This guide will help you find out the key features and distinctions between project management tools ClickUp vs Notion. 

Whether you’re in school or working up career ladders, you may be on the lookout for the productivity to suit your needs–and ClickUp and Notion might be your best bets. 

ClickUp and Notion are two tools frequently compared in the field of work productivity for their task management and document creation capabilities. But despite their obvious similarities, the two platforms apply different strengths and approaches to productivity. 

One leans heavily into project and task management for teams, while the other offers flexible customizations for digital workspaces. In this ClickUp vs Notion guide, we’ll break down how ClickUp and Notion differ, what work setup they fit in, and which one might be the better fit for your workflow. 

What Is ClickUp? 

ClickUp is a project management platform for users who want to accomplish tasks in the most structured way possible. It’s a platform offering tools such as tasks, calendars, chats, time trackers, and automation–all made to declutter your workspace and save you time.

It’s an all-in-one tool that keeps everything you need to work in a singular space. ClickUp aims to rid you of the hassle of changing screens for each item on your to-do list.

This platform is best for launching campaigns, which entail thorough project planning across teams and departments, troubleshooting product issues in an organized manner, and staying on top of business operations.

Why Do Teams Choose ClickUp for Project Management?

ClickUp strategically incorporates AI into workflows, encouraging its users to work smarter, not harder. 

ClickUp allows users to ask questions and seek assistance for any task they need to accomplish with ClickUp Brain. With this tool, users can connect to third-party apps, ask about their progress, build projects from scratch, and write content in a snap.

ClickUp’s capabilities span over 100 free tools, all accessible by a single interface. ClickUp divided these tools into different functions, namely:

Overview

ClickUp follows a Hierarchy system to keep work elements neatly sorted on the sidebar. On top of the hierarchy are Spaces, the digital stand-in for your team that functions like a physical office with cubicles and exclusive areas. 

With overview features, like the Everything view, ClickUp allows users to see all their spaces in one frame for a quick review of their progress without having to dive into each one.

After the Everything view comes the sublevels under the hierarchy. Since ClickUp follows a hierarchy, they are arranged by scope:

1. Spaces, where users can keep folders and lists that represent a team’s internal groups and departments
2. Folders, which keep and organize lists of tasks connected to campaigns and projects
3. Lists, where users can categorize their tasks by department, status, and more
4. Tasks, or the assignable things to do, defined by descriptions, comments, and subtasks
5. Subtasks, nested subtasks, and checklists that allow users to break down tasks of larger scales into smaller, doable tasks

Views 

ClickUp has over 15 project views available on the platform, with the option to pin them first on the views bar.

• List
• Board
• Team
• Calendar
• Gantt
• Embed
• Form
• Doc
• Chat
• Activity
• Mind maps
• Timeline
• Workload
• Table
• Map
• Whiteboard
• Dashboard
  

Users can also choose among third-party apps to embed onto their workspace as a view option, like Google Sheets in place of table view and Google Calendar as calendar view.

Customization

ClickUp users have access to 35+ ClickApps, or in-app features such as AI, chat, email, and priority. When there are workspace features members don’t use, the workspace owners and administrators can turn them off for a cleaner interface. 

Other customization options include:

• Automations, consisting of over 50 actions, triggers, and conditions
• Templates, useful for repetitive tasks
• Relationships, or dependencies to link related tasks and documents together
• Integrations, such as with Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, and Slack

Collaboration

ClickUp provides multiple collaboration opportunities, like:

• Whiteboards, or visual boards where members can create flowcharts and share notes in real-time
• Comments, so users can exchange feedback and assign action items to tasks and documents

• Proofing, which lets users leave reminders and editing notes to visual files, such as graphic designs and art elements that need altering

• Email, where users can send emails without leaving the platform

• Chat, for quick file sharing and mid-work conversations 

Docs

ClickUp Docs is ClickUp’s own collaborative document creation tool where users can create, edit, and brainstorm for content and company wikis. Made for easy linking to workflows, Docs help streamline work operations–no file conversions, no exporting.

Reporting

ClickUp has Dashboards that summarize performance metrics into charts and graphs for the team’s easy reference. These employ colorful widgets to illustrate progress on tasks, time-ins, and statuses, among others.

