Notion Review 2025

TL;DR: If you want one tool to plan content, ship offers, manage clients, and automate the boring bits, Notion is an excellent choice. It combines documents, databases, AI, a standalone calendar, and even email (yep, really) into a modular system you can shape to your workflow.

Try it here: Get Notion via my link.

Table of contents

1. What makes Notion different

2. Key features (AI, Calendar, Mail, Databases, Sites, Templates)

3. Pricing & plans (clear and current)

4. Who Notion is best for (with examples)

5. Step-by-step setup: a lean “Creator OS” you can copy

6. Advanced: turn Notion AI into your team-mate (Agents)

7. Pros, cons, and real limitations

8. Notion vs. the usual suspects (ClickUp, Trello, Google Docs/Evernote)

9. FAQs

1) What makes Notion different

Most tools force your workflow into their structure; Notion flips that. It’s built from pages + databases you can remodel into a content calendar, lead tracker, client portal, knowledge base—whatever you need—without hopping between apps. Recent updates pushed Notion beyond docs into Calendar and Mail, plus a serious upgrade to Notion AI that can now perform multi-step work as “Agents.” Notion+2Notion+2

👉 Try it: Sign up to Notion (affiliate)

2) Key features you’ll actually use

a) Databases that act like apps

Tables, boards, timelines, calendars, galleries—switch views instantly. Tie content ideas to tasks, assets, and deliverables. Templates in the marketplace (e.g., Social Media Calendar) give you jump-start structures you can adapt. Notion

b) Notion AI (now “Agents” in Notion 3.0)

Originally great for writing, summarising, and answering “where is that thing?” questions, Notion AI now includes Agents that can run for ~20 minutes, follow instructions, update pages/databases, and connect to tools like Slack/Drive—essentially a junior ops assistant inside your workspace. MLQ AI+3Notion+3Notion+3

c) Notion Calendar (the Cron evolution)

A beautifully designed, standalone calendar that integrates deeply with Notion pages & databases. Time-block content production, click into a task’s page, join meetings from the menu bar, and keep life + work in one view. Notion+1

d) Notion Mail (new in 2025)

A customisable inbox that uses Notion’s database-style “views” (e.g., Prospects, Receipts, Newsletters) and AI to draft and organise email. Launched April 2025; currently strongest with Gmail accounts and still maturing, but the direction is clear: docs → calendar → email in the same ecosystem. Notion+2Notion+2

e) Templates & marketplace

Hundreds of official/user templates (OKRs, project trackers, content ops, CRM). You can start simple and layer complexity later. Notion+1

3) Pricing & plans (current at publication)

• Free – Individuals, unlimited pages/blocks; good for testing your system.

• Plus – $10/user/month annually; collaboration, more permissions, file uploads.

• Business – $15/user/month annually; advanced controls; full Notion AI access for new users typically sits at Business tier in 2025 documentation.

• Enterprise – Custom.
  Source & details: Notion pricing page and current 2025 plan explainers. Notion+2Super Notion Websites+2

Tip: Start on Free to map your architecture; upgrade when you need AI Agents, advanced permissions, or team features.

4) Who Notion is best for (with real creator use-cases)

• Solo creators & affiliate marketers – Centralise your idea bank → scripts → assets → publish calendar. Track affiliate links, UTMs, revenue, and outreach in one database.

• Small teams/startups – Replace 4–6 tools: docs, wikis, light CRM, tasking, content ops, knowledge base.

• Course builders/coaches – SOPs, lesson plans, client portals with gated views.

• Agencies – Account dashboards, project trackers, client-facing timelines.

If you live on content + partnerships, Notion lets you see the value chain end-to-end (from hook to post to click to payout).

