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Milestones vs Notion

A focused native Apple project planner vs the everything-app document and database tool. They aim at very different problems — here's how to choose.

Download on the App Store Free · Works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Notion is a flexible document and database tool. You can build a project tracker, a CRM, a wiki, a journal, a habit tracker — anything — out of pages, blocks, and linked databases. The flexibility is the product.

Milestones is the opposite: an opinionated project planner with a fixed structure (Project → Milestone → Task), native to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. There's nothing to configure, no templates to choose, no databases to design. Open it, add a project, plan your milestones, ship.

If you love designing your own systems, Notion is one of the most expressive tools ever built. If you'd rather skip the system-building and just plan the work, Milestones is faster to live in.

Feature comparison

Milestones vs Notion

  • Platforms

    Milestones

    iOS, iPadOS, macOS — all native SwiftUI

    Notion

    Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS (Electron)

  • Planning model

    Milestones

    Fixed: Project → Milestone → Task

    Notion

    Open: pages, blocks, databases — design your own

  • Setup time

    Milestones

    Open the app and plan

    Notion

    Pick or build a template, configure databases

  • Account required

    Milestones

    No account, no signup

    Notion

    Notion account required

  • Sync

    Milestones

    Private iCloud sync (your iCloud)

    Notion

    Notion cloud servers

  • Offline

    Milestones

    Local-first; full offline editing

    Notion

    Limited offline editing of recently visited pages

  • Performance

    Milestones

    Native SwiftUI — instant launch, instant typing

    Notion

    Web/Electron — slower cold starts, occasional lag

  • Smart lists

    Milestones

    Today, Upcoming, Inbox out of the box

    Notion

    Build your own filtered database views

  • Notes / docs

    Milestones

    Short task descriptions only, improvements planned

    Notion

    Full-featured rich-text editor with embeds

  • Team collaboration

    Milestones

    Planned

    Notion

    Real-time multi-user editing

  • AI features

    Milestones

    None today

    Notion

    Notion AI (writing, summarising)

  • Pricing

    Milestones

    Free; optional Pro upgrade

    Notion

    Free personal + paid Plus / Business / Enterprise

Pick Milestones if

  • You want a planner, not a writing tool.
  • You want to spend zero time configuring before you can plan something.
  • You're tired of Notion's web-app feel and want something that opens instantly on iPhone.
  • You care that your project data stays in your own iCloud, not on a third-party server.
  • You want milestones with deadlines, not 'a database of milestones with a date property'.

Pick Notion if

  • Your project lives inside a long document — research, a thesis, a wiki, a knowledge base.
  • You collaborate with a team in real time, and shared editable pages are the core need.
  • You enjoy designing your own systems and want full database flexibility (linked tables, formulas, relations).
  • You need rich embeds — Figma frames, Loom videos, code blocks — alongside your tasks.
  • You want one tool for notes, docs, planning, and more, even at the cost of focus.

Bottom line

Notion is a writing-and-database tool that can be shaped into a project planner. Milestones is a project planner. If you've spent more time configuring your Notion workspace than working on your projects, Milestones is the antidote. If your work genuinely centers on long documents and collaborative pages, stay in Notion.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can I import my Notion projects into Milestones?

Not directly. Notion's databases are too flexible to import 1:1 — every workspace is shaped differently. Most switchers use the move to simplify: pick the projects you actually still care about, recreate the milestones in a few minutes, and leave the rest in Notion as an archive.

Does Milestones support rich notes or embeds?

No. Tasks have a title and a short description. That's deliberate — keeping descriptions short means you'll actually read them when planning. If you want pages with images, Loom embeds, and code blocks, you want Notion (or Apple Notes alongside Milestones).

How does the speed difference feel in practice?

Notion has improved a lot, but it's still a web app wrapped in Electron on desktop. Milestones is pure SwiftUI: launches in under a second, reacts instantly when you type, and never loses a card to a sync delay. On iPhone the gap is most noticeable.

I use Notion for everything — should I really replace it?

Probably not all of it. The honest answer is: keep Notion for docs and shared pages, use Milestones for the planning. Most people get the best of both.

What about Notion AI — can Milestones do that?

No, Milestones doesn't ship AI features today. If LLM-assisted writing is core to your workflow, Notion has the advantage.

Stop configuring. Start planning.

Free, native, private. No account, no template gallery.

Download on the App Store

Free · No account required · Private iCloud sync