Notion AI Credits: What's New, How They Work, and Alternatives (2026)
Notion AI credits now come in two kinds. On October 19, 2026, Notion said Business and Enterprise seats include 1,500 Standard credits and 500 Select credits each month. Standard credits cover work where Notion picks the model. Select credits cover work where you pick the model or run your own Custom Agents.
This guide covers what Notion announced and what was already there before. It explains how the new Notion AI credits work, what a typical task uses, and who moves over and when. The last sections cover limits and the main alternatives. Facts were read from Notion's blog, release notes, Help Center, and pricing page on October 21, 2026.
What Notion announced on October 19
Notion's post is titled "Agents, rebuilt to do more for less." Its summary reads: "Today we're announcing a faster, more efficient Notion AI—and a new credit system."
The release notes list six changes:
- More capable Notion Agents. The agent harness was rebuilt again.
- A smarter Auto. Notion's model router picks a model for each task.
- Bring your own AI. You can connect a ChatGPT plan to your personal Notion Agent.
- An improved Notion MCP. Outside agents can work with Notion pages.
- AI Command Center. This is listed as coming soon.
- A new credit system. All AI usage moves under one set of rules.
The blog explains why the credit system changed. It says "increasingly Notion Agent, Custom Agents, and many outside AI tools can all work in one place." So Notion is "bringing it all together."
Notion also makes a claim about cost. It says that across 20+ common use cases, Auto "delivered similar results to Opus 5.5 and Astra at about 90% lower average cost." Notion adds: "That means credits go about 10× further." That figure comes from Notion's own testing.
What was already there before
Notion AI agents were not new on October 19. The release page lists three earlier updates in the weeks before:
| Date | Release, per Notion |
|---|---|
| September 9, 2026 | Control which AI models your agents can use |
| September 15, 2026 | Notion 3.7: Agent skills for your whole team |
| October 13, 2026 | Notion 3.8: Context for your agents |
What changed on October 19 is mostly how usage is counted. Before, Custom Agents needed purchased credits to start. The blog now says "You also no longer need to buy credits to start building custom agents."
Agent run time also changed. The blog says Notion Agents "can now work on a single task for more than 24 hours, up from five minutes."
Our comparison of Powerdrill Bloom and Notion covers the wider product.
How the new Notion AI credits work
Notion's Help Center describes three balances. Two come with each seat, and one belongs to the workspace.
| Credit type | What it covers | Included each month |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Work where Notion picks the model, using Auto | 1,500 per member, no rollover |
| Select | Work where you pick a model, or a Custom Agent you set up | 500 per member, no rollover |
| Notion credits | Usage beyond those, high-consumption models, and workspace-funded agents | Bought by admins |
The rules between them are strict. The Help Center says "Standard and Select credits are separate. Using one doesn't affect the other." You cannot combine them or move them between people. Each resets monthly, and unused credits do not roll over.
When a balance runs out, work stops. The Help Center says "Once you use up all Standard or Select credits, impacted work will pause until your credits reset." An admin can let members continue on the workspace's Notion credits, but that setting is off by default.
The pricing page lists the price of those workspace credits. It says agents are "Free to try, then $10 per 1,000 monthly Notion credits." Plan prices on the same page were shown in Japanese yen from our location, so they are not listed here.
What a credit buys: reports, meeting notes, and plans
The most useful part of the update is a task table. Notion lists estimated credits per task, comparing Auto with choosing Opus 5.5 yourself.
| Task type | Examples, per Notion | Auto | Opus 5.5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | Polish an email, find decisions in meeting notes, translate a document | 5 | 50 |
| Medium | Track task progress, write a work report, summarize a one-hour meeting | 10 | 85 |
| Complex | Draft a performance review, refine a strategy document or quarterly plan | 25 | 150 |
These are Notion's estimates. The Help Center adds that "Credit use varies by scenario."
Read against 1,500 Standard credits, the numbers are easy to plan with. At 10 credits each, a member could write about 150 work reports a month on Auto. At 25 credits each, the same balance covers about 60 strategy documents.
Picking a model yourself changes the math. Those tasks move to Select credits, and the table shows a far higher cost per task. A member with 500 Select credits could run about three complex tasks on Opus 5.5.
Meeting notes are about to count too. The Help Center says AI Meeting Notes "will begin consuming monthly Standard credit allowance on December 1, 2026." It estimates "A one hour meeting is estimated to use ~10 Standard credits."
Auto, the model router behind the credits
Auto decides how far Notion AI credits go. The Help Center says it "reads each task and sends it to the model that best balances quality, speed, and cost."
It describes three behaviors:
- It matches the model to the task. Quick edits go to fast models, and complex work goes to more capable ones.
- It can switch mid-task. Auto can move to a stronger model for a hard step, then switch back.
- It follows workspace settings. It only uses models the workspace allows.
The blog states the routing rule plainly: "Longer, more difficult work, such as analysis or multi-step agent runs, is sent to more capable ones." It also says Auto re-routes when "a model is not making meaningful progress on your task."
You can still choose a model. In Notion Agent chat, you select Auto to open the model picker, then pick another model. That chat then draws on Select credits instead of Standard ones.
Rebuilt agents and outside AI
The blog calls the new harness the sixth generation. It lists four technical changes:
- Durable execution. Each session runs on a dedicated service, so tasks keep going through restarts.
- Computer and browser use. Agents can write short scripts and run them as code.
- Smarter context management. Long conversations are compacted, and large tool results are offloaded.
- Safer by default. A "Review for me" mode uses a separate model to check actions first.
