12 Best Notion Alternatives for Task Management in 2026
Love Notion for docs but hate it for tasks? These task management tools work better than Notion—and many integrate with it.
Notion is exceptional for knowledge management. For task management? Not so much.
Don’t get me wrong—Notion is brilliant for docs, wikis, and databases. It’s the Swiss Army knife of productivity tools, and there’s a reason millions of people love it. But when it comes to daily task execution, Notion’s flexibility becomes a burden. You spend more time building the perfect task database than actually completing tasks.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably felt that friction. You love Notion for project planning and documentation, but managing your daily to-dos feels clunky. You’re not alone, and you don’t have to choose between
Notion and effective task management.
This guide covers 12 purpose-built task management alternatives that work better than Notion for daily execution—and many integrate with Notion so you can keep using it for what it does best.
Why Notion Struggles with Task Management
Before we dive into alternatives, let’s be honest about where Notion falls short for tasks:
Too Much Flexibility = Too Much Setup
Notion’s power is also its weakness. Building a task database requires decisions about properties, views, filters, and templates. What should be a two-second task capture becomes a five-minute database design session. Even after setup, maintaining those views and filters requires constant attention.
No Intelligent Automation
Everything in Notion is manual. There’s no AI scheduling, no automatic prioritization, no smart task capture. You decide when to do every task, manually move things around when priorities shift, and maintain your entire system yourself. For knowledge bases, this control is valuable. For daily tasks, it’s exhausting.
Limited Calendar Integration
Notion’s calendar view can display tasks, but it doesn’t truly integrate with your schedule. You can’t see tasks and meetings together in a meaningful way. There’s no bi-directional sync with Google Calendar. Planning your actual day—not just organizing information about your day—requires multiple tools.
Complex for Daily Planning
Notion excels at big-picture project planning but stumbles on the simple question: “What should I do right now?” Getting a clear daily view requires filtering, sorting, and navigating through databases. Too many clicks to answer a simple question.
No Energy or Capacity Awareness
Notion treats all time equally. It doesn’t know when you’re fresh and focused versus when you’re mentally drained. It can’t schedule demanding work during your peak hours or protect recovery time. It’s just lists and databases with no intelligence about your actual capacity.
Heavy Mobile Experience
Quick task capture is crucial for staying on top of work. Notion’s mobile app is powerful but slow. Opening the app, navigating to the right database, and adding a task with properties takes too long when you just need to capture a quick thought.
Basic Notification System
Notion’s reminders are simple time-based alerts. They don’t adapt to your context, workload, or changing priorities. They just fire at the scheduled time whether or not it makes sense anymore.
What Notion IS Great For
Let’s be clear: these limitations don’t make Notion bad. They make it specialized for different work:
Knowledge management and documentation - Notion’s databases and linked pages create brilliant knowledge systems
Project wikis and team collaboration - Perfect for centralized project information
Flexible databases for complex information - When you need relational data, Notion shines
Company docs and processes - Documentation that needs structure and searchability
Long-form writing and planning - The editor is excellent for thinking through complex ideas
The point isn’t to abandon Notion. It’s to use the right tool for the right job.
What to Look for in a Notion Alternative for Tasks
You have two approaches when looking beyond Notion for task management:
1. Replace Notion Entirely
All-in-one alternatives that handle both knowledge management and tasks. These work if you’re only using Notion for project management and tasks anyway.
2. Use Alongside Notion
Dedicated task managers that integrate with Notion. This is the “best of both worlds” approach: keep Notion for docs and wikis, use a purpose-built tool for daily task execution.
Features to Prioritize
Quick task capture - Low-friction adding of tasks from anywhere
Intelligent scheduling or prioritization - AI or smart features that help plan your day
Calendar integration - See tasks and meetings together
Mobile-first experience - Fast mobile app for on-the-go management
AI or automation features - Reduce manual maintenance burden
Integration with Notion (if keeping it) - Sync between systems
Daily planning view - Clear answer to “what do I do today?”
Faster task workflows - Less time organizing, more time executing
The 12 Best Notion Alternatives for Task Management
rivva
Motion
Todoist
TickTick
Sunsama
Akiflow
Asana
ClickUp
Linear
Taskade
Things3
1. rivva - AI Task Management with Notion Integration
How it compares to Notion for tasks: rivva is purpose-built for intelligent task execution, while Notion is a flexible database tool adapted for tasks.
rivva automatically captures tasks from your email, calendar, and explicit inputs, then schedules them based on your sleep patterns, energy levels, and actual availability. Nia, your AI assistant, plans your day, manages tasks, and adjusts when priorities shift—all without the manual database maintenance Notion requires.
