Lore & LilacComparison · reviewed October 2026
Lore & Lilac vs Notion
Notion is a blank, flexible workspace; Lore & Lilac is a studio shaped around one job, writing and revising a novel. Plenty of writers are happy building their own system in Notion. Here's what each does well.
About Notion
What Notion is good at
Notion is a workspace of pages and databases. You can build linked databases for characters, places and chapters, relate them to one another, start from templates and share the workspace with other people. Notion AI can generate and edit text inside your pages. Many writers use Notion as the home for everything, from research and notes to schedules, not only the book.
The short version
Which one fits you?
Choose Notion if…
- You enjoy designing your own system and want it to fit exactly the way you think.
- You want one workspace for the book, your research, your admin and your life.
- You collaborate with others in a shared workspace in real time.
- You want an AI that can draft or rewrite text for you; Notion AI does, and we don't.
Choose Lore & Lilac if…
- You'd rather not build and maintain the structure yourself: chapters and scenes, a story bible and planning views are ready on day one.
- You want @-names in the manuscript linked to story-bible entries, and details that cite the passage they came from.
- You want an optional continuity scan and cited questions that read your actual manuscript.
- You want writing-specific tools: stats, goals and sprints, beta-reader links and book export.
- You want a studio that never writes prose for you.
Feature by feature
Side by side
| Capability | Notion | Lore & Lilac |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | General workspace of pages and databases | Studio built for novels |
| Structure | Whatever you design | Chapters and scenes, built in |
| Character and world records | Databases with relations you set up | Story bible with aliases, relationships, truth scopes |
| Records tied to the text | Manual links | @-names; details cite their passage |
| Filtered tables | Database views you set up | Saved views of records, scenes and details |
| Real-time collaboration | Yes | No; co-authors share one book and work scene by scene |
| AI | Notion AI can generate text | Optional per book; never writes prose |
| Templates | Yes, for many uses | Beat sheets; novels only |
| Continuity checking | Not advertised | Optional AI scan; checks without AI |
| Writing stats and goals | Not advertised | Stats, goals, streaks with rest days, sprints |
| Book export | Not advertised as a book formatter | DOCX, EPUB, PDF via browser print, 10 themes |
| Price | Free plan and paid plans | Free plan (1 book); $12 or $24 a month, or $120 or $240 a year; one-time reading packs from $5 |
“Not advertised” means we couldn't find it on their public pages; it may still exist. Reviewed October 2026.
Fair is fair
Where Notion is ahead
- Flexibility. Notion can be shaped into almost anything. Our studio is opinionated and novels-only.
- One home for everything. Notion holds the book alongside research, admin and the rest of your life. We hold the book and its world.
- Real-time collaboration. Notion workspaces are shared and edited together. Our co-authoring shares one book at a time and works scene by scene, not keystroke by keystroke.
- AI that writes. If you want AI drafting help, Notion AI can generate text. We deliberately never do.
- A free plan. Notion has one, and so do we, but ours covers one active book with no co-authors, and AI reading needs a reading pack or a plan.
- Templates. Notion has templates for many kinds of project; ours are for novels only.
You don't have to choose
Using both
Keep Notion as your wider workspace and write the book here.
Leave your research, reading lists and life admin in Notion.
Write and revise the manuscript in Lore & Lilac, with the story bible beside it.
Copy the character and world notes you rely on into the story bible; merge duplicates with a preview if you end up with two entries for one person.
Link to your Notion pages from story-bible notes when you need the deeper research.
Cost
What each one costs
Notion
Free plan and paid plans; see Notion's site for current prices and which plans include Notion AI.
Lore & Lilac
Free $0 with no end date (1 active book, 100 MB, the full writing workspace, story bible, planning, export and checks without AI; no monthly AI allowance). Every new account starts with a guided trial, free for 14 days with no card (1 book, about 6 million words of AI reading once the email is verified). Core $12/month or $120/year (5 active books, 500 MB, about 900,000 words of AI reading a month). Studio $24/month or $240/year (20 active books, 2 GB, about 2.4 million words a month). One-time reading packs on any plan, Free included: about 420,000 words for $5, about 1.2 million for $12 or about 4.2 million for $29, each lasting 12 months and used after the monthly allowance. Billed via Gumroad; yearly plans still get their AI allowance month by month; cancel any time; no lifetime plan.
We haven't listed Notion's prices; check their site for current plans. When AI reading runs out, nothing is spent and everything else keeps working; a one-time reading pack or a plan adds more. On Free, your books stay readable, editable and exportable. Details on our pricing page.
Before you start
Questions about Notion
Can I import my Notion workspace?
Not directly. We import manuscripts: Word, RTF, EPUB, Markdown, plain text or a zipped Scrivener project. Story-bible entries are added in the studio, or proposed with their source passages by an optional story scan for you to accept.
Is Lore & Lilac a good fit for non-fiction or other projects?
No, it's built for novels. If you need one tool for many kinds of project, Notion is the more flexible choice.
Why doesn't Lore & Lilac write for me like Notion AI?
Because we think the prose should be yours. The studio never writes, suggests or rewrites prose. Its AI features, off until you allow them for each book, help you check and question your own text.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Notion (official site) (opens in a new tab) accessed October 2026
Product names belong to their owners. This page isn't affiliated with or endorsed by them.
Other comparisons
See for yourself, on your own draft
Import your draft from Word, Scrivener, RTF, EPUB or Markdown, or start on a blank page. The 14-day trial needs no card, and your book is exportable from the first word.