5) Step-by-step setup: the lean “Creator OS” (copy this)

You can build this in under an hour. New? Start here: Open Notion

A) Create 5 core databases

1. Ideas (Title, Category, Channel, Audience Pain, Estimated Outcome, Priority, Status)

2. Content (Title, Type, Stage: Idea/Draft/Review/Scheduled/Live, Due Date, URL, CTA, Asset links)

3. Affiliate Offers (Partner, Product, Commission %, Link, Coupon, Notes, Status, Category, “Why buy”)

4. Partners/Outreach (Name, Role, Email, Brand, Pitch Sent?, Follow-up date, Outcome)

5. Assets (Thumbnails, B-roll, Templates, Reusable Hooks, Captions)

B) Relate them

• Ideas ↔ Content (turn an idea into a content task)

• Content ↔ Affiliate Offers (attach the right link/angle)

• Content ↔ Assets (drag-drop everything you need to ship)

• Partners ↔ Content (track collabs, guest spots)

C) Add actionable views

• Content Kanban by Stage

• Calendar for publish dates (or surface tasks in Notion Calendar for time-blocking) Notion

• Affiliate ROI (Group by Offer; show Clicks, EPC, Revenue—log metrics weekly)

• Outreach Cockpit (Next follow-up, Last reply)

D) Bake in AI

• Page template with AI prompts: “Summarise pain points,” “Draft outline,” “Generate 10 hooks,” “Repurpose long post into 3 Shorts.”

• If you’re on Notion 3.0, create an Agent:

  • Scope: “Every Friday 15:00, scan ‘Ideas’ with Priority ≥ High; create ‘Content’ tasks for next week; pre-draft 5 hooks; update status; DM me a summary.” Notion

E) Work rhythms

• Monday: choose 3 pieces to ship; block the time in Notion Calendar. Notion

• Daily: 90-minute deep work on your “One Thing”; 30-minute outreach.

• Friday: AI Agent rolls a weekly summary + next sprint draft. Notion

6) Advanced: Notion AI as your operator (Agents)

This is where Notion pulls ahead in 2025. Agents can:

• Perform multi-step actions across pages/databases for 20+ minutes.

• Build project plans, generate meeting notes, update sprint boards, and connect to Slack/Google Drive.

• Evolve into Custom Agents you can share with your team.
  Use it for: weekly content planning, updating status across dozens of pages, cleaning naming conventions, even competitor summaries into a dashboard. Notion+2MLQ AI+2

7) Pros, cons, and real limitations

Pros

• Replace a pile of subscriptions with one modular OS.

• Flexible databases/views = fewer tool-hops.

• AI inside your knowledge base; with Agents, automation gets powerful. Notion

• Standalone Calendar and Mail help consolidate your day. Notion+1

Cons / Watch-outs

• Learning curve: The freedom can overwhelm at first.

• Mail is still young (best with Gmail; early features rolling out). The Verge

• Large teams may need tight conventions (properties, naming, templates) to avoid chaos.

• Heavy databases with lots of rollups/relations can feel sluggish—design for performance.

8) Notion vs. the usual suspects (quick take)

• ClickUp – More opinionated PM features out of the box; Notion wins on flexibility and the doc→database flow with AI embedded.

• Trello – Great kanban simplicity; Notion gives you kanban plus tables, calendars, docs, and AI in one.

• Google Docs / Evernote – Excellent writing/capture; Notion turns notes into linked, queryable systems.

If you’re content-led or building a small brand with multiple revenue streams, Notion’s modularity + AI is the better long-term compounding bet.

9) FAQs (SEO-friendly)

Is Notion good for productivity in 2025?
Yes—because it removes context-switching. With Calendar/Mail and AI Agents, you can plan, write, schedule, and automate from one home base. Notion+2Notion+2

Does Notion have a calendar?
Yes. Notion Calendar is a standalone app that integrates with your workspace; it’s not just an embedded page view. Notion+1

Does Notion have email?
Yes. Notion Mail launched April 2025; it’s evolving and currently strongest with Gmail. Notion+1

How much does Notion cost?
Free for individuals; Plus at $10/user/mo annually; Business at $15/user/mo annually; Enterprise custom. Check the live pricing page for updates. Notion+1

Can Notion AI write for me and organise my knowledge?
Yes—summaries, drafts, Q&A, and now Agents that take multi-step actions across pages and databases. Notion+1

My verdict (Stacked Startups angle)

If you’re building a media-meets-commerce business (content → traffic → affiliates → products), Notion is a strategic advantage. The combo of modular databases, Calendar, Mail, and AI Agents means you can design your workflow instead of duct-taping apps together. Start small with a Creator OS, let AI handle the admin, and scale the same system as you grow.

Ready to try it?
👉 Grab Notion here (affiliate)