Tasks can be extracted from anything that appears in your email—including meeting summaries, GitHub issues, Notion comments, and other tool notifications. You can connect multiple email addresses and multiple calendars, making it easy to manage work, personal life, and side projects in one place.
Key advantages over Notion:
AI scheduling - rivva schedules tasks around your natural energy rhythms and capacity, something Notion can’t do
Automatic task capture - Extract tasks from emails (including Notion notifications) without manual entry
Energy-aware planning - Schedules demanding work during peak hours based on your sleep and activity data
Unified calendar view - See tasks, meetings, and energy levels in one intelligent timeline
Multi-calendar support with two-way sync – Tasks scheduled in rivva appear directly on your Google Calendar, blocking time so others can’t book over your work
Cross-context planning – Connect multiple calendars (work, personal, side projects) and schedule intelligently across all of them
Zero setup required - No databases to build or views to maintain
Instant mobile experience - Fast iOS app optimized for quick capture and daily planning, plus full web access for planning from any device
Can you use it WITH Notion?
Yes! This is the best-of-both-worlds approach:
Keep Notion for: Project planning, docs, wikis, knowledge management
Use rivva for: Daily task execution, intelligent scheduling, task capture
Workflow: Plan projects in Notion, execute tasks in rivva
Integration: rivva will automatically extract tasks from Notion notifications
Best for: Notion users who love it for documentation but want intelligent, automatic task management without database maintenance. Perfect for founders and professionals who need to get more done without feeling overwhelmed.
Pricing:
Monthly: $13.99/month
Quarterly: $31.50/quarter ($10.50/month, billed quarterly)
7-day free trial
Pros:
Purpose-built task intelligence vs. adapted database tool
AI scheduling eliminates setup and maintenance
Automatic email extraction saves time
Energy awareness prevents burnout
Calendar integration shows complete day context
Mobile-optimized for quick capture
Faster, cleaner daily workflow than Notion
Cons:
Less flexible than Notion (but that’s intentional—tasks don’t need Notion’s flexibility)
No document or wiki features (keep Notion for that)
Can’t build custom databases (tasks don’t require this)
Newer tool compared to Notion’s established presence
Bottom line for Notion users:
You don’t have to abandon Notion. Keep it for docs, wikis, and knowledge management—it’s brilliant for that. But let rivva handle your daily task execution with AI scheduling, automatic capture, and energy-aware planning. Use each tool for what it’s best at.
rivva is available on web and iOS, so you can plan your day from your browser or manage tasks on the go. Android support is coming later, but you can sign up and use rivva fully through the web app today.
2. Motion - AI Scheduling Notion Can’t Match
How it compares to Notion: Motion automates what Notion makes you do manually—scheduling and rescheduling your entire day.
Motion uses AI to analyze over 1,000 parameters including deadlines, priorities, and availability to automatically schedule your tasks. When meetings pop up or priorities shift, Motion reshuffles your day instantly. No database maintenance required.
Key advantages over Notion:
Automatic task scheduling based on your calendar and deadlines
Real-time rescheduling when plans change
Project management features alongside scheduling
Meeting booking functionality built-in
Can you use it WITH Notion?
Sort of. Motion doesn’t integrate directly with Notion, but you can use both. The challenge is managing tasks in two places. Motion works better as a Notion replacement than a complement.
Best for: Notion users who spend too much time manually planning their days and want AI to handle scheduling automatically. Works for individuals and teams.
Pricing:
Individual: $19/month (annual) or $34/month (monthly)
Team: $12/user/month (annual) or $20/user/month (monthly) for 3+ users
7-day free trial
Pros:
AI eliminates manual day planning
Automatic rescheduling saves hours weekly
All-in-one calendar, tasks, and projects
Meeting scheduling replaces Calendly
Cons:
No direct Notion integration
Expensive compared to basic task managers
Less flexible than Notion for project documentation
Steep learning curve initially
3. Todoist - Simple Task Management (Use with Notion)
How it compares to Notion: Todoist strips away Notion’s complexity for straightforward task management. No databases to build, just add tasks and get to work.
