Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Zettlr VS Notion

Compare Zettlr VS Notion and see what are their differences

Zettlr logo Zettlr

Write Markdown documents with a comprehensive GUI and many workflow/time management tools.

Notion logo Notion

All-in-one workspace. One tool for your whole team. Write, plan, and get organized.
  • Zettlr Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-08-23
  • Notion Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-12

Zettlr features and specs

  • Markdown Support
    Zettlr supports Markdown, enabling easy formatting and readability of documents.
  • Zettelkasten Methodology
    The software is tailored for the Zettelkasten note-taking method, which helps in organizing and linking notes efficiently.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Zettlr is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible for users on different operating systems.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source tool, Zettlr allows users to contribute to its development and customize it to their needs.
  • Citation Management
    The application includes built-in citation management, which is beneficial for academic writing and research.
  • Multiple Export Formats
    Zettlr allows exporting documents to various formats such as PDF, Word, and LaTeX.
  • Tagging and Metadata
    Users can categorize notes using tags and metadata, enhancing searchability and organization.

Possible disadvantages of Zettlr

  • Learning Curve
    New users, especially those unfamiliar with Markdown or the Zettelkasten method, might face a steep learning curve.
  • Resource-Intensive
    Zettlr can be resource-intensive, which may affect performance on older or lower-end systems.
  • Lack of Mobile App
    There is no official mobile app, which limits the ability to access and edit notes on mobile devices.
  • Limited WYSIWYG Editing
    The software lacks full WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editing capabilities, which might be a drawback for users preferring a more visual approach to editing.
  • UI Complexity
    The user interface can be overwhelming due to the wide array of features and options available.
  • Occasional Bugs
    As with many open-source projects, users might encounter occasional bugs or instability.
  • Dependency on External Tools
    Some features, like citation management, depend on external tools (e.g., Zotero), adding setup complexity.

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.

Zettlr videos

Meet Zettlr, your all-in-one companion for writing #Markdown

More videos:

  • Review - Zettlr Introduction: Getting Started
  • Review - Citing with Zettlr

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)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Zettlr and Notion)
Note Taking
14 14%
86% 86
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100
Markdown Editor
100 100%
0% 0
Project Management
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Zettlr and Notion. 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 Zettlr and Notion

Zettlr Reviews

Best Next-Level Note Apps for 2021
Zettlr is simply an open-source Markdown editor. The system authorizes various citation formats, includes theme customization and writing statistics, as well as supporting the Zettelkasten method. File and tag management permits user-friendly note organization. Noteworthy of Mem is that the app is available in 14 languages and notes can be exported in 40 different formats.
Source: zenkit.com

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 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
20 Obsidian Alternatives: Top Note-Taking Tools to Consider
Notion is a popular alternative to Obsidian for its simplicity, minimalistic interface, and large community. On top of note-taking, you can use Notion as a task management tool to create simple to-dos or build a personal knowledge base. You can also embed links, images, videos, code snippets, etc. Notion also has bi-directional functionalities enabling you to interconnect...
Source: clickup.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Notion seems to be a lot more popular than Zettlr. While we know about 441 links to Notion, we've tracked only 10 mentions of Zettlr. 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.

Zettlr mentions (10)

  • Zettlr in the fediverse and on matrix?
    Oh! That's nice. :D Is this mentioned on zettlr.com? Seems as if I've missed it... Source: about 2 years ago
  • Suggestion for open source note taking app
    I'd strongly recommend trying out Zettlr (https://zettlr.com), which in many ways is close to Obsidian (except Zettlr is open source). A new Zettlr release is close to arriving and implements lots of improvements. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Scrivener alternatives for academic writing and research?
    You might give Zettlr a spin. It's another Markdown-based tool like Obsidian, but it is really focussed on Zettelkasten, and of interest to you, with a stronger focus on long-form academic writing. It supports citations, footnotes and uses Pandoc for document production—so there are lots of ways to get your work out. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Any open source markdown editor having live preview like Typora?
    Is https://zettlr.com an option for you? Source: about 3 years ago
  • Typora alternative? (or any desktop Markdown editor with export to PDF?)
    Zettlr is open source and has export-to-PDF. Source: about 3 years ago
View more

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 / 6 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 / 7 months ago
  • Karyam: Simples everyday writing app
    Advanced Notion and Google Doc writing editor. - Source: dev.to / 11 months 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

What are some alternatives?

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

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.

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.

Joplin - Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to-do application, which can handle a large number of notes organised into notebooks. The notes are searchable, tagged and modified either from the applications directly or from your own text editor.

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.

Logseq - Logseq is a local-first, non-linear, outliner notebook for organizing and sharing your personal knowledge base.

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.