More reporting features in ClickUp include Workload and Box views that help users strategize in their task management, Goals and Milestones, and Pulse to track work time.

Time

ClickUp also added a tracking system to the platform, so users can ensure that their work time is well-spent. Equipped with AI-powered insights and automation functions, ClickUp can sync to other time-tracking apps for more accurate reporting.

What Is Notion?

Online productivity application Notion is notetaking, data management, and project management rolled into one platform. 

Notion’s sleek user interface promotes focus and productivity, and its user-centric customizability features set it apart from other platforms.

With a database system of organization, Notion lets users create pages within databases that also act as pages within databases–and they can go as deep as they want. To create unique pages, Notion provides building blocks for checklists, images, articles, links, and more.

Ultimately, Notion ensures users that every knowledgebase and document they own is manageable from a single workspace.

What Makes Notion Unique?

Following the “Getting Things Done” or GTD principle developed by productivity consultant David Allen, Notion fulfills three goals: Project Management, Project and Task Management, and To-Do Manager.

You may wonder what the difference between the first two is. Project Management deals with the life cycle of one or more projects, viewing these projects as a whole rather than as a sum of its parts. Meanwhile, Project and Task Management is directly related to GTD, emphasizing that projects consist of smaller tasks whose accomplishments lead to bigger goals. 

To-Do Manager then helps with the individual tasks, where users prioritize finishing smaller, more digestible tasks. This helps users steer their focus away from projects as a whole, so more energy goes into finishing tasks than inefficiently handling projects with no clear plan.

Key Features of ClickUp vs Notion

Collaboration and File Sharing

Both ClickUp and Notion have collaboration and file-sharing capabilities.

ClickUp’s chat, email, and comment functions allow users to freely exchange files and ideas while using the platform. With typing and read receipts, users can see when other members are active in chat or comments.

With ClickUp, users can also create and edit documents together with other members in real-time. This helps teams finish projects and reach goals much faster than when doing tasks asynchronously.

ClickUp’s Mind Maps provides more collaboration opportunities. Here, teams can conduct brainstorming sessions and illustrate ideas in a structured and colorful manner. 

For added convenience and transparency, ClickUp uses statuses on tasks to inform users of their projects’ progress.

Notion users can also create and share pages with anyone online, from clients to friends. They can also assign editors and add members or guests to their pages. 

Giving people access to Notion pages streamlines meetings and group discussions, much like handing out individual copies for their own reference.

In case of edits, Notion has an inbox and enabled page notifications, so users can update their pages promptly.

Calendar and Task Manager

ClickUp and Notion each have built-in calendars and task management functions.

ClickUp’s Calendar view can change between daily, weekly, and monthly views and sync with other calendars like Google Calendar.

Users can also set reminders for activities and events within the calendar, and share calendars with users within and outside workspaces.

ClickUp Tasks has built-in automation features and works with AI to speed up planning and task allocation. Users can also set task types that define tasks, whether they’re milestones, pertaining to a person, responses to a form, and more.

Meanwhile, Notion users can create pages dedicated to tasks with the available database blocks or create their own preferred format using drop-down or checklist blocks.

Notion pages can shift to different views, including a calendar view specific to the project. Depending on their preferred way to assess their projects, users may choose the calendar view to track events and deadlines across a visual timeline.

Notion Calendar also links schedules and events to Notion pages and tasks seamlessly. Global teams can benefit from Notion Calendar’s time zone views by realigning schedules without opening another tab to compare times.

Notetaking

ClickUp has a Notepad app and Docs that aid in notetaking. In these, users can apply format settings to personalize their notes, such as creating checklists and bullet lists.

Notes in Notepad can also turn into tasks by working with ClickUp Tasks–complete with assignees, due dates, statuses, and more defining elements.

On the other hand, notetaking is one of Notion’s main functions. Notion pages can be in the form of simple word documents, lists, articles, and several other content types.

Users can also enable the Publish option if they wish to share their pages online–turning Notion into a semi-website builder.

App Integrations

Users can integrate third-party apps into both ClickUp and Notion. 

