How to Back Up Notion Automatically (and Restore It)

Notion is where a lot of teams keep the things nobody wants to rebuild: the wiki, the project tracker, the CRM that now runs sales. It’s also easy to break. Someone deletes a parent page, an integration rewrites a database property, or an AI agent “cleans up” more than it should.

Notion’s trash, version history and manual export help. But they have plan-based time windows, the export has to be run by hand, and none of it gives you a scheduled copy outside Notion that you can put back into a workspace.

Quick answer: If you want scheduled off-site backups that you can restore back into Notion with databases, relations and files intact, SimpleBackups has the most complete documented restore of the tools we looked at. Notion backup starts on its Lite plan at $49/month, with backups stored in your own S3-compatible storage or its managed storage. If you need one cheap subscription that covers Notion plus other apps, ProBackup starts at $25/month billed annually, but its Notion restore is limited to pages and comments. For a low-cost Notion-only option, Notion Backups starts at $6/month.

What Notion can do natively

Notion has four built-in safety nets. Here’s what each one does, in Notion’s own words.

Manual export (Markdown & CSV, HTML, PDF)

You can export any page, or a whole workspace, from the ••• menu or from Settings. Formats differ in what they keep:

“Any non-database Notion page can be exported as a Markdown file. Full page databases will be exports as a CSV file, with Markdown files for each subpage.”

— Export your content

PDF export with subpages is limited to Business and Enterprise plans, and Notion says whole-workspace PDF export “is going away” (Back up your data). HTML is the one format that can include comments. The workspace export also has gaps:

“Pages that the exporter doesn’t have access to, such as private pages of other users, will not be included in the export.”

— Export your content

“When exporting a database, you can only choose between the current view and the default view. Exporting all views at once isn’t supported.”

— Export your content

And the one that matters most for restores:

“You can’t instantly recreate your workspace by reuploading your exported workspace content.”

— Export your content

The download link “will expire after 7 days,” and large exports “can take up to 30 hours to process.”

No scheduled export

Notion answers this one directly in its FAQ:

“Is there a way to schedule automatic backups? Not at the moment, but we’re continuing to update our API, which may help to enable automatic backups in the future through integrations”

— Back up your data

The one exception is an admin API export that Notion describes as “in beta on the Enterprise Plan.”

Version history

Notion keeps past versions of each page, for a window that depends on your plan:

“You can view and restore past versions of any Notion page going back: 7 days if you’re on a Free Plan. 30 days if you’re on a Plus Plan. 90 days if you’re on a Business Plan. Any number of days if you’re on an Enterprise Plan.”

— Delete & restore content

It works one page at a time, and Notion notes it “won’t capture every single change.”

Trash

“By default, pages will remain in Trash for 30 days before they are permanently deleted from Trash.”

— Delete & restore content

Enterprise owners can change this. Notion support can also “restore a snapshot of your content in the past 30 days” on request.

What’s missing from the native options

• No automatic off-site copy. Trash and history live inside Notion, and the export is manual.
• Short windows on lower plans. On Free, version history covers 7 days. If nobody notices a bad edit within that window, it’s gone from history.
• Exports aren’t restorable as a workspace. You get files: databases become CSVs with one view each, and re-importing won’t rebuild relations and views.
• Private pages are skipped. A workspace export only includes what the exporter can see.

Notion backup tools compared

Prices and plan limits checked against each vendor's pricing page in October 2026. Plans change, so confirm on the linked pages before you buy.

All prices and limits come from each vendor’s pricing page. Check the linked pages before you buy.

SimpleBackups

What it is

SimpleBackups backs up servers, databases and SaaS apps, including Notion, GitHub and Linear. Backups go to storage you choose rather than staying on the vendor’s servers.

