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HomeNote-taking & PKM › Notion vs Roam Research

Notion vs Roam Research

Notion takes the higher SoftwareScore, 73 to 50. That's a clear gap that holds up across most use cases. Both are scored on the same public formula. See how.

Reviewed by Rick Castro, Founder & lead analyst · Last updated July 2026
Notion
Free · $10/mo · ★4.7 (2.8k)
ValueEaseFeaturesSyncOwnershipCollabAI
73
SoftwareScore
View Notion →
Roam Research
From $15/mo · ★2.6 (170)
ValueEaseFeaturesSyncOwnershipCollabAI
50
SoftwareScore
View Roam Research →
The bottom line

These solve different problems. Notion is a broad workspace for docs, databases, and teams; Roam is a focused tool for networked, research-style note-taking. Roam costs more and is narrower, so unless you specifically want its outlining-and-backlinks workflow, Notion is the more versatile and affordable pick.

Notion vs Roam Research: our take

Notion takes the higher SoftwareScore, 73 to 50. That's a clear gap that holds up across most use cases.

Notion pulls ahead on Collab and AI (Collab 10 vs 6), which makes it the stronger pick for teams.

Roam Research pulls ahead on Ownership (Ownership 5 vs 3), which makes it the stronger pick for power users.

The clearest divide is Collab (Notion 10, Roam Research 6). If that axis is central to how you work, let it settle the choice.

On price, Notion has a usable free tier (Free · $10/mo) while Roam Research is From $15/mo, often enough to break a close call.

Axis by axis

Value (price vs features) 6 3
Ease of use 6 4
Feature depth 10 8
Cross-platform & sync 9 6
Data ownership / privacy 3 5
Collaboration 10 6
AI capability 8 4
Axis (◆ = data ownership, our under-served focus) Notion Roam R
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