Written by
Oana Nฤslฤu
, Content Writer Specialist
Notion and Confluence are 2 of the most talked-about collaboration tools in the corporate world.
Notion has won over teams with its sleek, all-in-one workspace that stands out for both its design and features. Confluence, part of the Atlassian ecosystem, remains a favorite for structured documentation and seamless integration with enterprise tools.
Each platform brings unique strengths to the table, so it’s understandable if you’re torn between the 2. The best choice depends on your team’s specific needs and workflows.
In this article, we’ll dive into the Notion vs. Confluence comparison and explore whether there are other worthy Confluence and Notion alternatives, so you can decide which one is the better fit for your team.
Comparison between Notion and Confluence
Let's take a look below at the main features of both Notion and Confluence, as well as their pros and cons.
Notion
Image source: Capterra
Notion is a popular and comprehensive productivity and collaboration tool that combines elements of note-taking, project management, databases, and wikis in a single workspace. It is mostly known for its clean and appealing design and its numerous customization capabilities, which make it suitable for both individuals and teams.
๐ Key features
Customizable templates that range from simple note-taking pages to complex project management systems to quickly set up workflows, manage information, or jumpstart a project without starting from scratch
Databases that range from tables, boards, calendars, and lists that can be linked and filtered to manage projects, content, tasks, and more
Blocks to build everything in Notion, from text to media and databases
Integrations through automation tools and APIs, but not as extensive as other enterprise tools
Real-time collaboration on all content
Comments and mentions
Notion AI, a suite of AI tools built into Notion’s workspace, offering features like summarization, content generation, translation, and grammar checks to streamline tasks and enhance collaboration
๐ Pros
The interface is intuitive, with a sleek and modern design.
Notion is highly customizable and caters to various use cases, so you can design your own workflow and dashboards using building blocks.
It's suitable for personal use to jot down ideas or blog.
You have access to thousands of built-in and community-made templates to launch pages for various use cases: organizing meeting notes, quick note-taking, managing content calendars, tracking project statuses.
๐ Cons
Some users complain that the platform can be slow to load and that changes are not always saved automatically.
New users may find Notion intimidating due to its complexity and can expect a learning curve.
While its search feature is fast across all content, it struggles with incomplete phrases or detailed queries.
Users working with large, complex databases and filters often face slow loading times and performance issues that affect productivity.
Confluence
Image source: Capterra
Atlassian's Confluence is a collaborative document management and knowledge-sharing platform, widely used for creating and managing documentation, knowledge bases, meeting notes, and project plans. Its flexible, page-based structure allows teams to organize content hierarchically in a centralized workspace.
๐ Key features
Hierarchical structure to organize information in pages and sub-pages
Real-time collaboration by editing pages simultaneously, leaving comments, and mentioning others for feedback
Over 100 pre-made templates such as meeting notes, project plans, or retrospectives
Robust permission settings that allow you to control who can view or edit each page or space
Page versioning to view the history of changes to each page, compare versions, and revert changes
Integrations with other Atlassian tools and third-party apps
Atlassian Intelligence, consisting of an AI-powered assistant providing natural language search, AI-assisted writing, content summarization, automated workflows, and smart suggestions for tasks
๐ Pros
Unlimited pages and spaces are included in the free plan.
It comes with granular permissions at space, page, and paragraph level.
Its advanced collaboration capabilities make it well-suited for larger teams and complex projects.
Its extensive macro system enables users to add dynamic content.
๐ Cons
There is no self-hostable option in case you're looking to manage your platform internally and if you need to comply with strict privacy regulations.
After 120 days of inactivity, your data will be automatically deleted, and you cannot recover it.
Users often criticize Confluence’s text formatting for its limitations, citing inconsistent bullet points, difficulty creating multi-column layouts, and issues when copying and pasting from other editors.
While Confluence offers a free plan for small teams, accessing advanced features and integrations often requires upgrading to paid plans, which are costly for smaller organizations.
Notion vs. Confluence: the verdict
At the end of the day, both Notion and Confluence are strong collaboration tools, but they're built for different kinds of teams.
Notion feels more like a creative workspace. It’s flexible, good-looking, and lets you mix tasks, notes, and databases however you want. Notion is especially popular with startups, creative teams, and small to mid-sized businesses.
Confluence, on the other hand, is more rigid but reliable. It’s built for documentation at scale, and it plays really well with the rest of the Atlassian suite, which is a plus for dev teams.
So, which one should you choose?
โ Pick Notion if your team values flexibility, an all-in-one solution, and a user-friendly interface, and if your projects are relatively simple or medium in complexity.
โ Pick Confluence if your organization requires a structured documentation system, seamless integration with development tools, and scalability for large teams.
THE alternative to Confluence and Notion
In solving the Notion vs. Confluence dilemma, you may want to consider that these 2 platforms are not the only players in the game.
That's why we want to introduce you to XWiki.
XWiki is more than a simple collaboration tool: It’s a powerful, open-source enterprise wiki designed for teams that need flexibility and control. With deep customization options, real-time editing, advanced document management, and fine-grained permission settings, XWiki gives you the tools to shape your workspace exactly the way you want.
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What is more, is that you can use XWiki both as a first and a second-generation enterprise wiki. First-generation enterprise wikis prioritize content creation, while second-generation enterprise wikis prioritize structure and app creation. You can see how you can have the best of both worlds from the key features below.
๐ Key features
Hierarchical structure to organize your knowledge under the form of wikis, sub-wikis, pages, and notes
Real-time editing, annotations, and comments to enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing
Powerful Solr search engine with advanced and precise filtering capabilities
Unlimited version rollback, history tracking, and version comparison
Seamless creation of collaborative applications for non-technical users with App Within Minutes
Auto-save functionality so you never lose your work
Multiple authentication methods supported: form, basic, LDAP, custom
Granular permission management with the ability to also make pages of your sub-wiki public, with a global view of rights and spaces
Look and feel customization to match your organization's branding requirements
High extensibility through extensions, hundreds of RESTful APIs, and scripts
AI assistant (BETA) to instantly find, access, transform, and translate knowledge from your wiki and integrated tools, based on user rights
๐ Pros
XWiki’s open-source core means you choose where you deploy, what services you use, and what features you need. Plus full control over your data.
You have access to a dedicated support team that provides timely answers and solutions to your tickets.
XWiki is available both as a free version and as a technically supported one, either in the Cloud or on premises.
With XWiki, you benefit from a myriad of features that are bundled by default.
You can easily migrate from other platforms like Confluence with the Confluence Migration Toolkit, ensuring a smooth transition and no risk of losing data or user rights.
๐ Cons
- While XWiki is highly customizable, you will need to invest some time and have a team of developers to help with the customization. You can handle this in-house, or you can choose our Cloud services, an out-of-the-box solution that takes away the hassle of maintenance from your shoulders. You can also purchase consulting and development services for specifically-tailored personalization needs.
๐ฅ Why XWiki beats both Notion and Confluence
Closing thoughts
Once your evaluation is complete, the most effective way to assess Notion, Confluence, and XWiki is through direct experience. Run a trial, involve your team and other key stakeholders, and gather feedback to ensure successful adoption. If XWiki aligns with your strategic goals, we’re ready to support your next steps. Get in touch or schedule a call with our team to explore how XWiki can deliver long-term value for your organization.
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