Workflowy vs. Notion Project Management: Features, Pros, Cons, And More

Usually, teams compare Workflowy and Notion when they need a single tool for both planning tasks and storing notes. They both serve that purpose but take completely different approaches. Workflowy is a minimalist outliner that lets you organize tasks in nested bullet lists, focusing on simplicity and speed. Notion, on the other hand, is an all-in-one workspace combining documents, databases, and collaboration features for more complex needs.

This report reviews their features, limitations, and pricing to help you make an informed decision on which platform offers the stronger foundation for your work. Let's get started!

Workflowy is a web-based outlining tool with an ultra-minimalist design that focuses on creating nested bullet-point lists. It works like an infinite digital notebook where you can capture thoughts, tasks, and projects in a hierarchical structure that expands or collapses as needed. For example, you have a main bullet point for ‘Vacation Planning’ that expands to show sub-points like ‘Book Flight,’ ‘Find Hotel,’ and ‘Pack Luggage,’ and each of those can further expand to show more specific tasks. That is one of its biggest strengths.

However, it deliberately lacks advanced project management features such as Gantt charts, task assignments, or detailed dashboards, offering only nested lists with a basic built-in board (Kanban-style) view. In short, it is an excellent, easy-to-use tool for organizing ideas and simple projects, but not for managing complex, team-based workflows.

Workflowy Pros And Cons

Notion is like a digital all-in-one workspace for your entire team. It has databases where you can organize information with custom categories, lets you embed videos and images directly into your pages, and allows your team to work together in real-time editing, commenting, and mentioning each other instantly. It's like having Google Docs (for writing and collaboration), Trello (for organizing tasks and projects), and a wiki (for storing team knowledge) all rolled into one tool instead of switching between different apps.

What makes Notion special is how customizable it is - teams can shape it to fit any way they work, whether they need simple task lists or complex project plans with linked databases. This is also its downside — because the tool is highly customizable, some users may find it difficult to use and become overwhelmed during the setup process.

Notion Project Management Pros And Cons

Workflowy

Workflowy is a minimalist, outline-based tool. Every task is a simple bullet point that you can check off when done. You can create infinite sub-tasks by indenting bullets, making it easy to break down complex projects. It uses tags (like #priority) and a powerful search to filter your lists and create custom views. You can set due dates and even view tasks on a simple Kanban board. Its unique ‘mirroring’ feature lets a single task appear in multiple lists and stay synced. However, it lacks advanced features like automatic reminders, task dependencies, or progress tracking.

Notion Project Management

Notion is a highly customizable all-in-one workspace. You can manage tasks in a simple checklist or, more powerfully, in a database where each task is a row with properties like assignee, due date, and status. A key strength is creating multiple views (like a Kanban board, calendar, or timeline) from the same task list, so everyone can see the data how they prefer. You can assign tasks to people and set basic reminders. While it doesn't have built-in automation to create rules (like ‘when this happens, do that’), you can connect it to other apps for advanced workflows.

Workflowy

Workflowy offers personal and highly rated customer support through email and a helpful knowledge base. Because it is a smaller, simpler tool, there are fewer complex issues, and its paid plan includes premium support. However, it does not offer 24/7 live chat or phone support. For most users, the well-documented guides and active user community provide all the help they need for this straightforward app.

Notion Project Management

Notion, a much larger platform, provides extensive support resources. This includes a vast help center, active community forums, and countless third-party tutorials. For direct help, you must contact them via email or an in-app message. Notion provides priority support on Plus and Business plans, with customizable premium support and a dedicated customer success manager available on Enterprise plans.

Workflowy

Workflowy offers very basic collaboration. You can share a list with others and edit it together in real-time, like a shared digital notepad. However, it lacks features like built-in comments, @mentions to notify people, or indicators to see who is online. Collaboration is purely about editing the text together. This makes it best for small, informal groups who just need to jointly create and edit simple lists or outlines without needing structured discussion or feedback.

Notion Project Management

Notion is built for team collaboration. Multiple people can work on the same page at once, with avatars showing who is online. You can @mention teammates to send them notifications and add comments directly to content for discussions. It keeps all communication tied to the work, which is ideal for remote teams. You can also control permissions, sharing entire workspaces or single pages with specific people. In short, Notion is a full-featured collaborative workspace, while Workflowy is a simple shared outline tool.

Workflowy

Workflowy is available on almost every platform. It has web, desktop (Windows, Mac, and Linux), and mobile (iOS and Android) apps. A key advantage is its strong offline support; you can fully edit your outlines without an internet connection, and everything will sync when you reconnect. This makes it very reliable for use anywhere, on any device.

Notion Project Management

Notion is also widely available on web, desktop (Windows and Mac), and mobile (iOS and Android). However, it does not have a native Linux app, so Linux users must rely on the web browser. Its offline mode is more limited; you can view and edit recently opened pages, but you cannot access new content without an internet connection. For most online users, Notion provides a consistent experience, but it is primarily designed for use with an active internet connection.