How it works with Notion

You connect Notion through its API and pick the pages and databases SimpleBackups can access. Its Notion documentation says it “backs up all resources it has access to unless you exclude them.” You then set a schedule and a storage destination. Per the Notion backup page, storage can be “your own S3 bucket, SFTP server, Backblaze B2, Cloudflare R2, Hetzner Storage Box, or SimpleStorage,” and retention is the number of runs you choose to keep.

Comments, files and the member list are optional and off by default. File backup has a 5 GB per-file limit.

Restore

This is where SimpleBackups stands out. Restores go into a destination page you create, and never overwrite live content. According to its docs:

• Pages, databases and blocks are recreated under the destination page.
• Formulas and rollups are recreated and recompute against the restored database.
• Relations are relinked “when the related database is part of the same backup or still present in the destination workspace.”
• Files are re-uploaded if they were captured at backup time.
• You can preview a backup read-only before restoring anything.

The docs are just as clear about limits. Comments, people and created/edited metadata are not recreated, and database views come back “by name and layout type only; filters, sorts, and grouping are not preserved.” Live AI blocks can’t be captured.

Strengths

• The most complete documented Notion restore here, including relations and formulas.
• Backups sit in storage you own and stay accessible if you cancel.
• Hourly backups on the Plus plan ($99/month).

Limits

• Notion isn’t included on the free Basic plan. Lite ($49/month) includes 5 Notion workspaces, and extra workspaces are $10/month each.
• Comments and files are off by default, so you need to turn them on.
• New root-level pages must be shared with the integration before they’re backed up.

Who it’s for

Teams running real databases in Notion (projects, CRM, content calendars) who need a restore that keeps relations intact.

ProBackup

What it is

ProBackup is a SaaS backup service covering 20+ apps, including Notion, Airtable, Trello, monday.com and GitHub. One license covers every app you connect, and pricing is based on storage, not seats.

How it works with Notion

You connect Notion and choose which pages ProBackup can access. Per its help center, it backs up pages and subpages, databases and their records, columns, comments and files. Backups run once a day automatically. Scope is managed from Notion’s own Connections settings, and changes “apply from the next backup cycle” (guide).

Restore

ProBackup’s Notion restore article says a restored page is created as a duplicate under a new page called “ProBackupRestore.” It also lists what can’t be restored:

“Due to API constraints, certain block types cannot be restored, including: Databases, Images, Files”

Comments can be restored as duplicates. ProBackup’s Notion product page advertises “granular restore of pages, databases & records,” which doesn’t match the help article, so confirm with ProBackup before relying on database restores.

Strengths

• $25/month billed annually covers Notion plus your other tools.
• Daily backups with no schedule to set up.

Limits

• Databases, images and files can’t be restored into Notion, per its help center.
• Plus keeps 6 months of history. Two years needs Pro ($38/month annual).

Who it’s for

Teams that want Notion pages backed up alongside Airtable or Trello on one bill, and can rebuild databases by hand if needed. See our Airtable and Trello backup guides.

Notion Backups

Notion Backups is a Notion-only service that saves backups to your own Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2 or SFTP. Per its pricing section, Lite costs $6/month (weekly backups, one workspace), Starter $11/month (daily, weekly or monthly backups, unlimited workspaces, comments, restore to the same workspace) and Pro $28/month (team accounts, restore to any workspace or the workspace root, read-only access option). Yearly billing is $59, $99 and $279.

Restores never overwrite existing pages. Its FAQ says restores include “Pages, databases, supported blocks, unresolved comments and externally-hosted media files,” adds that “A complete restore is not possible due to Notion’s API limitations,” and Lite doesn’t list restore. It’s a good fit for individuals and small teams on a budget.

BackupLABS

BackupLABS backs up Notion workspaces, databases, blocks and attachments daily (twice a day on Pro), with a 14-day trial. But it does not restore into Notion. Its Notion page says: “We do not offer restoration for Notion. At present the Notion API does not allow restorations.” You download a zip of Markdown, PDF and JSON files instead. Fine as an archive, weak for getting a workspace back.

