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KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT · MIGRATION GUIDE

Switching from Microsoft OneNote to Notion

OneNote is not in Notion’s import list, and Microsoft has deprecated OneNote’s notebook import. Pages move as PDF exports or by copy and paste, then get rebuilt as Notion pages and databases.

Quick verdict: Move to Notion when your team needs structure OneNote does not have: databases with properties and views, linked pages, templates and a wiki people can search.

Estimate · your inputs

Switching Cost & Friction Estimator

Most buyers only budget for the new subscription. This estimates the hidden labor, data-cleanup, and retraining cost of actually making the switch.

25,000
10

Estimate assumes: 1 hour of data-mapping/cleaning labor per 2,000 records, a blended $75/hr ops rate, tiered migration & cleaning tooling fees, and 4 hours of retraining per seat at a $45/hr fully-loaded rate.

Estimated Migration Time —
Data Friction Rating —
Total Hidden Switching Cost $0

    Why teams move from Microsoft OneNote to Notion

    Databases and views

    Turn lists into databases with properties, filters and board, table or calendar views.

    Team wiki

    Linked pages and templates make a structured knowledge base.

    Imports from other tools

    Notion imports Evernote, Confluence, Trello, Asana, Monday.com, Google Docs, Word and more.

    How the migration actually works

    There is no direct path. Microsoft’s own guidance is to reuse OneNote pages by exporting them as PDF; Notion imports PDF, Word, Markdown and HTML files.

    StepWhat you do
    1Pick what to moveMost teams move active notebooks only and keep the rest in OneNote as an archive.
    2Export pages or sections as PDFUse OneNote’s export to PDF for anything you want to keep as a record.
    3Copy living notes by handFor notes you will keep editing, copy the text into Notion pages so it becomes editable blocks.
    4Build the structureRecreate notebooks as top-level pages and sections as sub-pages or a database.
    5Turn lists into databasesMeeting notes, projects and contacts work better as Notion databases with properties.
    6Invite the teamNotion Plus is $10 per member per month billed annually.

    What this path doesn’t do for you:

    Handwriting and ink, free-form page layout, OneNote tags and audio recordings do not convert into Notion blocks. PDFs import as documents, not editable text.

    Pricing side by side

    PlanMicrosoft OneNoteNotion
    Free planFree appFree plan; collaboration features gated
    Entry paid planIncluded in Microsoft 365 Business Basic $7/user/mo (annual)Plus $10/member/mo (annual), $12 monthly
    Next tierBusiness Standard $14/user/mo (annual)Business $20/member/mo (annual)
    StructureNotebooks, sections, free-form pagesPages, blocks, databases
    OfflineCached copy on every versionNot covered on pages checked

    Prices checked on each vendor’s own pricing page on September 24, 2026.

    Feature parity check

    CapabilityMicrosoft OneNoteNotion
    StructureFree-form pagesBlocks and databases
    Ink and drawingYesNot a core feature
    OfflineCached copy on every versionNot covered on pages checked
    DatabasesNoYes
    PriceFree / in Microsoft 365$10/member/mo (annual)
    Verified data

    Security & access: what changes when you switch

    Security, offline and access rules that differ between Microsoft OneNote and Notion. Rows where both tools are the same (7) are left out; the full side-by-side is on each tool’s page: Microsoft OneNote, Notion.

    What changesMicrosoft OneNote (today)Notion (after)
    Other certificationsISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018sourceISO/IEC 27701, ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018source
    HIPAA (BAA)BAA availablesourceBAA availableEnterprisesource
    Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC)YessourceYesBusinesssource
    SCIM user provisioningNot publishedYesEnterprisesource
    Admin audit logYessourceYesEnterprisesource
    Data residency choicesAustralia, AT, Brazil, Canada, CL, DK, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, IT, Japan, MY, MX, NZ, NO, PL, QA, South Africa, South Korea, ES, SE, Switzerland, TW, UAE, UKAdvanced Data Residency (add-on)sourceUS, EU, Japan, South KoreaEnterprisesource
    EncryptionBitLocker disk encryption plus per-file AES-256 encryption at rest (OneDrive/SharePoint); SSL/TLS in transitsourceAES-256 at rest; TLS 1.2+ in transitsource
    Offline limits—Pages must be marked Available offline per device; automatic download of recent and favorited pages only on Business and Enterprise; databases download the first 50 rowsBusiness (auto-download)source
    IP allowlistingYesMicrosoft 365 Business Premium (or Entra ID P1)sourceNot published
    Device & session controlsYesMicrosoft 365 Business Premium (or Entra ID P1)Entra Conditional Access can require MFA, compliant or hybrid-joined devices, approved client apps or app protection policies; SharePoint/OneDrive can block unmanaged devices or limit them to browser-only access with no download, print or sync.sourceNot published
    Editorial assessment

    Before you cut over

    • Set up single sign-on in Notion on Business before you invite the team, so accounts are created through your identity provider rather than by hand.
    • If you restrict Microsoft OneNote to office or VPN IP addresses today, check how you will enforce the same rule in Notion; we found no IP allowlisting documented.

    Checked September 24, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site; it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Can Notion import OneNote?

    No. OneNote is not in Notion’s import sources. Export pages as PDF or copy and paste the content.

    Will my handwritten notes come across?

    Only as part of a PDF export; ink does not become editable Notion text.

    What will Notion cost?

    Plus is $10 per member per month billed annually ($12 monthly); Business is $20 ($24 monthly).

    Sources

    Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

    Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

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    About the author

    Bill Belcamino

    Founder and author, HelpCompare

    Engineer by training, operator by experience, marketer by choice. Bill spent nine years as an engineer at HP, was COO of Auctiva (the number one third-party selling platform on eBay, past 200,000 users) and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. Then he spent 13 years building his own web properties with his own money at stake. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

    “I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

    Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 24, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.