If Notion feels like building a house to hang a picture frame, Todoist is the hammer and nail. It’s the most popular task manager for a reason—it just works, quickly.
Key advantages over Notion:
Instant task capture with natural language
Clean, minimal interface for daily focus
Lightning-fast mobile app
Projects and labels without database setup
Can you use it WITH Notion?
Absolutely. This is one of the most popular combinations. Many users keep Notion for project documentation and Todoist for task execution. Todoist even integrates with Notion through Zapier for basic syncing.
Best for: Notion users who love the docs and wikis but want dead-simple task management without database overhead.
Pricing:
Free: Basic tasks and projects
Pro: $5/month (monthly) or $4/month (annual) - New rates effective December 10, 2025
Business: $6/user/month (annual)
Pros:
Extremely fast and lightweight vs. Notion
Generous free tier
Natural language task entry
Excellent mobile experience
Works seamlessly alongside Notion
Cons:
No AI scheduling like Notion competitors
Less powerful for complex project tracking
Limited calendar integration
Requires separate tool for docs (but you have Notion for that)
4. TickTick - Notion-Like Flexibility, Better for Tasks
How it compares to Notion: TickTick offers similar flexibility to Notion but with task management as its core, not an afterthought.
You get multiple views (list, calendar, Kanban), custom filters, tags, and priorities—but without building databases from scratch. It’s like Notion learned what task managers actually need.
Key advantages over Notion:
Calendar view included in premium (Notion’s calendar is basic)
Pomodoro timer built-in for focus sessions
Habit tracking alongside tasks
Much faster task creation
Better mobile experience
Can you use it WITH Notion?
Yes, through Zapier or IFTTT. Many users maintain Notion for project documentation and use TickTick for daily task execution and time blocking.
Best for: Notion users who want similar organizational flexibility but in a tool actually designed for tasks, not adapted from a database platform.
Pricing:
Free: Up to 9 lists with 99 tasks each
Premium: $35.99/year or $2.99/month
Much cheaper than Notion competitors while offering more task-specific features
Pros:
Affordable premium tier
Multiple view options like Notion
Built-in Pomodoro and habit tracking
Calendar integration for time blocking
Faster than Notion for task workflows
Cons:
Less powerful for documentation (keep Notion)
No relational databases
Limited team collaboration features
Smaller integration ecosystem than Notion
5. Sunsama - Daily Planning with Notion Integration
How it compares to Notion: Sunsama forces what Notion leaves optional—mindful daily planning rituals.
Instead of endless flexibility, Sunsama guides you through morning planning and evening reflection. It’s opinionated about how you should plan, which removes the decision paralysis Notion creates.
Key advantages over Notion:
Guided daily and weekly planning rituals
Pulls tasks from multiple tools (including Notion) into one view
Time-boxing integrated with calendar
Forces realistic daily capacity planning
Can you use it WITH Notion?
Yes! This is actually Sunsama’s sweet spot. It integrates with Notion, allowing you to pull tasks from Notion databases into your daily plan. Keep Notion for project planning, use Sunsama for daily execution.
Best for: Notion users who love it for project planning but need structure and guidance for daily task execution. Perfect for people who tend to overcommit.
Pricing:
$20/month (monthly) or $16/month (annual billing)
14-day free trial (no credit card required)
One of the pricier options
Pros:
Direct Notion integration
Mindful planning approach reduces overwhelm
Excellent time-blocking with calendar sync
Forces realistic daily planning
Two-way sync with multiple tools
Cons:
Expensive monthly cost
Slower workflow than quick task managers
Daily ritual can feel restrictive
Mobile app is limited
No AI automation
6. Akiflow - Task Consolidation (Pulls from Notion)
How it compares to Notion: Akiflow solves the “too many tools” problem Notion contributes to by consolidating tasks from everywhere into one command center.
If you use Notion plus email plus Slack plus project management tools, Akiflow pulls it all together. It’s the productivity tool for people drowning in productivity tools.
Key advantages over Notion:
Universal inbox consolidates all tasks and notifications
Keyboard-first interface for power users
Time-blocking with drag-and-drop scheduling
Pulls tasks from Notion automatically
Can you use it WITH Notion?
Yes, that’s the point. Akiflow integrates with Notion and dozens of other tools to become your task consolidation layer. Keep everything in Notion, but manage execution in Akiflow.
Best for: Notion power users who also use multiple other tools and want one place to see and schedule everything.
