directly within your base. For instance, you can set: “When a new form submission is received (trigger), create a record and send an email notification (actions).”
Additionally, Airtable Scripts (now part of automations as scripting actions) let you write JavaScript to extend functionality even further if needed.
In 2025, Airtable enhanced its automation with Airtable AI features: the Airtable AI Assistant can be prompted to analyze or summarize data and the new Airtable Copilot can actually build out base structures or formulas based on natural language prompts.
Notion’s approach to automation is also more limited natively; it doesn’t have an internal “if this then that” rule builder for workflows. However, you can accomplish automations by connecting Notion with external services.
One huge feature for Notion in 2025 and beyond is Notion AI.
Unlike Airtable’s data-oriented AI, Notion’s AI is all about content creation and assistance within your pages.
It’s built into the editor: you can ask it to generate a blog post outline, brainstorm ideas, summarize a long document, extract action items from meeting notes, translate text, or even answer questions based on your workspace content.
This AI is quite accessible: just a slash command or click, no coding needed, and it leverages your existing content (with permission) to tailor responses.
👉 Learn more: Automation vs. AI: What Are the Differences?
Collaboration
Both tools allow multiple users to work simultaneously.
In Notion, you’ll see other users’ cursors in a page as they type or edit. In fact, it feels like a Google Doc at times, great for co-editing meeting notes or brainstorming in a doc.
You can @mention colleagues, assign tasks by mentioning people, and have inline comments on any block of content.
Notion keeps everything in one space, so it’s easy for a team to navigate a shared knowledge base or project hub together.
Permissions can be set at the page or teamspace level, which is important as your team grows (e.g., HR pages can be private to the HR team only, etc.).
In Airtable, collaboration happens in a structured way.
Team members can edit records at the same time, and changes sync in real time. You can comment on individual records (for example, discuss a particular task or a sales lead in the record’s activity feed).
Airtable’s field-by-field permissions (on higher plans) and table-level permissions allow controlling who can edit what, which can be useful if different departments share a base.
One thing Airtable added for large teams is an Interface Designer, which allows making custom interfaces for different stakeholders, e.g., a simple form-like view for salespeople to update opportunities, while analysts work in the raw grid.
This is great for cross-team workflows because you can tailor the experience to each team’s needs, all backed by the same data. Notion doesn’t have an equivalent feature; it relies on pages and databases to be flexible enough for everyone.
Pricing
Here’s a side-by-side look at each platform’s plans in USD (billed annually):
Notion
- Free: Unlimited pages & blocks for individuals, basic page analytics, 7-day version history, up to 10 guest collaborators.
- Plus: $10/user/month; everything in Free + unlimited blocks & file uploads, 30-day version history, up to 100 guests, synced databases & basic automations.
- Business: $20/user/month; everything in Plus + SAML SSO, bulk PDF export, advanced page analytics, 90-day version history, up to 250 guests.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing; everything in Business + SCIM user provisioning, audit logs & workspace analytics, dedicated customer success manager, advanced security & compliance controls.
Airtable
- Free: Unlimited bases, up to 1,000 records per base, 1 GB attachments/base, 100 automation runs/month, unlimited read-only collaborators.
- Team: $20/user/month; everything in Free + 50,000 records per base, 20 GB attachments/base, 20,000 automation runs/month, Gantt & Timeline views, Interface Designer.
- Business: $45/user/month; everything in Team + 125,000 records per base, 100 GB attachments/base, unlimited automations, two-way sync, advanced admin & SAML SSO.
- Enterprise Scale: Custom pricing; everything in Business + unlimited records & attachments, enterprise governance (audit logs, DLP), dedicated account team & SLAs.
Conclusion
Consider your specific needs when choosing between Notion and Airtable.
👉 Choose Notion if you need a flexible, document-centric environment that scales easily for entrepreneurs and small teams.
👉 Choose Airtable if your business relies on relational databases, sophisticated automations, and robust integrations for data-driven operations.
Notion offers native integrations with over 70 popular tools. These integrations streamline workflows by centralizing information, reducing manual data entry, and providing real-time visibility into external systems without requiring users to leave Notion.
2sync builds on this by providing true two-way, real-time synchronization between Notion and services like Google Calendar, Todoist, and more. With customizable field mapping, conditional filtering, and default values, 2sync ensures only the data you choose flows between Notion and your other apps—automating routine tasks and keeping your databases perfectly aligned without any extra effort.
