Head-to-head · Note-taking & Wikis
Notion vs Outline
Which one to pick in 2026 — comparing 🇺🇸 Notion with the European alternative 🇪🇺 Outline on the things that actually decide who can read your data.
🇺🇸 Notionvs🇪🇺 Outline
Verdict
Who has stronger privacy guarantees by law?
Outline — GDPR-native and outside the US CLOUD Act / FISA 702 reach.
Which one encrypts your data end-to-end by default?
Neither ships full E2E by default — check the table for nuance.
Which one tracks you for ads?
Neither monetises through ad tracking.
Which one is open source?
Outline is open source. Notion is proprietary.
Side-by-side
Notion vs Outline — full comparison
Criteria
🇪🇺 Outline
🇺🇸 Notion
Headquarters
London, UK
San Francisco, CA, USA
Jurisdiction
UK (UK GDPR)
USA (CLOUD Act, FISA 702)
Data location
Self-hosted (EU) or cloud (US-based hosting — self-host recommended)
Global, US-controlled (AWS)
GDPR-native
Yes
No
CLOUD Act / FISA exposed
No
Yes
Ad tracking
No
No
End-to-end encryption
No
No
Open source
Yes
No
Ownership
General Outline Inc. (private)
Notion Labs Inc. (private, US VC-backed)
Founded
2017
2016
Make the switch
Try Outline instead of Notion
Beautiful open-source team wiki — self-host in the EU or use the cloud.
Other European alternatives to Notion