Can We Stop Comparing Roam & Notion Please?

It’s human nature to want to compare similar things. But are Roam & Notion really the two apps we should be comparing?

Is anyone else tired of the Roam V Notion Comparison?

It’s human nature to want to pit two things against each other. Since Roam came on the scene we’ve seen constant comparisons about Roam V Notion through articles, videos, and podcasts. There is definitely some overlap between the two but at their core, they are completely different tools with different purposes.

Let’s take a look.

Let’s start with ROAM

Roam describes itself as a note-taking tool for networked thought. And it does that VERY WELL. Roam works similar to how your brain works, networking nodes together to form connections from random things. It’s fluid and serendipitous.

It’s built predominantly for individuals (although you can share graphs) to take text-based notes. It works phenomenally as a research tool or a Zettelkasten for this very reason.

If you’re looking for a tool to make notes and write then Roam does that very well.

Now About Notion

Notion describes itself as one tool for your whole team to write, plan, and get organised. They have a heavy emphasis on being an all-in-one tool that can solve many problems. It’s built on databases and structured information that you can search, sort & filter.

It’s built for teams, collaboration, and sharing of all types of information. It goes beyond text to be able to bring in all types of media from images to gifs to embedding whole web pages.

If you’re looking for a tool to store and structure information, then Notion is probably the better tool for you. And you can certainly still use it for note-taking and writing (I do).

Die Hards Fans Will Create The Overlap

Now, if you love a tool you can usually make it bend to your will. So both Roamans & Notioneers get creative with the platforms to extend the functionality which is where you get some overlap and also where the comparisons likely come in.

But Notion & Roam at their core are not in the same category. A better comparison would be Roam & Obsidian. Or Notion & Craft Docs. Now those would be great discussions to be had.

Originally published on evchapman.com.