ClickUp features native or API integrations with Slack, GitHub, Zapier, and Google Drive, among others. This allows certain ClickUp features to work in other apps, such as in Slack messages that can turn into ClickUp tasks.

Users can also import databases from Asana, Trello, and the like to ClickUp to sync projects and schedules seamlessly.

Third-party integrations in ClickUp help users with proofing their workspaces. Grammarly and Make are only two of the over 1000 tools that ClickUp welcomes in their integrations roster.

Notion offers integration options for their users, too. When creating pages, Notion can add projects from design platforms like Canva and Figma, so they can easily migrate their existing projects to their Notion workspace seamlessly.

Users can build automated workflows with Notion API to help seamlessly integrate functions from one platform to Notion, elevating the user experience of Notion.

How Do ClickUp and Notion Compare on Pricing?

Both ClickUp and Notion have free and paid plans, each catering to different team capacities and personal preferences.

ClickUp’s Free plan users have access to limitless tasks and free members. No matter how big or small a team is, ClickUp can accommodate organizations of various sizes.

But with a limited storage of 100MB, free plan users may look into the Unlimited plan for a minimum payment of $10 a month for unlimited storage and integrations as well.

Mid-sized teams can pay $19 per user every month for a Business plan, featuring timesheets and unlimited whiteboards, among others. 

Those interested may also ask for custom pricing, especially large teams qualified for the Enterprise plan with live technical support and added admin security.

Notion’s $0 plan suits individuals who wish to organize their daily tasks, with the option for a collaborative workspace and some app integrations.

However, should they find a 7-day expiration for pages and 10 guest invites limiting, they can get the Plus plan for $12 per seat a month. This includes unlimited blocks and file uploads, with a 30-day page expiration feature and now 100 guest invites.

Notion’s Business and Enterprise plans, at a monthly $18 per seat and a negotiable price respectively, allow users to invite up to 250 guests to their pages, along with advanced insights features and more.

Notion also offers Notion AI for $8 a month to members who wish to integrate AI capabilities into their workspaces.

ClickUp vs Notion for Growing Teams

ClickUp’s Free plan alone can better accommodate growing teams, allowing unlimited free plan members to join workspaces.

Notion’s free plan can accommodate 10 guests, which increases to 100 with the Plus plan.

Which Tool Is Easier to Navigate, ClickUp or Notion?

ClickUp and Notion’s user interfaces are intuitively designed according to their functions.

Upon opening ClickUp, the sidebar immediately appears, making the platform easy to navigate. Users can also hide or unhide certain features without going to settings, such as with the sidebar tools.

ClickUp’s Hierarchy also prevents file loss. Workspaces can get messy, so the organized breakdown the Hierarchy provides ensures that files are kept in order. 

Conversely, the positive user experience with Notion gives credit to its simple design. Some users may find its consistent color scheme comfortable to look at for long periods.

Starting with a seemingly bare canvas, Notion gives space for much customization using templates, automation, and AI-driven tools. This allows users to add the elements they wish to see in their workspace instead of keeping them available at all times, regardless of their usability.

Pros and Cons of ClickUp

Pros: Full-functioning project management platform, fit for planning comprehensive projects and campaign launches

Cons: 100MB storage for free plans

Pros and Cons of Notion

Pros: Unlimited note-taking pages from a customizable workspace, fit for individuals and small to medium-sized teams

Cons: Maximum 10 guests for free plans

ClickUp vs Notion: Which Is the Right Choice?

Choosing the right tool for your team boils down to the type of work you do and how you wish to collaborate with your team.

If you want to maximize as many project management tools as you can from one platform, you may find ClickUp to be a sensible choice.

But if you’re looking for a way to jot down and organize data, such as knowledge bases, comprehensively, you should consider using Notion.

Ultimately, ClickUp works better for structured project executions with relatively large teams, while Notion is perfect for solo tasks and task-driven projects, focused on creating, managing, and sharing work with complete flexibility and customization power.

You can visit our beginner-friendly guide to ClickUp’s features to know more of its project management abilities.

Fascinated by ClickUp’s project management capabilities so far? Create a free account today to get professional assistance from us.