Comparison
ScratchBoard vs Notion
All-in-one workspace for docs, databases, and collaboration
TL;DR
Notion excels at docs and knowledge management. ScratchBoard is purpose-built for running business operations. If you need CRM, inventory, HR, or accounting — with real workflows and customer portals — ScratchBoard delivers what Notion was never designed to do.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Notion | ScratchBoard |
|---|---|---|
| AI App Builder | Notion AI (writing & search) | AI agent builds complete apps |
| Business App Templates | Database templates | Ready-to-use business app templates |
| Customer Portals with Checkout | Notion Sites (read-only) | Interactive portals with Stripe checkout |
| Workflow Automation | Basic automations | 20+ action types, approvals, AI actions |
| Field-Level Permissions | Per-field, per-role access | |
| Dynamic Entity Engine | Databases (limit ~5K–10K rows) | 24 field types, scales with no ceiling |
| Vector Search / Semantic AI | Notion AI search | Built-in vector search across records |
| Pricing Model | Free–$18/user/mo | Affordable plans available |
Where ScratchBoard wins
- Purpose-built for transactional business apps, not documents
- AI agent builds complete applications — not just AI writing assistance
- Customer portals where users can submit data, make payments, and interact
- 20+ workflow action types with multi-step approvals and Stripe actions
- Handles large datasets without the performance ceiling
Notion's strengths
- Beautiful documents with embedded databases and rich media
- Notion AI for writing, summarizing, and searching content
- Notion Sites for publishing read-only content
- Real-time collaboration with comments and mentions
When to choose Notion
Choose Notion if you only need documents, wikis, and basic databases for knowledge management and team collaboration.
When to choose ScratchBoard
Choose ScratchBoard if you need to run business operations — CRM, inventory, HR, accounting — with real workflows, portals, and marketplace apps.
Ready to try ScratchBoard?
Start with our $1/month Basic plan and see for yourself how ScratchBoard compares.