Notion vs Roam Research: A Head-to-Head Comparison of Modular Productivity Apps

Move over Evernote and OneNote, it’s 2021 and modular productivity apps like Notion, Obsidian, Airtable, Coda, Craft, Roam Research, etc. have arrived and started gaining traction among consumers. Among them, Notion and Roam Research are making huge waves with their unique approach towards digital file cabinets. But which one is better for you? Let’s compare Notion and Roam Research and find our answers.

Cross-Platform Availability

Notion easily takes this one home. Notion is available on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and the web. Although the mobile apps are web wrappers, they still get the job done with checking out workspace and basic editing. On the other hand, Roam Research is only available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. The apps are essentially PWA (Progressive Web App) and not native like Evernote or OneNote.

User Interface

Both Notion and Roam Research follow the same proven formula for navigation. With Notion, you can check the workspace and pages from the left navigation menu and check the live preview and editing interface from the right side. Roam Research adopts the same UI elements with menus pinned at the upper right corner. In terms of User Experience (UX), you will have to rely on ‘/’ commands to explore the editing interface. Simply hit the ‘/’ key in Notion or Roam Research and you are ready to use editing options.

Notes Organization

Here is where the differences between Notion and Roam Research start appearing. Notion relies on the workspace, sections, and notes to organize thoughts and memories. As for Roam Research, you have to create a new graph from the homepage. Once you create one, you are ready to add pages and daily notes to it. Roam Research nails it when it comes to organizing thoughts in a note. For instance, you can add multiple bullet points and drag them under a parent menu. In practice, you are basically collecting multiple thoughts and pinning them under a single headline in a note.

Editing Options

Both Notion and Roam Research offer a feature-rich editing interface to work with. Instead of a formatting toolbar, you must rely on the ‘/’ command to reveal a plethora of options to design a page from scratch. Notion beats Roam Research with better third-party apps integration. You can directly add Figma, Invision, Tweet, GitHub Gist, Miro, Sketch, Typeform, or Loom recording to a page. It works seamlessly and allows you to view the content without leaving the Notion page. It seems Roam Research is purely aimed at developers with dozens of code blocks to choose from. Apart from that, you can add To-Do or timer to a Roam Research page too.

Unique Features

Notion is mainly used for creating databases and offers customization options like changing fonts and adding third-party widgets to create an aesthetically pleasing Notion page. Roam Research mimics how our brain works. You can connect your thoughts and view them from a single graph. When you are working with a block, use the Page Reference command and connect other pages to the main page. It will remind you of mind mapping apps but a much-advanced version.

Sharing

Notion takes the lead when it comes to sharing. You can share an entire workspace with others and members can join and make changes. One can also add comments and ask the admin to make necessary edits to the Notion page. Roam Research works similarly and offers full control over what members added to the page can and cannot do but you need to go to the Settings to make changes.

Pricing

Notion is free for personal use. If you want to invite unlimited guests to a Notion page, consider upgrading to a Personal Pro plan at $4 per month. On the other hand, Roam Research doesn’t offer a free tier and you can get started with as low as $15 per month.

In conclusion, while the fundamentals are similar, Notion and Roam Research cater to different audiences. If you rely on databases and want to manage projects, Notion might be the ideal fit for you. If you spend most of your time on the desktop and enjoy Roam Research's way of connecting thoughts, you won’t be disappointed with Roam Research. The software does come with a 30-day free trial to get started.