Pricing:
Monthly: $19/month
Annual: $228/year ($19/month)
7-day free trial
Hidden “Believer” plan: $8.33/month (billed every 5 years)
Pros:
Integrates with Notion and 30+ other tools
Excellent keyboard shortcuts
Powerful task consolidation
Time-blocking calendar view
Multiple account support (great for consultants)
Cons:
Expensive with no free tier
Requires manual time-blocking
No AI automation
Complex setup initially
Still requires you to maintain tasks in each source tool
7. Asana - Team Task Management (More Structured than Notion)
How it compares to Notion: Asana offers more structured project management than Notion’s flexible databases, with better task assignment and tracking.
While Notion lets teams build whatever they want, Asana provides opinionated workflows that actually get teams aligned faster. Less flexibility, more focus.
Key advantages over Notion:
Better task assignment and ownership clarity
Timeline view for project planning (Gantt charts)
Advanced team collaboration features
Stronger permissions and user management
Better reporting on project progress
Can you use it WITH Notion?
You can, but it gets messy. Both are comprehensive platforms, so using them together means managing tasks in two places. Works better as a Notion replacement for teams.
Best for: Teams outgrowing Notion’s task features who need clearer project management structure and accountability. Especially good for marketing and operations teams.
Pricing:
Free: Basic task management for up to 15 users
Starter: $10.99/user/month (annual)
Advanced: $24.99/user/month (annual)
Pros:
More structured project management than Notion
Better for team collaboration at scale
Timeline and board views
Generous free tier
Strong mobile apps
Cons:
Less flexible than Notion for docs
Can feel rigid compared to Notion’s freedom
No document management (need Notion or Google Docs)
Steep learning curve for full features
8. ClickUp - All-in-One (Notion Competitor with Better Tasks)
How it compares to Notion: ClickUp attempts to be Notion’s all-in-one approach but with task management as the foundation instead of an add-on.
It’s the “everything app” that includes docs, wikis, tasks, projects, and goals. But unlike Notion, its task features were built first, not retrofitted onto a documentation platform.
Key advantages over Notion:
More robust task management features
Better time tracking and workload views
Automations for repetitive tasks
Goals and OKR tracking
Advanced project management features
Can you use it WITH Notion?
Not really recommended. ClickUp is trying to replace all your tools, including Notion. Using both creates redundancy and confusion about where information lives.
Best for: Teams ready to replace Notion entirely with a tool that does tasks and projects better while still offering docs and wikis.
Pricing:
Free: Unlimited tasks, unlimited members
Unlimited: $7/user/month (annual)
Business: $12/user/month (annual)
Pros:
Comprehensive feature set rivals Notion
Better task management foundation
Included time tracking
Generous free tier
Everything in one place
Cons:
Overwhelming feature overload
Interface can feel cluttered vs. Notion’s clean design
Steep learning curve
Can be slow with large datasets
Trying to do too much
9. Linear - Issue Tracking (Better than Notion Databases)
How it compares to Notion: Linear is purpose-built for engineering and product teams’ task management, making Notion’s general databases feel clunky by comparison.
If you’re using Notion databases to track bugs, features, and sprints, Linear does it better with purpose-built workflows that actually match how product teams work.
Key advantages over Notion:
Built specifically for product development workflows
Keyboard-first interface (incredibly fast)
Automatic issue assignment and triage
GitHub/GitLab integration out of the box
Sprint planning and cycle tracking
Can you use it WITH Notion?
Yes, this combo is popular. Use Notion for product docs, specs, and wikis. Use Linear for issue tracking and sprint management. They serve different purposes well.
Best for: Engineering and product teams using Notion for documentation but needing better issue tracking than Notion databases can provide.
Pricing:
Free: Up to 10 team members
Standard: $8/user/month (annual)
Plus: $14/user/month (annual)
Pros:
Purpose-built for product development
Incredibly fast and keyboard-centric
Beautiful, minimal interface
Excellent GitHub integration
Much faster than Notion for issue management
Cons:
Only useful for product/eng teams
No document management (need Notion)
Limited customization compared to Notion
Not suitable for non-technical teams
10. Taskade - Simpler Notion Alternative for Tasks
How it compares to Notion: Taskade simplifies Notion’s approach—you get the flexibility of multiple views without the database complexity.
Think of it as “Notion Lite” focused specifically on tasks and collaboration, without the overwhelming options.
