Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Notion VS Turtl

Compare Notion VS Turtl and see what are their differences

Notion logo Notion

All-in-one workspace. One tool for your whole team. Write, plan, and get organized.

Turtl logo Turtl

The secure, collaborative notebook
  • Notion Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-12
  • Turtl Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30

Organize your life! Whether it's bookmarks or passwords, files or shopping lists...Turtl organizes it all and makes it easy to find later. Sync across your devices. Leave nothing behind.

Turtl uses high-end cryptography to protect your data. Whether you're worried about information leaks, competitive advantage, or blanket government surveillance, Turtl works hard to make sure only you, and those you choose, can see your data.

Collaborate and share! Just because Turtl is secure and private doesn't mean you can't share with your teammates or family. Choose who you want to have access to your data without compromising your security.

Notion features and specs

  • All-in-One Workspace
    Notion combines note-taking, task management, databases, calendars, and collaboration features in a single platform, reducing the need for multiple tools.
  • Highly Customizable
    Users can tailor Notion to fit their specific workflow with customizable templates, pages, and databases, making it versatile for various use cases.
  • Collaboration Features
    Notion offers seamless collaboration with real-time editing, comments, mentions, and shared workspaces, enhancing teamwork and productivity.
  • Cross-Platform Availability
    Notion is available on multiple platforms, including web, desktop, and mobile, providing flexibility and accessibility from anywhere.
  • Integration Capability
    Notion supports integrations with various third-party applications like Google Drive, Slack, and Trello, allowing for a more interconnected workflow.

Possible disadvantages of Notion

  • Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive features and customization options, new users might find Notion challenging to learn and navigate initially.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users report that Notion can become slow or experience lag, especially with large databases and complex pages.
  • Offline Limitations
    While Notion offers some offline capabilities, its functionality is significantly reduced without an internet connection, which can be inconvenient for some users.
  • Pricing for Teams
    Though Notion offers a free version, its premium plans can be expensive for larger teams, which may be a constraint for startups or small businesses.
  • Privacy Concerns
    As with any cloud-based service, there are potential privacy and data security concerns, especially for users handling sensitive information.

Turtl features and specs

  • Privacy-focused
    Turtl prioritizes user privacy by offering end-to-end encryption, ensuring that your data remains confidential and secure.
  • Open-source
    Being an open-source application, Turtl allows users to inspect, modify, and contribute to the codebase, fostering a transparent and collaborative environment.
  • Cross-platform support
    Turtl is available on multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, making it accessible from a variety of devices.
  • User-friendly interface
    The application offers an intuitive and clean interface, making it easy for users to organize and manage their notes and tasks.
  • Collaborative features
    Turtl supports sharing and collaboration features, allowing teams to work together efficiently on projects and tasks.

Analysis of Turtl

Overall verdict

  • Turtl is a strong contender in the realm of privacy-first productivity tools, with a simple interface and robust security features that make it suitable for users prioritizing data protection.

Why this product is good

  • Turtl is considered a good option for those seeking privacy-focused digital note-taking and organization. It uses strong end-to-end encryption to ensure that all data stored within the application remains private and secure. Its open-source nature also allows for community audits and improvements to the software, ensuring transparency. The app is designed to help users organize notes, bookmarks, files, and more in a structured and user-friendly manner.

Recommended for

  • Individuals or teams that prioritize privacy and data security.
  • Users looking for an open-source and community-supported note-taking application.
  • People who prefer organizing information in an intuitive and visually appealing manner.
  • Those seeking alternatives to mainstream note-taking tools with a focus on encryption and privacy.

