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Endearist vs Notion
A fair, specific comparison — written so you'd be comfortable if a Notion engineer read it.
Fairness pledge
Notion isn't a personal CRM — it's a flexible database tool that many people press into service as one, usually via a free or paid template. If you already pay for Notion for work and want a relationship tracker without learning a new app, that DIY path is genuinely viable for the first 50-100 contacts. The templates (e.g. "Personal CRM" by various creators) are well-designed and Notion's filter/view system is powerful. The cost is that you become the maintainer: schema drift over time, no native mobile capture surface for relationships specifically, no built-in reminders, no AI-drafted apology or birthday messages, no journal pattern. Endearist is being built as what those templates wish they could be at scale: a purpose-built version of the pattern, with relationship-specific tooling (Magic Buttons, voice notes, sync over your own storage, life events) that a template can't build. It is not released yet; Notion is usable today. Endearist is not publicly available yet. The launch list is a notification signup, not app access or a purchase. Platforms and capabilities have separate release approvals.
Where does my data live with Notion versus Endearist?
Notion: hosted on Notion's US/AWS servers. Notion has SOC 2 / GDPR compliance but is structurally cloud-only — your DIY personal-CRM database lives in their multi-tenant Postgres. Endearist: not publicly available yet. The primary copy is intended to stay on your device. End-to-end encrypted sync over storage you run yourself — a local or shared folder, or a WebDAV server — is planned for v1. Google Drive as a destination is not decided yet. Managed sync on Endearist Cloud is planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only.
How does each tool access AI?
Notion AI is no longer a $10/seat add-on you can bolt onto Plus — it is bundled into the plans, and full AI (Agents, Ask Notion) now requires Business at $20/seat/month, with Free and Plus limited to a capped trial. It still runs on Notion's servers through OpenAI/Anthropic. It's general-purpose, not relationship-specific (no "draft an apology", no "weekly reach-out suggestion", no "extract life-events from a screenshot"). Endearist's AI is being designed for relationships and planned as opt-in: your own key, or managed AI in a proposed Pro Cloud subscription. AI with your own key: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: managed AI (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only) and Endearist Cloud (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only). Specific budgets, routing and prices require approval. Family sharing: not decided yet; no included family seat is promised.
What do Notion and Endearist cost over three years?
Notion Plus: $10/seat/month on annual billing ($12 month-to-month) × 12 × 3 = ~€330. Notion Business — now the cheapest plan with full Notion AI, since the standalone AI add-on is gone: $20/seat/month annual — ~€660 over 3 years. Endearist cannot be bought yet; its proposed prices are Pro Lifetime at €69 once and Pro Cloud at €4.99-9.99/month. Notion's edge: you might already be paying for it, and you can use it today. Endearist's intended edge: being an actual personal CRM, not a database that resembles one. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: local core and data export. The proposed 25-contact limit is not a confirmed entitlement. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: local app and AI with your own key (planned for v1). Sync over your own storage is planned for v1. Managed cloud services are not a lifetime feature. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: managed AI (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only) and Endearist Cloud (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only). Specific budgets, routing and prices require approval. Family sharing: not decided yet; no included family seat is promised.
What doesn't Endearist do?
We don't have Notion's open-ended database flexibility — you can't add a "favourite tea" column to every contact in 30 seconds the way you can in Notion. We trade that flexibility for purpose-built relationship features we're building (Magic Buttons, voice notes, life events, pets, debts) that no template can build; whether family sharing comes at all is not decided. Family sharing: scope and availability are not confirmed. Status: not decided yet.
Feature matrix
Side-by-side.
