Let's cut the crap: Notion AI is a glorified text editor with a $10/month subscription that locks basic features behind a paywall, and if you're using it for anything beyond light brainstorming, you're wasting money. I almost lost a client proposal because its AI summarizer choked on a 5-page document, spitting out gibberish while I scrambled to fix it manually. The real value isn't in Notion's half-baked AI—it's in the ecosystem, but that doesn't excuse the pricing trash.
The Meat: Where Notion AI Fails and Competitors Kill
First, the AI is slow as molasses. Try editing a long page with AI suggestions—there's a 2-3 second lag every time you hit a button, and the UI freezes like it's running on a potato. I timed it: 2.8 seconds average for a simple rewrite. That's unacceptable when tools like ChatGPT respond in under a second. Notion's excuse? It's baked into their app, so it inherits all the bloat. Competitors like Claude or Jasper run leaner because they're built for speed, not trying to be a Swiss Army knife.
Second, the pricing is a straight-up rip-off. $10/month per user for AI features on top of a Notion plan? That's $120/year just to get summarization and basic editing in a tool you already pay for. Compare that to ChatGPT Plus at $20/month for vastly superior reasoning and coding help, or even free tiers from competitors like Gemini. Notion hides this cost behind "seamless integration," but it's just a cash grab for features that should be included in higher-tier plans.
Third, the output quality is mid at best. I tested it on a technical blog post: Notion AI gave generic, fluffy suggestions that missed key points, while Claude nailed the structure with specific edits. Notion's AI feels like an afterthought—it's good for quick bullet points or fixing typos, but for serious content, it's trash. The "context awareness" is limited to your current page, so it can't pull insights from your whole workspace without manual prompting.
💡 Pro Tip: Use Notion AI only for light tasks like summarizing meeting notes or generating simple templates. For heavy lifting, copy your text to a dedicated AI tool—it'll save you time and frustration. I do this daily: draft in Notion, polish with ChatGPT.The Data: Hard Numbers Don't Lie
| Feature | Notion AI | ChatGPT Plus | Claude (Free Tier) | Jasper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $10/user/month (add-on) | $20/month | Free up to usage limits | $49/month |
| Speed | Slow (2-3 sec lag) | Fast (<1 sec) | Fast (<1 sec) | Moderate (1-2 sec) |
| Output Quality | Basic, generic | High, versatile | High, detailed | Good for marketing |
| Integration | Deep in Notion only | API, web app | API, web app | Apps, browser extension |
| Best For | Notion power users | General AI tasks | Writing & analysis | Marketing content |
The Verdict: Stop Wasting Your Cash
Buy Notion AI only if you live in Notion 24/7 and need light AI help without switching apps—otherwise, it's a rip-off. For everyone else, use ChatGPT Plus for general work or Claude for writing; they're faster, cheaper per value, and don't lock you into a single platform. I ditched Notion AI after that client disaster and haven't looked back.
👉 Check Price / Try FreeOriginally published at Nexus AI
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