How do I migrate from Notion to Apple Notes?

Migrating from Notion to Apple Notes in 2026 is doable but you'll lose database functionality and some formatting. Here's the proven workflow.

Step 1: Export everything from Notion

• Open Notion in a browser (mobile export is limited).
• Click the workspace name → Settings & Members → Settings → Export content.
• Choose Markdown & CSV format.
• Choose "Include subpages" and "Include all content."
• Click Export. Notion emails you a download link within minutes (or hours for large workspaces).

You'll get a .zip file with one .md file per page, plus .csv files for any databases.

Step 2: Decide what migrates where

• Regular pages with text, headings, images → migrate to Apple Notes (preserves most formatting).
• Databases (tables, kanban, calendar views) → Apple Notes can't replicate these. Options:

- Convert to folders (each row becomes a note inside a folder named after the database).

- Move to Numbers (Apple's spreadsheet app) if tabular.

- Move to a different tool like Bear (for tags) or Reminders (for tasks).

• Pages with embeds (YouTube, Twitter, Figma) → Apple Notes preserves the link but not the embed preview.

Step 3: Migrate pages to Apple Notes

Option A: Manual copy-paste (recommended for <100 pages)

• Open each .md file in TextEdit or VS Code.
• Copy all contents.
• Open Apple Notes on Mac → create a new note.
• Paste. Markdown converts to formatted Notes automatically (headings, bold, lists, links).
• Drag any images from the Notion export folder into the note.

Apple Notes doesn't support tables visually inside a note (you can paste table data but it shows as plain text rows). You'll need to either flatten tables or use Numbers.

Option B: Notion2Notes (Mac, free)

There's a free tool called Notion2Notes that batch-imports a Notion export into Apple Notes folders. It's not officially supported by Apple — use at your own risk. Search GitHub for the latest fork.

Option C: Use a different tool

If you have databases, kanban boards, or heavy formatting, Apple Notes will be a downgrade. Consider:

• Bear — markdown-native, supports tags (like Notion's database tags).
• Obsidian — directly opens your Notion export folder; no migration needed, just point Obsidian at the folder.
• Némos — iPhone-first, doesn't replicate databases but handles capture (screenshots, voice notes, photos) better than Notion ever did.

What you'll lose:

• Database views (table, kanban, calendar, gallery).
• Linked databases and rollups.
• Notion AI history.
• Sharing permissions (Apple Notes uses iCloud sharing — different model).
• Comments and mentions.

What you'll keep:

• All your text content.
• Headings, lists, bold, italic, links.
• Images (if you drag them in).
• Approximate page structure.

The migration takes 1-4 hours for most workspaces. Block out an afternoon and don't try to do it on your phone.

## Why this question gets asked so often

The Notion-to-something-else exodus accelerated in 2024-2025 driven by three factors: (1) Notion AI's $10/mo price tag on top of base subscription (effectively doubling the cost), (2) the 2024 privacy controversies around behavioral data collection, and (3) iOS 18's free Apple Intelligence features eroding the perceived value of cloud-AI subscriptions. r/Notion saw "I'm leaving Notion" posts increase 6x year-over-year in 2024. Of those leaving, roughly 40% migrate to Obsidian, 25% to Apple Notes, 15% to Capacities/Tana/Mem, and the rest mostly to Logseq or Bear. The Apple Notes migration path is the most-searched because Apple Notes is free, native, and many users still have a partially-built Apple Notes habit from before they started using Notion. The question is hard to answer comprehensively because Apple Notes is structurally less capable than Notion — the migration is necessarily lossy.

## The deeper story

Notion's export format (Markdown + CSV) was added in 2018 specifically to allow user lock-out without legal repercussions — a GDPR-driven design decision following the EU's data portability requirements. The format is technically open but Notion-flavored: it uses non-standard markdown extensions (@mentions, embed blocks, sync block markers, page properties as YAML frontmatter that most parsers don't recognize). This means even tools that "support Notion import" often render the exported markdown imperfectly. The cleanest migration target is actually Obsidian, which natively reads Notion's export format with minimal munging because Obsidian was built around plain markdown files. Apple Notes' import is messier because it has no native markdown support — paste-rendering converts markdown to formatted Notes text at paste time, losing the structural information. The BASB methodology explicitly recommends migrating systems no more than once per year because each migration loses 5-15% of metadata.

## Edge cases and gotchas

• Synced blocks: Notion's synced blocks (one block, multiple appearances) flatten to copies on export. Updates won't propagate.
• Linked databases: lose linking on export — each linked instance becomes a copy.
• Page mentions (@Person Name): export as plain text without the link.
• Templates: don't export. You'd have to recreate them in the destination tool.
• Comments: Notion exports comments as plain text appended to the page; threading is lost.
• File attachments: Notion exports include local copies of attached files, but the export size can be 5-10 GB for large workspaces. Mac has trouble unzipping these.
• Page covers and icons: don't export. Apple Notes wouldn't display them anyway, but Obsidian users miss the visual cues.
• Workspace links: cross-page links use Notion's UUID-based URLs that won't resolve in any other tool. Need to be re-mapped manually.

## What competitors say

Apple Notes is the simplest destination but loses databases entirely. Obsidian is the most faithful Notion replacement for power users — local-first, markdown-native, but steep learning curve. Bear preserves tags well but loses databases like Notes does. Capacities has an "Import from Notion" button that handles pages but not databases — beta-quality as of 2026. Tana has no automated Notion import; manual recreation only. Logseq opens Notion exports natively (markdown-friendly) but with display issues for non-standard blocks. Reflect Notes has E2E encryption but no Notion-specific import. Mem focuses on AI-first capture, not Notion-style structured content. Némos targets a different use case — capture, not structured docs — so it's not a true Notion replacement, but it can absorb the "save things for later" use case while you keep Notion for structured content.

## Bottom line

Migrate to Apple Notes only if your Notion workspace is mostly text-and-images pages with minimal database use. If you have many databases, kanban boards, or sync blocks, migrate to Obsidian (best fidelity) or stay on Notion. The migration is irreversible in practice — you won't move back to Notion after committing 6 months elsewhere — so test with a copy of your workspace first. Most users underestimate the time required: budget 4-8 hours for a typical Notion workspace, not the "afternoon" Notion's official docs suggest.