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Ensō vs Notion
A connected team workspace versus a personal suite that works offline.
Ensō is an offline-first personal productivity suite: todo, agenda, calendar, reading list, projects, notes, email, and history in one app. Notion is a cloud workspace of docs and databases built for teams. Both have a page tree with a block editor and databases. The difference is where your data lives and who it is for.
| Ensō | Notion | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8/month or $80/year after a 14-day free trial (no card). No free plan. | Free plan. Plus $10/member/month, or $8 billed yearly. Business $20, or $16 billed yearly. |
| Platforms | Web, Windows, macOS, iPhone/iPad, Android. No Linux desktop app (Linux uses the web app). | Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. No Linux app. |
| Offline | Everything, on every device, including the web app: each device keeps a full local SQLite database. | Desktop and mobile apps only; the web app has no offline mode. You mark pages Available offline per device, and only the first 50 rows of a database download automatically. |
| Sync | Included in Premium; every 15 seconds while online, one merge engine on every platform. | Built in, cloud-first, on every plan. |
| End-to-end encryption | Opt-in Vaults: lock chosen lists, calendars, projects, or notes folders end-to-end (the server holds only ciphertext). | No. Encrypted in transit and at rest. |
| Notes & docs | Page tree, block editor, page links, typed databases with table views and dashboards, Markdown import/export. | The same core ideas, much more mature: rich blocks, many database views, templates, a template marketplace. |
| Tasks | A dedicated Todo app: nested lists, sections, subtasks, due dates, repeating tasks, a daily Agenda. | Tasks are database rows you set up yourself. |
| Calendar & email | Built-in month calendar (no Google/Outlook calendar sync). Email module for Gmail and Outlook. | Notion Calendar (separate app) and Notion Mail (Gmail only). |
| Projects | Work-breakdown outline with dependencies, milestones, and a Gantt timeline. | Project databases with timeline views. |
| Collaboration | None. Ensō is a personal app: no shared workspaces, lists, or guests. | Real-time multiplayer editing, guests, permissions, SSO on Business. |
| Integrations & AI | None beyond the Chrome extension and Gmail/Outlook. | A large integrations gallery and built-in AI. |
Notion details are from its own website and help pages as of September 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email contact@raintree.dev and we'll fix it.
Where Notion is the better choice
- You work with other people. Notion's shared pages, comments, and permissions are its core; Ensō has none.
- You want a mature database and template ecosystem, integrations, or built-in AI.
- You want a free plan. Ensō is paid after the trial.
Where Ensō is the better choice
- You need it to work offline everywhere, including the browser, without choosing pages in advance.
- You want tasks, a daily agenda, a calendar, a reading list, and projects with a Gantt chart as real apps, not databases you build.
- You want end-to-end encryption for your most private notes and lists.
Switching from Notion
Export from Notion as Markdown, then import the files into Ensō Notes. Ensō has no one-click importer for other apps yet. Notes accepts Markdown files (Import .md in the Notes sidebar), and tasks, events, and projects are entered by hand. Every account starts with a 14-day free trial, no card needed, so you can run both side by side first. See getting started and your data.