How to choose

• You need to restore databases with relations intact: SimpleBackups.
• You want backups in your own cloud storage: SimpleBackups (S3-compatible, SFTP) or Notion Backups (Google Drive, Dropbox, S3).
• You also need Airtable, Trello or GitHub backups and want one bill: ProBackup, knowing its Notion restore covers pages, not databases.
• You’re on a tight budget: Notion Backups Starter ($11/month).
• You only need a compliance archive, not restores: BackupLABS or a scheduled native export.
• You’re on Notion’s Free or Plus plan: Version history only covers 7 or 30 days, so an external backup matters more for you.
• You have a developer and want $0 software cost: An API script (see below).

Keep using Notion’s trash and version history for quick fixes either way.

How to set up automatic Notion backups with SimpleBackups

These steps follow SimpleBackups’ Notion documentation. The interface may have changed since.

1. Create an account. Sign up at SimpleBackups and start a trial on a plan that includes Notion (Lite or above).
2. Create a restore destination page first. In Notion, create a top-level page such as “SimpleBackups Restores.” Restores need it, because “Notion does not allow integrations to write at the workspace root.”
3. Add the Notion connection. In the SimpleBackups dashboard, click the Notion tile under Quick Access, then Add. Name the connection and select the pages and databases to include. Include the destination page from step 2.
4. Turn on files and comments. Both are off by default. Enable file backup if pages hold uploads you’d miss.
5. Set schedule, storage and retention. Pick an interval, a storage destination (your own bucket or SimpleStorage), and how many runs to keep.
6. Run it once. Click Run Now on the backup summary page, then check the log’s Content tab for skipped items.
7. Share new top-level pages with the integration. New root-level pages aren’t picked up automatically. Use the page’s ••• menu, then Connections, then add SimpleBackups.
8. Test a restore. Go to Recovery > Restores, pick a run, choose your destination page and click Restore Workspace. Check a database with relations and a page with files.

The free DIY option: a Notion API script

If you can write some code, Notion’s public API is enough for a scheduled backup:

• Create an internal integration and share your top-level pages with it. Notion’s authorization docs say “the page must be manually shared with the connection” before an integration can read it.
• Use the search endpoint to list pages and databases, fetch block children recursively, and query each database. Save JSON, which keeps property types and relation IDs that CSV loses.
• Download Notion-hosted files right away; their API URLs are temporary.
• Run it daily from cron or GitHub Actions. Stay within the rate limits: 180 requests per minute on most plans, 600 on Business and Enterprise.

Avoid scripts that use your browser’s token_v2 cookie to trigger Notion’s internal export; they break when Notion changes it. One popular project, jckleiner/notion-backup, is now archived as “Not maintained anymore.”

The hard part of DIY is restore: rebuilding databases and relations from JSON is exactly what the paid tools do for you.

FAQ

Does Notion back up my workspace automatically?

Notion backs up its own servers, and support can restore a snapshot from the past 30 days. But Notion says there isn’t a way to schedule automatic backups you control.

Can I restore a Notion workspace from an export?

Not directly. Notion says you “can’t instantly recreate your workspace by reuploading your exported workspace content.” Imported files won’t bring back relations and views as they were.

How long does Notion keep page history and deleted pages?

Version history covers 7 days on Free, 30 on Plus, 90 on Business and unlimited on Enterprise. Deleted pages stay in trash for 30 days by default. Enterprise owners can change trash settings.

Do Notion backup tools back up private pages?

Only pages shared with the tool’s integration, including new top-level pages. Notion Backups says its Pro plan can back up each user’s private pages.

Can backup tools restore everything exactly as it was?

No. Even SimpleBackups, the most complete restore here, doesn’t recreate comments, view filters and sorts, or original timestamps. Test a restore before you need one.

How often should I back up Notion?

Daily is a sensible default; busy shared databases may justify hourly. Keep some runs older than your plan’s version history window.

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