project management tool · head to head
Airtable vs Notion
Comparison Summary
Notion scored 6.9 and Airtable scored 6.8 on our project management tool test script.
Notion: Notion was the fastest app in our project-management test: it started in about 5 seconds, imported 200 rows in 10 and drew a 500-task board instantly, and all four views, including a timeline, are free. But it is a database tool more than a task manager: there are no automations on the free plan, recurring tasks are scheduled templates, its AI turned our subtasks into untitled pages, and the free plan is built for one person.
Airtable: Airtable is a database that makes a capable project tracker: our 40 tasks pasted in one go, CSV import and export kept every value, imports took seconds, automations fired quickly and its AI got everything right and asked before adding records. The trade-offs: no recurring tasks or real subtasks, dependencies that only flag conflicts, Gantt and timeline on paid plans, a free plan capped at 1,000 records per base, and a desktop app that greeted us with a firewall prompt and a bot check.
Editor's Verdict
Choose Notion if…
Best for: Individuals and small teams who want tasks living next to their docs and wiki, and who are happy to build their own setup.
- All four views free, including a timeline; eleven view types in all
- The CSV import recognised all seven columns and imported 200 rows in about 10 seconds
- Priorities, dependencies and other custom properties are free
Choose Airtable if…
Best for: Teams who want a flexible database behind their projects, with automations and reliable CSV in and out.
- Paste a spreadsheet and the project is built, with select options created from the data
- CSV import and export kept all 200 rows identical, and 500 rows imported in about a second
- Automations fired in a few seconds, with schedules, conditions and many actions
Head to Head
Task by task
The same prompts, pasted word for word into each app on a clean Windows 11 PC. On the 8 tasks both apps were graded on, Airtable completed 4 and Notion completed 5.
| Task | Airtable | Notion |
|---|---|---|
| P1 · Build a project | Pass≈ 5 min | Pass≈ 16 min |
| P2 · Views | Partial≈ 8 min | Pass≈ 4 min |
| P3 · Rules | Partial≈ 15 min | Partial≈ 5 min |
| P4 · 200-row import | Pass≈ 2 min | Pass≈ 3 min |
| P5 · Scale | Pass≈ 2 min | Pass≈ 10 s import |
| P6 · Permissions | Partial≈ 3 min | Pass≈ 10 min |
| P7 · AI | Pass≈ 4 min | Partial≈ 20–40 s each |
| P8 · Leave | Partial≈ 4 min | Partial≈ 30 min |
Measured on the same PC
| Measurement | Airtable | Notion |
|---|---|---|
| Admin rights | No | Not needed |
| On disk | 552 MB | 400 MB |
| Starts with Windows | No | No |
| 40-task project | ≈ 5 min | ≈ 16 min |
| Views on the free plan | 3 / 4 | 4 / 4 |
| Cold start | ≈ 8 s | ≈ 5 s |
| Memory | 1.1 – 1.6 GB | 0.9 – 1.4 GB |
| Left after uninstall | ≈ 63 MB | ≈ 540 MB |
Pros and cons
Airtable
+ What works
- Paste a spreadsheet and the project is built, with select options created from the data
- CSV import and export kept all 200 rows identical, and 500 rows imported in about a second
- Automations fired in a few seconds, with schedules, conditions and many actions
- Omni, the AI assistant, answered correctly and asked before creating records
- Per-user install with no prompts and no startup entries
− What falls short
- Gantt and timeline views need the paid Team plan
- No recurring tasks or subtasks; we used a scheduled automation and a link field instead
- Dependencies only flag conflicts; nothing moved when a predecessor slipped
- Free plan: 1,000 records per base and 100 automation runs a month
- New invites default to Creator, and an editor invite link is on by default
- First launch raised a Windows Firewall prompt and a bot check
Notion
+ What works
- All four views free, including a timeline; eleven view types in all
- The CSV import recognised all seven columns and imported 200 rows in about 10 seconds
- Priorities, dependencies and other custom properties are free
- Notion AI summarised our project and answered “what is overdue?” correctly
- Removing a member or cutting them to view-only took effect on their next page load
- No admin rights, no startup entry and no services
− What falls short
- No automations on the free plan
- Recurring tasks are templates that create a new page on a schedule, not tasks that repeat when completed
- Asked for subtasks, the AI created five untitled pages without asking first
- Free plan is for one person: with more members you get a limited number of blocks, and Member and Can edit roles need Plus
- Risky defaults: invites default to Workspace owner, shared pages to Full access, and anyone with your domain can join
- Pasting a list filled names and dates but left the select columns empty
- The workspace export leaves out private pages unless you switch them on
Privacy and security
What we saw on our own test PC. Each review also lists what the vendor states about data handling, training and certifications.
