Databases help you structure information in Notion in a variety of ways — letting you organize, categorize, label, filter, search, view, and utilize it to get jobs done. Below is a walkthrough of how Notion databases work and how to build your own 🏗

Database basics

There are three things that distinguish Notion databases from spreadsheets and databases you can build with other software:

• Customizable properties Add properties to contextualize, label and augment any database item with more information, like dates, people, text, links, etc. More on properties here →

For each item in this database, properties show its status, type, who it was created by and when.

• Multiple views you can toggle between Your data isn't stuck in a table. View the exact same database as a board, list, calendar, gallery, and timeline — whatever makes the information most useful. More on views here →

• Every item is its own editable page This one is unique to Notion. Every item you enter into your database can be opened as its own Notion page, where you can layer in any information you want. More on this here →

Create a database

There are several ways to create a database inside Notion:

• Create a new page in your workspace, then choose what type of database you want from the grayscale menu on that empty page.
• Create a database page inside an existing page by typing / followed by the type of database you want (i.e. table, board, etc.). Choose the full-page version.
• Create a database in-line on your page by typing / followed by the type of database you want. Choose the in-line version.

Full page vs. in-line databases