Notion videos

The Most Powerful Productivity App I Use - Notion

More videos:

  • Review - I switched to Notion for a week... Here's what happened!
  • Review - Notion is Truly an All-in-One Productivity Tool (App Review)

Turtl videos

Turtl: A secure app for note-taking, research, and collaboration

More videos:

  • Review - Turtl - Alternativa Open Source ao Evernote • Instalação e Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Notion and Turtl)
Productivity
100 100%
0% 0
Note Taking
85 85%
15% 15
Project Management
100 100%
0% 0
Task Management
92 92%
8% 8

User comments

Share your experience with using Notion and Turtl. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Notion and Turtl

Notion Reviews

  1. jk22
    · consultant at GFI ·
    Notion has helped in documenting our business

    It's been very very helpful to streamline different people on our team, especially remote workers to help them understand what's going on in our business without 100s of meetings.

    👍 Pros:    Ui is very attractive|Easy to use|Great for collaboration|Good customer service|Free to use
    👎 Cons:    Steep learning curve
  2. Ramesh Kumar
    · Product Manager at Aerial ·
    Extremely helpful- made life easier

    My remote-first start-up has eliminated more than 200+ hours of meetings and 1000s of mismanaged documents because our entire communication happens through Notion.

    👍 Pros:    Clean ui|File sharing|Modular
    👎 Cons:    Learning curve
  3. Boyd Richardson
    · Writer at SE ·

    As someone who's always on the lookout for the perfect productivity app, I was excited to try out Notion. It promises to be an all-in-one tool for everything from note-taking to project management to personal wikis.

    From the moment you open Notion, you can tell that it's different from other productivity apps. The interface is sleek and modern, and it's easy to navigate. The app is divided into pages, which can be customized with different templates to fit your needs. You can create to-do lists, databases, wikis, calendars, and more.

    One of the things I love about Notion is the ability to create relationships between pages. For example, you can create a database of your favorite books and then link to a page with your book reviews. Or you can create a to-do list and link to a page with notes about the task. This feature makes it easy to keep all of your information in one place and to connect related items.

    🏁 Competitors: Microsoft Loop
    👍 Pros:    Highly customizable|All in one|Collaboration|Cross platform
    👎 Cons:    Steep learning curve

Top 10 Productivity Apps for MacOS 2025
Okay, I know, I know. Notion is probably the most predictable pick for a productivity app list. But here’s the thing: It’s popular for a reason. Notion’s flexibility, customisation, and overall smooth user experience make it a standout, no matter how many times it pops up on productivity lists. Whether you’re organising tasks, taking notes, or creating databases, Notion lets...
Source: dev.to
Top 10 Notion Alternatives for 2025 and Why Teams Are Choosing Ledger
If you're looking for a Notion alternative that supports real, scalable teamwork, you're not alone. Whether you’ve outgrown Notion or are just exploring more robust, team-friendly platforms, here’s a breakdown of the top 10 alternatives in 2025—and why Ledger is becoming the go-to choice for modern teams.
How Tight-Knit Teams Get More Done with Innovative Project Management Tools
Notion: More than a task manager, it acts as a knowledge base. You can store guidelines, references, wikis, and to-do lists all under one roof.
Source: medium.com
11 Popular Knowledge Management Tools to Consider in 2025 
Notion AI (Optional Add-on) – $8 per user/month (billed annually). Available for all plans (including the free plan)
Source: knowmax.ai
11 Best Google Keeps Alternatives for 2024
Unlike other note-taking apps, Notion stands out for its endless customization. It’s like an all-in-one workspace structured by pages and blocks.
Source: upbase.io