Key advantages over Notion:
Simpler interface, faster setup
Real-time collaboration works smoother
Video chat built into the app
AI writing assistant included
Templates don’t require database knowledge
Can you use it WITH Notion?
You could, but Taskade is trying to replace Notion for simple use cases. It works better as a Notion alternative for people who find Notion too complex.
Best for: Individuals and small teams who like Notion’s idea but find it overwhelming. Taskade offers similar concepts with less complexity.
Pricing:
Free: Unlimited tasks and projects
Pro: $4/month (annual) or $8/month (monthly)
Teams: $8/user/month
Pros:
Much simpler than Notion
Affordable pricing
Built-in AI assistant
Real-time collaboration
Generous free tier
Cons:
Less powerful than Notion
Smaller template ecosystem
Fewer integrations
Limited database capabilities
Feels basic compared to Notion
11. Things 3 - Beautiful Task Management (iOS, Pairs with Notion)
How it compares to Notion: Things 3 is the opposite of Notion’s flexibility—it’s opinionated, minimal, and beautiful. One way to manage tasks, done perfectly.
If Notion is infinite possibility, Things 3 is refined simplicity. No databases to build, no views to maintain, just elegant task management that works.
Key advantages over Notion:
Beautiful, award-winning design
Lightning-fast on Apple devices
Natural language task entry
Projects and areas without database complexity
Quick entry from anywhere on Mac/iOS
Can you use it WITH Notion?
Absolutely. Things 3 is iOS/Mac only, so many users keep Notion for cross-platform documentation and use Things 3 for personal task management on Apple devices.
Best for: Apple users who want beautiful, simple task management alongside Notion’s flexibility for project documentation.
Pricing:
Mac: $49.99 (one-time)
iPhone: $9.99 (one-time)
iPad: $19.99 (one-time)
No subscription—buy once, use forever
Pros:
No subscription model
Beautiful, polished design
Perfect Apple ecosystem integration
Fast and lightweight
Works great alongside Notion
Cons:
Apple-only (no Windows or Android)
No team collaboration
No direct Notion integration
One-time purchase can be expensive upfront
No web access
Should You Replace Notion or Use Both?
The answer depends on how you’re currently using Notion:
Replace Notion If:
You only use Notion for tasks and basic project management
Your team finds Notion too complex and wants simpler task workflows
Database maintenance is taking more time than task execution
You need team-focused project management features Notion lacks
You’re okay giving up Notion’s documentation flexibility
Best replacements: ClickUp (all-in-one), Asana (team projects), Linear (product teams)
Use Both If:
You love Notion’s docs, wikis, and knowledge management
Task execution feels clunky but documentation works great
You want AI or automation Notion doesn’t provide
You need faster mobile task capture
Different team members use different tools
Best companions: rivva (intelligent scheduling), Sunsama (daily planning), Todoist (simplicity), Akiflow (consolidation)
Best of Both Worlds Strategy:
Many power users find this setup ideal:
Keep Notion for:
Project documentation and specs
Knowledge base and wikis
Meeting notes and team docs
Long-form planning and strategy
Use a dedicated task manager for:
Daily task execution
Quick mobile capture
Calendar integration
AI scheduling and prioritization
This approach uses each tool for what it does best. You get Notion’s flexibility for thinking and documenting, plus a task manager’s speed for execution.
The Bottom Line: Notion is Brilliant—Just Not for Task Management
Notion has earned its place as one of the most powerful productivity tools available. Its flexibility, databases, and collaborative docs are genuinely exceptional for knowledge management and documentation.
But task management is different. It requires speed, simplicity, and intelligence that Notion’s flexibility actually works against. Building task databases is time-consuming. Maintaining views and filters requires constant effort. Daily planning takes too many clicks.
The good news? You don’t have to choose between Notion and effective task management.
Keep Notion for what it does brilliantly—documentation, wikis, knowledge management. Pair it with a purpose-built task manager that handles daily execution with the speed, automation, or intelligence you need.
Ready to try intelligent task management that works alongside Notion?
rivva automatically captures tasks from your email (including Notion notifications), schedules them around your energy and capacity, and shows you exactly what to do each day. No databases to build, no views to maintain—just open the app and see your perfectly planned day.
Use Notion for your docs and wikis. Let rivva handle the daily execution with AI scheduling and automatic task capture.
Try rivva free for 7 days and see how intelligent task management feels when it’s built for tasks, not adapted from a database platform.