Simplr vs Notion
Notion is an excellent wiki and a flexible workspace for documents and databases. Simplr is an agency operating system: clients, scope, creative approvals, time and invoices, connected and enforced.
01 / THE DIFFERENCE
Many agencies keep Notion for documentation. Simplr is where the client work moves from brief to invoice.
Simplr keeps every creative version and records who approved it, from creative director to account lead to client. In Notion, approvals are properties and comments you set up.
Notion lets you share pages with guests. Simplr gives clients a branded portal to approve versions, accept scope, send briefs and download files.
Simplr Plus includes resource planning, time approval, budgets and client invoicing. Notion doesn’t include these, so agencies build databases or add other tools.
02 / SIDE BY SIDE
What each tool offers an agency out of the box, and what you would need to add or build.
| Feature | Simplr | Notion |
|---|---|---|
| Clients and scope | ||
| Client records and account teams | Built in: Client records with an account lead, creative director and team, and a one-client view | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Databases you design, with linked pages |
| Briefs, scope and change requests | Built in: Versioned briefs and scope the client accepts; change requests record price and workload impact | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Excellent for writing briefs; scope acceptance and change control are up to you |
| Creative review and clients | ||
| Creative versions and approvals | Built in: Version history, pinned image comments and a creative director → account lead → client sign-off | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Approvals built with properties and comments |
| Client portal | Built in: Branded portal on every plan, free for clients: approve versions, send briefs, accept scope, download files | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Share pages with guests, unlimited on paid plans; no dedicated portal |
| Email and meetings | ||
| Meeting notes and actions | Built in: Recording bot for Meet, Zoom and Teams, calendar sync and Granola import (Plus); transcript upload on every plan | Built in: AI meeting notes with transcription and summaries on Business |
| Planning, time and budgets | ||
| Resource planning | Built in: Daily bookings by person against weekly availability (Plus) | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Timeline views over databases you design |
| Time tracking and approval | Built in: Timers, manual entries and time approval (Plus) | Not built in: Not built in; use a database or an integration |
| Project budgets | Built in: Planned hours, rate and fee per job, with planned against actual hours (Plus) | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Formulas in databases you configure |
| Billing | ||
| Client invoices | Built in: Numbered PDF invoices from approved time, milestones or retainers, with payments recorded (Plus) | Not built in: Not built in |
| Retainers | Built in: Retainer agreements invoiced monthly, quarterly or yearly (Plus) | Not built in: Not built in |
| Setup and price | ||
| Setup | Built in: An agency workflow from intake to delivery from the start, adjustable per client | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Templates, then databases and pages you design |
| Price | Essentials $20, Plus $50 per person / month, billed annually. Clients are always free. | Plus $10, Business $20 per member. Guests are unlimited on paid plans. |
Details about Notion come from its public pricing and help pages, checked on 6 October 2026, and prices are per person per month, billed annually, in USD. Plans change, so confirm current details with Notion. “(Plus)” marks Simplr features on the Plus plan.
03 / THE RIGHT FIT
04 / FAQ
No. Notion is excellent for knowledge, handbooks and notes. Many agencies keep it for that and run client work, approvals, time and invoices in Simplr.
Notion Business is $20 per member, against $20 for Simplr Essentials and $50 for Plus. Simplr adds a client portal, versioned scope with change requests and a recorded approval chain, and on Plus, resource planning, time approval, budgets and client invoicing.
There is no automatic Notion import yet. Most agencies start with their active clients and jobs, and our team helps you set them up during your walkthrough.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Bring a real brief, a client and an approval you’re chasing. We’ll walk through how it runs in Simplr.