| Feature | Endearist | Notion |
|---|---|---|
| Local-first data storage | Designed so the primary copy lives on your device, not on a server. Local-first vault, fully offline: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. | No — cloud-only multi-tenant Postgres. |
| End-to-end encrypted sync | End-to-end encrypted sync over storage you run yourself — a local or shared folder, or a WebDAV server — is planned for v1. Google Drive as a destination is not decided yet. Managed sync on Endearist Cloud is planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only. | No — transport TLS; Notion holds plaintext. |
| Mobile native apps (iOS / Android) | Flutter apps in development; nothing to install yet. Native Android app: planned for v1. The first release is intended for Android and Windows. Native Windows app: planned for v1. The first release is intended for Android and Windows. Native iPhone and iPad app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. Native macOS app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. Native Linux app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. | Source check for Notion (2026-09-30): Listed platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Web. The sources explicitly list no support for Linux. The desktop help explicitly says there is no Linux app; browser access is separate. This record concerns the main Notion app, not Notion Agents. Check current availability and account/region limits with the vendor. We have not tested the apps ourselves. |
| Desktop native apps | Native desktop apps in development; nothing to install yet. Native Android app: planned for v1. The first release is intended for Android and Windows. Native Windows app: planned for v1. The first release is intended for Android and Windows. Native iPhone and iPad app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. Native macOS app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. Native Linux app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. | Source check for Notion (2026-09-30): Listed platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Web. The sources explicitly list no support for Linux. The desktop help explicitly says there is no Linux app; browser access is separate. This record concerns the main Notion app, not Notion Agents. Check current availability and account/region limits with the vendor. We have not tested the apps ourselves. |
| AI features | Planned as strictly opt-in — your own key, or managed AI in a proposed Pro Cloud subscription. AI with your own key: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: managed AI (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only) and Endearist Cloud (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only). Specific budgets, routing and prices require approval. Family sharing: not decided yet; no included family seat is promised. | Bundled, no longer a buyable add-on: Free and Plus get a capped AI trial, full AI needs Business ($20/seat/mo). General-purpose, not relationship-aware. |
| Self-host option | No — there is no server component to host; the local store is meant to be the app itself. Local-first vault, fully offline: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. | No. |
| Pricing | Proposed, not purchasable yet: free up to 25 contacts; Pro Lifetime €69 once, Pro Cloud Light €4.99/mo, or Pro Cloud €9.99/mo. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: local core and data export. The proposed 25-contact limit is not a confirmed entitlement. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: local app and AI with your own key (planned for v1). Sync over your own storage is planned for v1. Managed cloud services are not a lifetime feature. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: managed AI (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only) and Endearist Cloud (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only). Specific budgets, routing and prices require approval. Family sharing: not decided yet; no included family seat is promised. | Free (limited for 2+ members). Plus $10/seat/mo annual ($12 monthly). Business $20/seat/mo annual. |
| Open source code | If Endearist ever shuts down or is acquired, the source gets released — that's a pledge. | No — proprietary. |
| Plain-Markdown export | Planned — plain Markdown you can read without any app. Markdown, CSV and vCard export: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. The documented implementation has a separate readable ZIP export with media and a report of omissions; legacy exports remain partial. This is not device or release acceptance. | Yes — Notion has a Markdown export. |
| Voice-note transcription | Planned — on-device, or with your own key. On-device transcription: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. | No. |
| Family / multi-vault share | Family sharing: not decided yet. Multiple vaults: not decided yet. | Workspace sharing exists, but it's not built around households. |
| Journal / reflection | Journal, weekly ritual, and appreciation prompts are meant to be built in, not built by you. Local-first vault, fully offline: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. | Yes — you can build one as a database. Not built-in. |
| Relationship depth (how-we-met, pets) | Designed with ready-made fields: how-we-met, pets, custom pronouns, life events, debts, attachments. Local-first vault, fully offline: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. | Whatever you build — no defaults. |
| Calendar / messenger integrations | Not decided: a read-only calendar overlay and share-sheet capture are ideas, not planned deliverables. Read-only calendar overlay: scope and availability are not confirmed. Status: not decided yet. Share-sheet capture: scope and availability are not confirmed. Status: not decided yet. | Limited — no native calendar sync for contact records. |
When to pick Notion
When is Notion the better choice?
If you already pay for Notion at work, are comfortable with database schemas, and your relationship tracking needs are modest (~50 people, no AI assist, no native mobile capture), the DIY route is genuinely fine — and it works today. The good templates from creators like Marie Poulin or August Bradley are well-designed. Pick Notion-as-CRM when you don't want another app, you have time to maintain the schema, and your needs don't include voice notes, AI message drafting, or local-first storage. We're building the relationship-specific parts purpose-built so you won't have to — but Endearist is not released yet.
Switching
How do I switch from Notion to Endearist?
Export your Notion database to CSV (Database menu → Export → CSV & Files). Endearist is not released yet, so keep that file for now: CSV import is planned for the app, but how Notion columns — Name, Email, Phone, custom properties, the notes column, birthday or anniversary dates — would map to Endearist fields has not been verified. vCard and CSV import: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1.
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Prices and positioning verified 2026-09-03.
Platform information updated 2026-09-30; source-check dates are shown in the table.
Sources for the platform review
Endearist is in development.
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