Notion is a popular pick for people who want a CRM without paying for one. It is flexible and well loved. The trade-off is that a Notion CRM is something you build, fill in, and maintain by hand. Orbit is a finished CRM with one AI assistant, Hiro, that can do the busywork for you, and a free plan for up to 250 contacts.
Notion is an all-in-one workspace for notes, docs, wikis, and databases. With a template or a weekend of setup, you can turn a Notion database into a lightweight contact tracker, complete with custom properties, views, and relations. If you already live in Notion and want everything in one place, that appeal is real.
The catch is that Notion does not know it is a CRM. It will not draft a follow-up, write an invoice, or tell you who has gone quiet. Every contact, every last-contacted date, and every task is something you enter and keep up to date by hand. The system is only ever as current as your discipline.
| Orbit | Notion | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose-built for relationships | A blank workspace you configure | |
| One AI assistant (Hiro) that drafts and does the busywork | ||
| Built-in email inbox on the timeline | 100/mo free | |
| Invoices, proposals, and booking pages included | ||
| Reconnect and follow-up reminders | Only if you build them | |
| Setup required | Sign in and go | You design and maintain it |
| Deal pipeline | 1 free, unlimited on paid plans | Do-it-yourself database |
| Save contacts from LinkedIn in one click | Paid plans | |
| Free plan | $0, up to 250 contacts | Free tier, manual setup |
Orbit is for the person who does not want a project, they want their business handled in one place. Contacts, tasks, a calendar, notes, a built-in email inbox, invoices, proposals, and booking pages all live together. On top sits Hiro, one AI assistant you open with Cmd or Ctrl-J. Ask it to create a contact, draft a follow-up, write an invoice, or build a page, and it does the busywork. Nothing sends on its own, so every draft waits for you to approve, edit, or dismiss.
Hiro runs on free monthly AI credits, so there is no API key to paste and nothing to configure. If you are new to the idea, the plain-English guide to what a personal CRM is walks through how this fits the way you already work, and how to stay in touch without it feeling forced shows the simple system you can run in Orbit.
Keep Notion for your notes and docs. Let Orbit hold the relationships, so the one thing that fades when you get busy is the one thing your AI assistant helps take care of.
Yes. Notion databases can be configured into a basic CRM with contact records, properties, and views. It works best for people who enjoy building and maintaining their own system. It has no AI assistant to draft follow-ups or write invoices, so every update is manual.
A Notion template gives you an empty structure you fill in by hand. Orbit is a finished CRM with one AI assistant, Hiro, that can create contacts, draft follow-ups, write invoices, and build pages, all approval-gated, plus a built-in email inbox, a pipeline, tasks, and notes. The free plan covers up to 250 contacts.
Yes. The free plan is $0 forever with no credit card and covers up to 250 contacts, one pipeline, unlimited tasks, a calendar, notes, a built-in email inbox (100 sends a month), 10 invoices, 10 proposals, and one booking page. Lite is $8 a month and lifts the caps. Notion does not sync to email at all.
Orbit, for most people. Staying in touch depends on being reminded at the right moment, which requires the tool to know when you last spoke to someone and to nudge you. Notion cannot do that on its own, while Orbit tracks it and Hiro can surface and draft the outreach.
Contacts, email, invoices, and one AI assistant in one place. Free for up to 250 contacts, no credit card.
Free forever plan. No credit card. No spam.