Airtable
Signed installer
Signed by Formagrid, Inc.; the certificate had expired but the signature was timestamped.
Firewall prompt
First launch asked to accept connections on public and private networks; declining did not affect the app.
Generous sharing defaults
Invites default to Creator and an editor invite link is on until you turn it off.
AI asks first
Omni showed new records and waited for Approve before creating them.
Notion
Installs without a click
The web installer installed and opened Notion before we pressed Install, and sent a small event log with an anonymous device ID before we signed in. It adds no startup entry or services.
Permissive defaults
Invites default to Workspace owner, page sharing to Full access, joining by link is on, and setup pre-ticks joining for anyone with your email domain.
Marketing emails
You have to tick a box at sign-up to refuse marketing emails. Sharing workspace data to improve the AI was off by default.
Left after uninstalling
A 477 MB profile folder with the local database and logs, plus a 64 MB browser profile from the installer.
Features & Pricing
| Airtable | Notion | |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | — | — |
| iOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid from | $20/mo | $10/mo |
Airtable plans
- Free$0
- Team$20/seat/mo
- Business$45/seat/mo
- Enterprise ScaleContact sales
From Airtable's pricing page, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Notion plans
- Free$0
- Plus$10/seat/mo
- Business$20/seat/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
From Notion's pricing page, checked Oct 30, 2026.
Who makes them
- Company
- Airtable:Formagrid, Inc. (Airtable)
- Notion:Notion Labs, Inc.
- Headquarters
- Airtable:San Francisco, California, USA
- Notion:San Francisco, California, USA
- Founded
- Airtable:2012
- Notion:2013
- Funding
- Airtable:Venture-backed private company.
- Notion:About $343 million raised in total, including a $275 million round in October 2021 at a reported $10 billion valuation.
Timelines, official links and sources are in each review: Airtable · Notion.
Read the full reviews
This page compares the two side by side. Each full review has the complete test log, every screenshot, the scoring notes, pricing, security and company details.
Airtable reviewSituational 6.8 Airtable is a database that makes a capable project tracker: our 40 tasks pasted in one go, CSV import and export kept every value, imports took seconds, automations fired quickly and its AI got everything right and asked before adding records. The trade-offs: no recurring tasks or real subtasks, dependencies that only flag conflicts, Gantt and timeline on paid plans, a free plan capped at 1,000 records per base, and a desktop app that greeted us with a firewall prompt and a bot check. Read the full review → Notion reviewSituational 6.9 Notion was the fastest app in our project-management test: it started in about 5 seconds, imported 200 rows in 10 and drew a 500-task board instantly, and all four views, including a timeline, are free. But it is a database tool more than a task manager: there are no automations on the free plan, recurring tasks are scheduled templates, its AI turned our subtasks into untitled pages, and the free plan is built for one person. Read the full review → Project Management Alternatives
ClickUp Recommended Small teams that want lists, boards, Gantt charts, automations and AI in one free workspace and do not mind a busy, heavy app 7.4 Read reviewReview 
Asana Situational Teams ready to pay for Starter or Advanced who want a polished, fast-to-learn project tool with strong import and export 6.7 Read reviewReview 
Linear Situational Software and product teams who live on the keyboard and want a fast issue tracker with a capable free AI agent 6.5 Read reviewReview 
