Plan Comparison
Notion Free vs Plus: Feature Comparison and When to Upgrade
Notion Free is powerful for individuals. Plus costs $10/user/month on annual billing ($12 monthly). The upgrade is worth it when you hit one of three specific walls.
Updated 11 April 2026
The Verdict
Stay on Free if you are a solo user with fewer than 10 collaborators and no files over 5 MB. Upgrade to Plus when you need more guests, larger file uploads, or 30-day page history. Important: neither Free nor Plus includes Notion AI beyond 20 trial responses. If you need AI, you need Business.
Full Feature Comparison
| Feature | Free | Plus ($10/mo) |
|---|---|---|
| Price (annual) | $0 | $10/user/mo |
| Price (monthly) | $0 | $12/user/mo |
| Pages and blocks | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| File upload limit | 5 MB per file | Unlimited |
| Guest collaborators | 10 | 100 |
| Page history | 7 days | 30 days |
| Notion AI | 20 lifetime trials | 20 lifetime trials |
| Team workspaces | No | Yes (open only) |
| Custom automations | Limited | Yes |
| Synced databases | Yes | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes |
| Web clipper | Yes | Yes |
| Trash recovery | 30 days | 30 days |
| Bulk export | Markdown/CSV | Markdown/CSV |
The Three Upgrade Triggers
You need more than 10 guest collaborators
The Free plan hard-caps guests at 10. Once you invite guest number 11, Notion blocks the invite. Plus raises this to 100 guests. If you work with clients, contractors, or partners who need page access, this is usually the first wall you hit.
Your files exceed 5 MB
Modern photos, slide decks, and PDFs commonly exceed 5 MB. On Free, any file over 5 MB fails to upload. Plus removes the limit entirely. If your workflow involves attaching presentations, design files, or high-resolution images, you need Plus.
You need page history beyond 7 days
On Free, page versions are kept for 7 days only. If you accidentally delete content and do not notice within a week, it is gone. Plus extends this to 30 days. For important documents where mistakes might go unnoticed, this safety net is worth the cost.
Real-World Scenarios
Stay on Free
Solo freelancer, 5 clients
You use Notion for personal project management, share specific pages with clients using guest invites, and work primarily with text content. You are well within all Free limits.
Upgrade to Plus
Growing startup, 15 contractors
Your team shares docs with 15 external contractors. You regularly attach design mockups over 5 MB. Plus at $10/user/mo solves both problems. You do not need AI in Notion.
Skip to Business
Team wanting Notion AI
If your primary reason for upgrading is AI features, Plus will not help. AI requires Business at $20/user/mo. Do not upgrade to Plus thinking you will get AI.
What Happens If You Downgrade from Plus to Free
Your content is preserved. No pages, databases, or content is deleted.
File uploads over 5 MB remain but you cannot upload new files over 5 MB.
Guests beyond 10 lose access. They cannot view or edit shared pages until you reduce guest count to 10 or fewer.
Page history shrinks to 7 days. Versions older than 7 days become inaccessible.