Notion vs. Knack: Picking the Right Tool for Your Digital Infrastructure

Introduction

In the knowledge worker era, a streamlined workflow isn't just a benefit; it's a necessity. As organizations evolve, the once-reliable set of spreadsheets and folders’ become a labyrinth of chaos, leaving many wondering how they can get on top of it all.

Enter Notion and Knack, two powerful tools standing at the ready to rescue your data from the abyss of disorganization! But which tool holds the key for your unique needs? Lucky for you, we use both, so let's dive in and discover the capabilities and edges of each platform to guide your choice.

Understanding Notion

Designed as an all-encompassing but blank workspace, Notion is super versatile, enabling teams to meld diverse types of information into a cohesive unit.

With its strength in storing projects, tasks, resources, meeting notes, and even those invaluable half-formed ideas, Notion is a playground for free-form creativity. The ease with which you can adapt and merge data from various sheets, documents, and folders makes it a prime candidate for those juggling more “casual” data needs.

However, my experience with Notion has led me to see one key area of weakness which is much better addressed by Knack.

It’s Achilles' heel lies in its laissez-fare approach to logic enforcement - Sounds complicated but all I mean is that it’s quite hard to limit editing of data to certain roles. This is much better done in Knack.

Essentially it falls short in areas requiring strict user permissions. ie. A user can see and edit some things but not others. This lack of restrictive controls can turn a well-meaning digital ecosytem into a wilderness where crucial data might roam too free for comfort!

Now, I’m sure there are plenty of Notion experts out there who would argue this point. They’ve managed to make Notion do EVERYTHING. Check out video tours of their workspaces and you (or at least, I!) may be overwhelmed with the complexity. Yes, they’ve hacked it with all kinds of complex formula’s andnested pages and tables but it may have been better to stick to what it’s good at.

Picture a toolbox in your shed, does it have EVERY tool you’ll ever need in it…? Probably not. I’m pretty sure you won’t fit a dropsaw in there… 😂

So, the gist… use Notion for what it’s good at. It is an amazing toolbox when used effectively.

The Power of Knack

Knack excels in creating order from complexity, making it the maestro of data management!

Knack shines brightest when crafting a relational database with user-specific interfaces, ensuring that people can easily access and edit the data they need without messing with the rest.

Picture this scenario: a list of students, teachers, and classrooms. A teacher logs in and can directly edit only the names of students in their class. In Knack, such selective interaction is not just possible; it's a fortified feature! And not only teachers but students and administrators. They can all log in and edit data that is relevant to them but not mess with data that isn’t.

For the demo scenario above, you can create your own web app for all those people, relatively quickly without needing a whole dev team!

I’ve mentioned it before and will say it here too. What I call “Two way forms” is one of Knack’s super skills!

Instead of collecting data with an online form tool like Google forms or Typeform that you have to plug in to an automation tool to send somewhere else, Knack does it all in one place.

You can setup a form to create a new teacher.

You can setup another form for that teacher to login and fill in the gaps in their information (rather than have to type in their name, email etc which you already know!).

Basically the amount of forms that are integrated right within your database are limitless and easily access existing information.

Yet, for all its regimented brilliance, Knack is not the realm for freeform data musing. Unlike Notion, it favours structure over spontaneity, making it ideal for mission-critical applications where accidental mouse clicks can't be allowed to rewrite crucial information!

Choosing Between the Two

When the question of order versus creativity arises, the choice between Notion and Knack depends on your needs.

Notion caters to those who thrive in an adaptable and visually rich environment, perfect for teams whose data is fluid and creativity paramount.

Conversely, Knack asserts itself as the guardian of structured, relational data where roles and permissions are key, and where data is updated using forms, best suited for organizations where precision and control over data are crucial to operations.

Or, if you’re like us, use the two in tandem! We manage all our free form project information in Notion and link to the relevant mission critical project data in Knack. Each tool excelling at what it does best.

Your decision hinges on the nature of your work: embrace Notion for its free-form prowess, wield Knack for its logical fortitude or a hybrid of both!