Workflowy

Workflowy’s UI can be described in one word: minimal. When you open Workflowy, you essentially see a blank page with a single bullet point (ready for you to type) or your existing bullet list if you have content. There’s a top bar with a search field and a couple of menu icons, but otherwise, it’s just your text. For many people, this ‘just start typing’ approach makes Workflowy incredibly easy to use from the get-go. There’s no need to figure out menus or toolbars. If you know how to make a bullet list (tab to indent, shift+tab to outdent, etc.) , you can use Workflowy.

Notion Project Management

Notion’s UI is more complex because the app simply does more. However, it tries to be intuitive by allowing a lot of natural interactions: you can drag and drop blocks to move them, drag pages in the sidebar to reorder, and even create columns on a page by simply dragging blocks next to each other. These interactions make organizing information feel somewhat like playing with Lego – it’s flexible, but you need to know what pieces you want to use.

Workflowy

Workflowy offers basic file sharing for its Pro users. You can upload files and images to attach them to your bullet points. Free users have a small storage limit (100 MB), while Pro users get generous, nearly unlimited storage. Files are treated as simple attachments that you can download or view. There is no advanced preview, version history, or integration with other cloud services like Google Drive. It's a practical feature for keeping reference files with your notes, but it is not a full file management system.

Notion Project Management

Notion offers an integrated and flexible way to handle files. You can upload images, PDFs, and other files directly into a page, where they appear as inline previews or scrollable embeds. On the free plan, each file must be under 5 MB, while paid plans raise this limit to 5 GB per file. A key strength is the ability to embed live content from other apps, like Google Docs or YouTube videos, making a Notion page a central hub for all project assets.

Workflowy

Workflowy has no built-in automation. It is a completely manual tool. There are no features for rules, reminders, or automatic actions. For example, it cannot automatically create follow-up tasks or send you notifications. This simplicity gives you full control but means you have to manage everything yourself. While advanced users can use external tools or the Workflowy API to create some automation, this requires technical skill.

Notion Project Management

Notion offers basic but powerful automation features. You can create simple rules in your databases, like automatically assigning a new task to someone or setting a due date. It also has built-in reminders that can notify you. For more advanced automation, Notion connects easily with other apps like Zapier, allowing you to create workflows between tools. This makes Notion much more powerful for reducing repetitive work and streamlining processes. While setting it up takes some time, Notion provides helpful automation that Workflowy completely lacks.

Templates And Pre-built Structures

Workflowy

Workflowy is a blank slate every time you start a new outline. It does not offer any built-in templates or pre-made structures. You start with an empty outline and create your own organization from scratch every time. While this offers total flexibility, it provides no guidance for new users. You can find ideas from the user community online, but you must manually build any template you want to use yourself.

Notion Project Management

Notion, in contrast, is famous for its extensive collection of templates. It offers a huge library of free, 30,000 built-in templates for almost anything you can think of, like project plans, content calendars, and habit trackers. This makes it incredibly easy to get started quickly. You can just pick a template that fits your needs and begin using it immediately, saving a lot of setup time. This is a major advantage for users who want guidance and don't want to build a system from scratch.

Workflowy vs Notion Project Management Pricing Comparison

Workflowy offers two pricing plans along with a free 7-day Pro trial. The available plans are:

• Basic: Free/forever
• Pro: $8.99/month

On the other hand, Notion offers multiple pricing plans based on team size and needs. The available plans are:

• Free: $0/member /month
• Plus: $12/member /month
• Business: $24/member /month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.

Who Is Workflowy Best For?

Workflowy is ideal for individuals and small teams valuing simplicity over complexity. It's perfect for writers organizing thoughts hierarchically, students taking distraction-free notes, and freelancers managing simple projects without overhead. Digital minimalists appreciate its ‘just start typing’ approach, while those working offline benefit from reliable access regardless of connectivity.

Who Is Notion Project Management Best For?

Notion suits teams needing comprehensive workspaces for complex workflows. Growing teams benefit from centralized collaboration, content creators appreciate media embedding capabilities, and startups value its scalable flexibility. Project managers benefit from timeline views and dependencies, while remote teams appreciate combined knowledge base and project management functions. Best for teams willing to invest setup time with guided adoption.

Which One May Suit Your Needs Better?

The choice between Workflowy and Notion comes down to a simple question: Do you need team collaboration and multimedia content management, or do you just want fast, simple organization?

Choose Notion If: You're working with a team that needs real-time collaboration, task assignments, and project coordination. You regularly embed videos, images, and files into your workspace, or you need complex databases with interconnected information and reporting capabilities

Choose Workflowy If: You primarily need quick capture and organization of thoughts, tasks, or notes for personal productivity. You want minimal setup time, a distraction-free environment, and don't need team coordination features

What Are The Alternatives?

If neither tool fits perfectly, several alternatives exist. Dynalist offers Workflowy's simplicity with better formatting, while Roam Research adds powerful idea linking for research work. For Notion alternatives, Obsidian excels at personal knowledge management with superior performance, ClickUp provides dedicated project management features, and Coda offers advanced databases and automation.

Ultimately, the best tool depends on your specific workflow needs, so take time to identify your must-have requirements before choosing.