Notion Vs. Evernote for Students: My Honest 6-month Comparison and Verdict

As a student navigating the endless stream of lectures, assignments, and group projects, finding the right digital tool to keep my academic life organized felt like a quest for the Holy Grail. For years, I’d heard whispers and shouts about the two titans of productivity: Notion and Evernote. Each promised a path to digital enlightenment, but which one truly delivered for the unique demands of student life? I decided to put them to the test. For a full six months, I immersed myself in both platforms, using them side-by-side for everything from lecture notes to project planning. This isn’t a theoretical breakdown; it’s my unfiltered, honest account of how Notion and Evernote performed under the pressures of a real student workflow, culminating in my definitive verdict.

My Initial Dive: The Learning Curve and First Impressions

Stepping into the Notion vs. Evernote arena felt like choosing between a sleek, minimalist spaceship and a well-worn, reliable SUV. My first few weeks were a stark contrast in experiences. With Evernote, the familiarity was immediate. It felt like a digital notebook I’d been using forever, just smarter. Creating a new note, organizing it into a notebook, and adding tags was intuitive. The web clipper was a revelation for research, instantly saving articles and snippets without fuss. It was a no-brainer, a tool that seamlessly integrated into my existing habits without demanding much from me in return. I could open it, jot down notes during a lecture, and file them away almost subconsciously.

Notion, on the other hand, was less about familiarity and more about possibility. It presented itself as a blank canvas, a digital Lego set where I could build anything. This boundless flexibility was both exciting and, initially, overwhelming. I spent the first few days just exploring templates, watching YouTube tutorials, and trying to grasp the concept of databases, pages, and linked views. It wasn’t just a note-taking app; it was an entire workspace operating system. While Evernote offered a clear path, Notion offered a labyrinth of potential, and I quickly realized that mastering it would require an investment of time, something precious for any student. My first impression was that Evernote was for getting things done *now*, while Notion was for building a system to get things done *better* in the long run.

Getting Started: Setting Up My Student Hub

• Evernote’s Instant Gratification: I created notebooks for each course (e.g., “Biology 101,” “History of Art”), and within those, individual notes for lectures or readings. The search function was incredibly powerful, allowing me to pull up information quickly. Its simplicity meant I was up and running for my immediate note-taking needs within minutes.
• Notion’s Thoughtful Construction: Building my student dashboard in Notion was a project in itself. I started with a main “Student Hub” page, then linked to separate pages for “Courses,” “Assignments,” and “Resources.” Within “Courses,” I created a database for each class, tracking lectures, readings, and due dates. This setup required planning, but the vision of a fully integrated academic system was compelling. It wasn’t just about notes; it was about connecting everything.

Six Months In: How Each Tool Handled My Student Workflow Realities

After the initial setup, the real test began: using Notion and Evernote daily through midterm season, group projects, and final exam prep. This extended period truly highlighted their strengths and weaknesses in a student context. My workflow typically involves: attending lectures (often with rapid note-taking), reading academic papers, collaborating on group assignments, planning personal study schedules, and managing a daunting list of deadlines.

Evernote continued to shine as a reliable, no-frills note-taker. Its audio recording feature, synced with typed notes, was invaluable for lectures where I couldn’t write fast enough. The search functionality remained its superpower – I could find a specific concept mentioned in a lecture from weeks ago with surprising ease. For quick captures – a thought, a screenshot, a web article – Evernote was king. It felt like a digital brain extension, always ready to store information without demanding much structure upfront. However, its rigid note-notebook-tag hierarchy started to feel limiting when I needed to see connections between different pieces of information or manage complex projects.

