Head-to-head
Notion vs Monica
Two rivals, compared by somebody who sells a third tool — and says so on the page.
Short answer
Two ways to avoid paying for a personal CRM. Notion is not one — it is a database many people press into service as one, which works for the first 50 to 100 contacts, especially if you already pay for Notion. Monica is one: open source and free when self-hosted. Notion if you want to tinker; Monica if you want it finished and can run a server.
Where they differ
| Dimension | Notion | Monica |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A flexible database plus templates. You build the CRM yourself. | A finished personal CRM with relationship fields, reminders and a journal. |
| 3-year cost | Plus at $10/seat/month, about €330 — or €0 if the free workspace is enough. | About €30 self-hosted, about €270 in the cloud. |
| Reminders | Only what you build — formulas and date fields nobody maintains but you. | Built in, per contact, with birthdays and anniversaries. |
| Effort | Setup: hours to days. Running: zero, if Notion is already running. | Setup: a server. Running: updates and backups are on you. |
| Scales to | Around 50 to 100 contacts, after which the manual upkeep becomes the problem. | Considerably further, because the structure is already there. |
As of 2026-08-06
Pick Notion if…
…you already pay for Notion and do not want to learn another app. That is a better argument than it sounds: a tool you open daily anyway gets used, and a second one you have to open on purpose often does not. For the first fifty to a hundred people, a database with a name, a last-contact date and a notes field is entirely enough. The break comes later, when you notice nobody updates the date field — and Notion was still the right cheap start.
Pick Monica if…
…you do not want to invent the structure yourself. Monica has the fields you only miss after a year of building your own: relationships between people, birthdays, rhythm-based reminders, a journal. Self-hosted it is free and open source, so it is entirely yours and nobody can change the terms. The price is a server you stand up and keep current.
And where do we sit?
As the option that demands neither — no self-building and no server upkeep. But be honest: if your question is "what costs me nothing?", one of the two above is the right answer, and we publish our spreadsheet and Notion templates free without you buying anything from us.
Common questions
- Are there good Notion templates for a personal CRM?
- Yes, free and paid ones. They solve the structure, not the upkeep — no template fills in the "last contact" field for you, and that is what most DIY systems die of.
- When should I move off Notion?
- When you notice you have not opened the database in weeks, or when you start building formulas instead of tending people. Both are signs the structure is costing you more than it returns.