How long does switching from Notion actually take?

An evening for most accounts. The export from Notion is the slow step - the import side runs in minutes once the field mapping is settled. Larger teams (50+ seats with custom field schemas) sometimes split it across two sessions: import first, reorganise the next day.

Will I lose data when I switch?

Nothing structural. The CSV/JSON export from Notion preserves the data: records, fields, history, and attachments come over intact. What doesn't transfer is anything tied to Notion-specific UI metadata (custom views, saved searches, in-app annotations) - those don't sit in the export, they sit in the source product's UI. Plan an evening to rebuild your most-used views once you're in.

What about my existing Notion subscription?

Run both side-by-side until you're confident, then cancel Notion from their side. We don't lock you in - export from Contact Book is one click in account settings, same as import.

Is the import path free?

The import button is open on every plan, including the free tier - we don't paywall the way out of a competitor. The data going in still has to fit your plan's per-type quotas (the free-tier caps are listed on /sales); paid plans raise those caps. If you're moving a large set, check the caps first or write to /support and we can advise.

Can I get help with the switch?

Yes. Write to /support - both founders see those threads directly. Reply within a working day. For the field-mapping itself we typically resolve things in one or two exchanges; if your dataset is unusually large or Notion's export shape is unfamiliar, we'll say so up front.

Contact Book

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Contact Book: the alternative to Notion

What moving from Notion to Contact Book actually looks like in 2026.

Switching

Personal CRM

Notion

Julia YukovichCo-Founder + CEO

·April 9, 2026·

1 min read

Contact Book is what people use when Notion stops fitting. Below is the honest side-by-side - same product surface, different posture: hosted in Germany, no third-party trackers, one honest price - plus the migration mechanics that decide whether the switch lands in an evening or in a quarter.

At a glance

A Notion CRM template is a great starting point. It's free, it's flexible, and it works for the first month. After that, three things tend to break: cadence reminders are flaky, life-event reminders rely on calendar tricks, and adding a custom field to a contact gradually fills the page with property pills nobody cleans up. Contact Book is the next step up - the same idea, but with the relationship-specific surface baked in.

Switching

What moving from Notion actually looks like

The switch goes in three rough phases: export from Notion, import into Contact Book, and reorganise what came over. Most people allocate an evening for it. The export side is where the time goes - Notion hands you a CSV/JSON dump and the field mapping isn't always obvious; once that's resolved the import is a couple of minutes. We don't paywall the import path or pretend it's a pro-only feature, and you can run both side-by-side while you decide.

Contact Book vs Notion: feature comparison

	Ours Contact Book	Theirs Notion
Custom fields per contact
Native cadence reminders
Life events with built-in reminders
Activity / conversation log		Manual
Live multi-tab updates
Mobile-first quick add		Slow
Free tier
Hosted in Germany
Build it yourself

When to pick which

Pick Contact Book when

You've already outgrown a Notion template once and don't want to do it again.

Cadence reminders need to actually fire on time.

You want the contact page to load in under a second on a phone.

Pick Notion when

Your CRM is one of fifteen things in your Notion workspace and you like having one tool.

You enjoy building your own database. The work is the point.

You only have ~30 contacts and never write more than a sentence per interaction.

Step by step

Export from Notion

Find the export option in Notion's account settings. Most tools provide a CSV or JSON download. Save the dump locally - that's the source of truth for the next step.

Account settings → Export / Download data

Pick the broadest format the tool offers (usually JSON)

Map fields in Contact Book

Open the import tool in Contact Book. Notion's field names rarely match Contact Book' 1:1; the import flags any unmapped columns so you can pair them up before anything commits.

Account settings → Import

Resolve the mapping prompts the tool surfaces

Run the import

Run the import. Contact Book shows a preview of the first parsed rows in the import dialog so you can sanity-check the column mapping + a sample of records before anything commits. If you're nervous about a large dump, import a small subset first, verify it landed the way you expected, then run the full file.

Re-create your views, tags, saved searches

Notion-specific UI metadata (custom views, saved filters, in-app annotations) doesn't transfer with the data export. Spend an evening rebuilding the views you used most - usually a 30-minute job once you've done it once.

Cancel Notion when you're confident

Run both side-by-side for a couple of weeks if you want to be sure. When you're confident, cancel the Notion subscription from their side. Contact Book keeps your export option self-serve in account settings - no lock-in either direction.

Switching from Notion

The five questions we get most often before someone moves their data over.

Start with Contact Book

Free plan, no credit card. We host in Germany. Export + delete are self-serve.

Written by

Julia Yukovich

Co-Founder + CEO

Julia is one of the Co-Founders. She handles design, product direction, and most of the support replies that arrive in the morning.

julia.yukovich at aicuflow dot comLinkedIn