Tackling Lecture Notes and Research Safaris

• Evernote’s Speed and Searchability: For raw, in-the-moment lecture notes, Evernote was faster. I could open a new note, start typing, and use its robust search later. The web clipper was also superior for academic research, grabbing entire articles or specific sections with ease. This was crucial when I was frantically gathering sources for an essay.
• Notion’s Structured Synthesis: Notion excelled when it came to *processing* those notes and research. Instead of just dumping information, I could turn lecture notes into actionable tasks, link research papers directly to assignments, and create summary tables. Its database features allowed me to tag notes by course, topic, and even “exam relevance,” creating a powerful knowledge base. While slower to input initially, the long-term benefit of interconnected information was immense for deeper understanding and revision.

The Group Project Gauntlet: Collaboration Capabilities

Group projects are a staple of student life, and this is where the differences between Notion and Evernote became most apparent. Evernote offers basic sharing capabilities; you can share individual notes or entire notebooks. This works well for simple information dissemination, like sharing a bibliography or a meeting agenda. However, real-time collaboration felt clunky. If two people were editing the same note, conflicts could arise, and tracking changes was difficult. It wasn’t built for dynamic teamwork.

Notion, on the other hand, was a collaborative powerhouse. I could create a shared project page, invite team members, assign tasks with due dates, track progress on a Kanban board, and even host our meeting notes directly within the page. Everyone could edit simultaneously, leave comments, and see changes in real-time. This transformed our group work from a chaotic email chain into a streamlined, centralized hub. For students, who often work in teams, Notion’s collaborative features were a game-changer. It drastically reduced miscommunication and ensured everyone was on the same page, quite literally.

The Great Organization Showdown: Databases vs. Notebooks for Academic Chaos

Organization is paramount for students. Missed deadlines, lost notes, or forgotten readings can derail an entire semester. My 6-month journey revealed fundamentally different approaches to organization within Notion and Evernote, each with its own merits and drawbacks.

Evernote’s system is hierarchical: Notes live in Notebooks, and Notebooks can be grouped into Stacks. Tags add another layer of categorization across this structure. This linear, file-cabinet approach is intuitive and works incredibly well for simply storing and retrieving information. I could quickly find all notes related to “Microeconomics” or all notes tagged “Essay Research.” For students who prefer a straightforward, digital binder system, Evernote’s structure is a strong contender. Its strength lies in its simplicity and powerful search, making it hard to truly lose anything.

Notion’s organization, however, operates on a completely different paradigm: databases. Instead of fixed hierarchies, Notion uses flexible databases that can display information in multiple views (table, board, calendar, gallery, list). This meant my “Assignments” database could show me all tasks sorted by due date, then switch to a Kanban board to visualize progress, and then filter to only show “Biology” assignments. This interconnectedness allowed for a dynamic overview of my academic load, revealing relationships and priorities that Evernote’s static structure couldn’t. It felt less like a filing cabinet and more like a command center, where I could manipulate and visualize my information in countless ways.

Managing Deadlines and Project Tracking

• Evernote’s Reminder System: Evernote allowed me to set reminders on individual notes, which was helpful for single due dates. However, managing a complex project with multiple sub-tasks and their own deadlines was cumbersome. It wasn’t designed for project management beyond simple reminders.
• Notion’s Project Powerhouse: This is where Notion truly shined for complex student tasks. I created a master “Assignments & Projects” database, including fields for course, due date, status (To Do, In Progress, Done), priority, and links to relevant research pages. I could then view this database as a calendar for upcoming deadlines, a Kanban board for task progress, or a simple table sorted by priority. This integrated approach made managing multiple assignments and long-term projects significantly easier and less stressful.

The Cost of Productivity: Free Tiers and Student Discounts Explored

As a student, budget is always a consideration. Both Notion and Evernote offer free plans, but their limitations and paid upgrades differ significantly. My 6-month comparison included a close look at what each free tier offered and whether the paid versions were worth the investment for a student.

Evernote’s free plan, “Evernote Free,” is quite restrictive. It allows syncing between only two devices and has a monthly upload limit of 60 MB. While 60 MB might seem like a lot for text notes, adding PDFs of readings, images, or audio recordings quickly