TL;DR

• Explored Notion and ClickUp as project management software choices.

• Analyzed 12 key criteria to help making an informed decision.

• Notion leads in customization, relationships, calculated fields, and documentation management.

• ClickUp excels in templates, automation, roles and permissions, dashboards, collaboration, and integrations.

• Get a scoring system to identify which software aligns with your specific needs and priorities.

Today, we are diving into a comparison of Notion and ClickUp.

These are the only project management software a modern company should consider for me.

I often get clients asking me which tool to pick. They ether like the looks of ClickUp or the templates of Notion, and end up picking one or the other without being able to explain why.

Let’s get into a detailed comparison to help you make an informed decision between Notion and ClickUp.

The criteria

Hierarchy

In Notion, you embed pages within pages to an infinite level. In contrast, ClickUp offers five levels of hierarchy: Space, folder, list, task, and subtask.

Tie: ClickUp provides structure for coherence. Notion is the choice for more flexibility.

Customization

Notion is highly customizable to almost any need. However, a structuring mistake can require a complete rebuild. ClickUp offers simpler customization options easier to manage.

Winner: Notion

Templates

Notion has a larger template community, but ClickUp's templates are more project-oriented. They enable better team sharing, customization, remapping dependencies and deadlines, and creating advanced task templates with subtasks, checklists, custom comments, and fields.

Winner: ClickUp

Automation

Value automation features like changing task statuses or sending automated emails? ClickUp is the capable tool.

Winner: ClickUp

Roles and Permissions

Need to set specific roles and permissions for your team? ClickUp allows fine-tuning these settings, while Notion lacks this feature.

Winner: ClickUp

Relationships

Work requiring relationships handling between items, like in a CRM? Notion excels here.

Winner: Notion

Calculated Fields

Notion formulas 2.0 offer advanced features: custom variables, callout, progress bars.

Winner: Notion

Dashboards

Need reporting features like sprint burndowns or tasks completed over time? ClickUp offers dashboards, Notion doesn't.

Winner: ClickUp

Documentation Management

If detailed product documentation is a priority, Notion's document editor is advanced and snappy. ClickUp is improving this feature.

Winner: Notion

Collaboration

The improved Inbox feature, comment assignments, and image collaboration give ClickUp a teamwork edge. ClickUp's comment section is clean and well-integrated in the user interface, smoothing communication.

Winner: ClickUp

AI Capabilities

ClickUp employs AI to automate and predict project management with features like automated task prioritization and SOP prompt templates. Notion supports more creative writing: summarization of notes, writing enhancements.

Tie: Both platforms use AI differently.

Integrations

ClickUp offers advanced integration and automation with popular tools like Hubspot, GitHub, and Google Drive. Notion's integration capabilities are limited and more about embedding content.

Winner: ClickUp

Which one to pick

To help your decision-making, list down the importance of each item to you, then multiply your priority level with the software rating to get a final score.

How to pick:

1. Identify Your Needs: Pinpoint the features crucial for your projects.

2. Score Each Software: Based on the comparison above, score Notion and ClickUp out of 10 for each feature.

3. Multiply By Priority: If a feature is high priority, multiply the score by 3, medium by 2, and low by 1.

4. Total The Scores: Add them up to see which software wins for you.

So, which one will you go for?