Notion is really starting to fall behind alternatives, and I can't see myself sticking around

Ever since its introduction, Notion has felt like the undisputed king of productivity. It was the all-in-one workspace that promised to organize everything from our personal lives to complex team projects. I invested countless hours in perfecting my setups and believed it was the future of work.

However, as my workflow evolved over time, I have started to see just how far Notion has fallen behind its increasingly innovative competitors. This isn't just a hunch; it's why I can no longer see myself sticking around.

Lack of offline mode is non-negotiable

Notion is working on it, though

For a long time, Notion’s lack of true offline capabilities I simply tolerated. I was mostly around an active Wi-Fi network, and it was a minor inconvenience for my setup. But now, in 2025, with my frequent travel schedule, a lack of offline mode has been a deal-breaker.

Sometimes, I’m at a client site and need to quickly reference a key detail from a database, only to find the Wi-Fi is down or too slow to even load a single page. It’s frustrating. My entire workspace is locked behind an internet connection. Such an omission affects my productivity, creates unnecessary stress, and remains a fundamental flaw that makes it impossible to rely on Notion as my primary workspace.

The mobile apps are average at best

Large databases take a while to load

My frustrations with Notion don't stop at the desktop. The story is the same when I open the mobile app. Notion promises itself as an all-in-one workspace, and its mobile experience is quite underwhelming. After all, these aren't true native applications.

Notion’s web wrapper approach has advantages as well as drawbacks. For example, performance isn’t up to the mark on mobile. The loading times are sluggish, pages render slowly, and even basic navigation can be a chore. In contrast, native apps feel responsive, fluid, and immediate.

Beyond just speed, the user experience suffers too. Given how critical mobile access is in 2025 – for quick note-taking on the go, checking tasks during a commute, or reviewing documents between meetings – Notion's average-at-best mobile apps are a major letdown.

Requires a lot of work for organization

I often end up spending hours in Notion

One of Notion’s biggest demands is the amount of organization it requires. When I first started, I loved the blank canvas, the limitless possibilities. But over time, what I've realized is that this flexibility often translates into hours. I frequently find myself spending significant time just building my workspace.

I’m talking about crafting a ‘home page’ that serves as a dashboard for projects, tasks, or knowledge management. I also play with columns to get the perfect layout, tweak database views endlessly, and experiment with embedding to pull in just the right information from other sources. This constant need for manual engineering drains time and mental energy that could, and should, be spent on actual work.

Slow pace of new feature releases

Compared to competitors

Notion has been slow in development. It feels like Notion is after building an ecosystem of apps with Calendar, Mail, AI add-ons, Forms, and more. However, the company seems to be leaving behind its core product. The fundamental improvements that users have been requesting for years are still missing.

Aside from the offline mode, where are the genuine innovations in visualization? I'm constantly seeing other tools offer whiteboards for brainstorming, or powerful graph views that show connections between my notes and ideas. Notion requires third-party embeds or complex workarounds to get the job done.

Instead of offering performance boosts or long-requested features, Notion is busy building an email client. It leaves me wondering if the core product will ever truly catch up to its potential.

Rivals are catching up

You won't miss Notion

I have been watching Notion alternatives closely, and some of them are making Notion feel outdated. Take Capacities, for example. Its unique object-oriented approach to organizing information is a major productivity booster. Instead of building databases from scratch, I'm working with interconnected "objects" like people, books, or projects, and the system understands its relationships.

Then, there is Anytype, which handles privacy concerns like a pro. Their commitment to end-to-end encryption means I can store truly sensitive information with a level of security that Notion doesn’t provide. I have also tried AppFlowy, which gives complete control over data with self-hosting capabilities. Notion still marches ahead in terms of database options, but that gap is closing rapidly.

From love to letdown

Overall, it’s sufficient to say that my journey with Notion has reached a crossroads. While it still holds a special place for many, for those of us who demand more innovation, better performance, and offline experience, it’s clear that Notion is falling behind. If you are in the same boat and have that sense of compromise or limitation, then start exploring alternatives.