Is Notion Worth It for 50 Employees? Cost Analysis [2025]

TL;DR: Is Notion Worth It for 50 Employees?

Short answer: Yes, but only on the Plus plan ($500/month).

For a 50-person team, Notion costs between $6,000-$9,000/year depending on the plan:

• Plus plan: $10/user/month = $500/month = $6,000/year ✅ Best value
• Business plan: $15/user/month = $750/month = $9,000/year (only if you need SSO)

The Business plan ($3,000/year more) only makes sense if your IT department requires SAML SSO or you need advanced admin controls. Most 50-person teams don't.

Bottom line: Start with Plus. You can always upgrade to Business later when IT asks for SSO.

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The Real Cost of Notion for 50 Employees

Let's cut through the marketing and look at actual numbers.

Monthly vs Annual Billing

Pro tip: Pay monthly for the first 3 months to make sure Notion works for your team. Then switch to annual billing for 17-20% savings.

Hidden Costs You Should Know

1. Notion AI add-on: $8-10/user/month = $400-500/month extra
   • Total with AI: $900-1,250/month
   • Skip this if you already have ChatGPT/Claude subscriptions
2. Guest overages: 100 guests included in Plus, 250 in Business
   • Additional guests: $4-8 per block
   • Agencies with many clients: Budget for this
3. Migration & setup: Expect 20-40 hours of setup time
   • At $50/hour: $1,000-2,000 one-time cost
   • Clone templates instead of building from scratch

Total First-Year Cost (Realistic)

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What Does a 50-Person Team Actually Get?

Plus Plan ($500/month) Includes:

• ✅ Unlimited pages and blocks for everyone
• ✅ Unlimited file uploads (crucial for sharing docs/images)
• ✅ 100 guest invites (for contractors, clients)
• ✅ 30-day version history
• ✅ Basic automations
• ✅ Integrations (Slack, GitHub, Figma, etc.)

Limitations:

• No SAML SSO (employees must use email/password)
• No advanced admin controls
• No audit logs
• 30-day version history (vs 90 days on Business)

Business Plan ($750/month) Adds:

• ✅ SAML SSO (single sign-on with Okta, Azure AD, etc.)
• ✅ Advanced admin controls
• ✅ Private teamspaces
• ✅ 250 guest invites
• ✅ 90-day version history
• ✅ Audit logs
• ✅ Bulk user management

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ROI Analysis: Does Notion Pay for Itself?

Tools Notion Replaces

For a typical 50-person company using separate tools:

Net ROI: Even with setup costs, you save $6,600+ in Year 1.

Time Savings

Based on our research of teams using Notion:

• Context switching reduced: 30 min/day per employee
• At 50 employees: 25 hours/day saved
• At $30/hour average: $750/day = $15,000/month in productivity

Even if this estimate is 80% optimistic, the time savings alone justify the cost.

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When Notion Does NOT Make Sense for 50 Employees

❌ Skip Notion If:

1. You need advanced project management
   • Notion's task boards are basic
   • No dependencies, Gantt charts, or resource allocation
   • Better choice: Asana ($10.99/user), Monday.com ($10/user)
2. You need real-time collaboration
   • Notion has cursor jumping issues with 3+ editors
   • Google Docs is still better for live co-editing
   • Better choice: Google Workspace ($12/user)
3. You have 10,000+ pages already
   • Notion's search slows down at scale
   • Performance degrades noticeably
   • Better choice: Confluence ($5.50/user) handles scale better
4. Your IT requires SOC 2 Type II today
   • Notion has Type I, Type II coming in 2025
   • Enterprise tier required for advanced compliance
   • Better choice: Confluence, Coda (if compliance is strict)
5. Your team hates setup
   • Notion requires 4-8 hours of initial configuration
   • Without structure, it becomes a mess
   • Better choice: Slite ($8/user) - simpler, faster to start

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How to Roll Out Notion to 50 Employees

Week 1-2: Pilot Team (5-10 people)

1. Sign up for Plus plan (monthly billing first)
2. Clone a startup template from Notion's gallery
3. Designate one "Notion Champion" to own workspace structure
4. Run pilot with one team for 2 weeks
5. Gather feedback, iterate on structure

Week 3-4: Department Rollout

1. Train team leads (1-hour session each)
2. Create team-specific templates
3. Migrate critical docs from old tools
4. Set clear conventions (naming, tagging, locations)

Month 2: Company-Wide

1. All 50 employees onboarded
2. Old tools deprecated (sunset Confluence, Trello, etc.)
3. Switch to annual billing for 17% savings
4. Review and optimize workspace structure

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Notion vs Alternatives for 50 Employees

Our recommendation: Notion wins for teams wanting ONE tool. If you only need wiki (Confluence), only need tasks (Monday.com), or only need docs (Google), specialized tools are cheaper.

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Real-World Example: 50-Person Startup Using Notion

Company profile: Series A startup, 50 employees across engineering, product, marketing, sales

Before Notion:

• Confluence for docs ($275/mo)
• Trello for tasks ($500/mo)
• Google Docs for specs (free but scattered)
• Airtable for CRM ($200/mo)
• Total: $975/month

After Notion:

• Notion Plus for everything ($500/mo)
• Savings: $475/month = $5,700/year

Results after 6 months:

• 40% less tool-switching
• New hire onboarding: 3 days → 1 day
• Meeting prep time: 20 min → 5 min (everything in one place)

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Final Verdict: Is Notion Worth $6,000/year for 50 Employees?

Our Recommendation

Start with Notion Plus at $500/month. Give it 3 months. If it sticks, switch to annual billing and save $1,200/year. Only upgrade to Business when IT asks for SSO.

For a 50-person team, Notion typically pays for itself within 3 months through tool consolidation and time savings.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Data verified December 2025 using Notion's official pricing page. Prices may change - always verify at notion.so/pricing.

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