Turtl Reviews

Best Evernote Alternatives in 2021 for Serious Note Takers
Turtl is a close all-in-one Evernote competitor, with the biggest difference being that it’s a secure and encrypted open-source application. Turtl works well for any kind of notes or project, including passwords, shopping lists, bookmarks, and more long-form content. It also allows you to gain control of your data by installing your own Turtl server at home or work.
Top 15 Best Evernote Alternatives You Can Use
One of the biggest benefits of Turtl is that all your data is encrypted. It uses high-end cryptography to protect your data. So if you are you’re worried about information leaks, competitive advantage, or surveillance, this is the right app for you. Turtl also supports collaboration, allowing you to easily collaborate with your co-workers on a note or project.
Source: beebom.com
8 Free Note Taking Software For Windows – Evernote Alternatives
Turtl lets you take notes, bookmark websites, and store documents for sensitive projects. From sharing passwords with your coworkers to tracking research on an article you’re writing, Turtl keeps it all safe from everyone but you and those you share with.
The 7 Best Lightweight OneNote and Evernote Alternatives
Turtl is a secure Evernote alternative. Most of the app’s features mirror those available in Evernote and OneNote. However, privacy is the top priority here. To that end, Turtl is open-source and available to view on the project’s Github page. All notes are encrypted locally before being uploaded to the syncing server.
5 great privacy-focused Evernote alternatives to keep your notes safe
Turtl is a free cloud service that takes care of your data and allows you to do collaborative work with people across the world. Since it is still in beta, with each update you can expect improvement of not only its security features but also the tools it provides. Turtl is already supported on many platforms like WindowsX64, OSX X64, Linux x64, Linux x32, Android, Android...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Notion seems to be a lot more popular than Turtl. While we know about 441 links to Notion, we've tracked only 27 mentions of Turtl. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Notion mentions (441)

  • Cool SHIT you can do with docker
    Two of the most popular open source note taking app are affine (basically notion but open source) and obsidian (which stores notes in markdown). - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (October 2024)
    Notion | https://notion.so | Android Engineer | SF | hybrid (in office 2x a week) | Full time
      Level: Mid/Mid+ (4-6yrs experience).
    - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Karyam: Simples everyday writing app
    Advanced Notion and Google Doc writing editor. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • My blog post workflow
    I manage my non-work and work-adjacent tasks in Notion. Whenever I have an idea, regardless of how big or small or silly or achievable it is, I'll add it to Notion, and use labels to categorise it by type of output (e.g. blog, silly project, website update). Today I wanted to write a short post for my site. I clicked on the filtered blog post view, and selected this one (because I hoped it would be a quick one!). - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • 6 AI tools that feels illegal to know🤖
    Notion.so redefines workspaces. With its intelligent organization and collaboration features, it's more than a productivity tool—it's a digital haven. Discover the art of streamlined and efficient teamwork. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

Turtl mentions (27)

  • Show HN: Anytype – local-first, P2P knowledge management
    > No note application does this Yes, the app Turtl (https://turtlapp.com) does do this and it's not slow at all really. It only decrypts data upon viewing, and immediately re-encrypts when saving data. So this is actually entirely reasonable and entirely doable. The benefits are that malicious applications can't read data just sitting on the hard drive, which removes an entire class of attacks. An encrypted hd... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Note taking app with collaboration (may be not real time)
    Https://turtlapp.com/ - "Turtl". Open source, allows you to share stuff, client-side encryption, but dont believe its real time. Only issue I could see is that seemingly the only way to access it is to download it. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Alternative to SnippetBox
    Maybe this. It can be Self Hosted. Https://turtlapp.com/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Lastpass alternatives?
    I use TurtlApp - https://turtlapp.com - although they do not have an iOS version yet. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Granny would’ve been marked for the old folks
    If you want a "Second" step if you feel that a parent or partner will attempt to gain access to your database and read your contents, you can utilize an online service called Turtl which allows you to generate encrypted notes that only the logged in user can see. How is this more secure? Well back to your password manager, you can disguise the entry for Turtl in your password manager as something irrelevant (Have... Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Notion and Turtl, you can also consider the following products

Trello - Infinitely flexible. Incredibly easy to use. Great mobile apps. It's free. Trello keeps track of everything, from the big picture to the minute details.

Evernote - Bring your life's work together in one digital workspace. Evernote is the place to collect inspirational ideas, write meaningful words, and move your important projects forward.

Asana - Asana project management is an effort to re-imagine how we work together, through modern productivity software. Fast and versatile, Asana helps individuals and groups get more done.

Standard Notes - A safe place for your notes, thoughts, and life's work

OneNote - Get the OneNote app for free on your tablet, phone, and computer, so you can capture your ideas and to-do lists in one place wherever you are. Or try OneNote with Office for free.

Obsidian.md - A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.