The approvals page describes three settings: Always ask, Review for me, and Skip all approvals. Review for me is the default. It "asks when an action is potentially unsafe," such as deleting pages or sending email.
Notion also opened the door to AI you already pay for. The blog says you can use "your ChatGPT Plus, Pro, or Go accounts inside Notion." It works "in your personal Notion Agent to start, not Custom Agents." Bring Your Own Key is in alpha for Enterprise.
Who it affects and when
The dates matter more than usual, because they differ by workspace. Several Help Center pages repeat the same line:
- New workspaces. New Business and Enterprise workspaces "move to the new credit system starting October 19, 2026."
- Existing workspaces. The change takes effect on November 2, 2026.
- Older Custom Agents. Agents created before November 2 "will continue to draw from shared workspace credits."
- Meeting notes. AI Meeting Notes start drawing Standard credits on December 1, 2026.
Standard and Select Notion AI credits come with Business and Enterprise seats. The Help Center adds that "Your included amount may vary depending on your plan and purchase arrangement." To check yours, go to Settings, then Notion AI, then Usage.
Admins get more control soon. The blog says the AI Command Center will show "credit usage by member, feature, and agent." It will also let admins set spending limits and choose which models members can use.
Limits to know before you rely on it
A few limits come straight from Notion's own pages.
- Balances are personal. Notion AI credits cannot be pooled across the workspace or transferred.
- Nothing rolls over. Unused Standard and Select credits reset each month.
- Work pauses at zero. Affected features stop until the reset, unless an admin allows Notion credits.
- Shared agents bill the owner. A shared Custom Agent uses its owner's Select credits by default.
- Top models cost extra. High-consumption models such as Fable and Astra use Notion credits.
- Estimates are estimates. Notion says actual use varies with the task and its context.
The shared-agent rule deserves attention. One popular Custom Agent can drain one person's Select credits. The owner can set a spending cap, and an admin can fund the agent from workspace credits.
Notion AI credit alternatives
Other AI workspaces meter usage in different ways. The table lists four, with details read on October 21, 2026.
| Option | How usage is metered, per the vendor | Entry price |
|---|---|---|
| Claude | Plan-based usage limits; Max offers 5x or 20x Pro usage | Pro $20 billed monthly, or $17 per month billed annually |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Copilot inside Office apps, with advanced features on Premium | Personal $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year |
| ClickUp | AI plans with a monthly credit allowance; extra credits sold in packs | AI Super Credits at $10 per 10,000 credits |
| Powerdrill Bloom | Daily refreshed credits on every plan, plus monthly credits on paid plans | Free $0.00; Pro $199.00 per year |
Claude prices by plan rather than by task. Its pricing page says "Usage limits apply," and Max offers "5x or 20x more usage than Pro." A Team standard seat is $20 per seat per month billed annually, or $25 billed monthly.
Microsoft 365 Copilot puts AI inside Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Microsoft lists Premium at $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year, with advanced Copilot features.
ClickUp also uses credits. Its pricing page says "Every AI plan includes a monthly credit allowance," with extra AI Super Credits at $10 per 10,000.
For a wider list, see our roundup of Notion AI alternatives.
Where a reporting agent fits
Notion AI works best on content that already lives in Notion: pages, databases, and meeting notes. Some reports start elsewhere, in spreadsheets, PDFs, or a database export. For those, the hard part is the analysis behind each number.
That is the job Powerdrill Bloom is built for. Its homepage calls it "The AI data analyst that shows its work." It adds: "Every number comes back with the page, the row and the figure behind it."
Its AI report generator page covers turning data into written reports. Usage is also credit-based, but the allowance is simpler to read. The pricing page lists 1,000 daily refreshed credits on every plan. Pro is $199.00 per year and adds 5,000 monthly credits, and Plus is $399.00 per year with 11,000.
The two can sit side by side. Build the numbers in Powerdrill Bloom, then paste the findings into a Notion page for the team. To test it, try Powerdrill Bloom with one spreadsheet you report on every month.
Frequently asked questions
What are Notion AI credits?
Notion AI credits are the units Notion uses to meter AI work. Business and Enterprise seats include 1,500 Standard credits and 500 Select credits each month. Admins can also buy workspace-level Notion credits for usage beyond those balances.
What is the difference between Standard and Select credits?
Standard credits cover work where Notion's Auto router picks the model. Select credits cover work where you pick a model yourself, or a Custom Agent you set up. The two balances are separate, and using one does not affect the other.
When does the new Notion credit system start?
New Business and Enterprise workspaces moved to it starting October 19, 2026. For existing workspaces, it takes effect on November 2, 2026. AI Meeting Notes start using Standard credits on December 1, 2026.
How many credits does a Notion AI task use?
Notion estimates about 5 credits for a simple task, 10 for a medium one, and 25 for a complex one on Auto. Writing a work report is listed as medium. Choosing Opus 5.5 yourself raises the estimates to 50, 85, and 150.
Do unused Notion AI credits roll over?
No. Standard and Select credits reset monthly at the start of the billing cycle, and unused credits do not roll over. When a balance runs out, affected work pauses until the reset, unless an admin allows Notion credits.
Sources: Notion, Agents, rebuilt to do more for less · Notion releases, October 19, 2026 · Notion Help Center, Manage your AI credits · Notion Help Center, How AI credits work for Custom Agents · Notion Help Center, Auto · Notion Help Center, Choose how Notion Agent asks for your approval · Notion pricing · Claude pricing · Microsoft 365, Compare plans · ClickUp pricing. Details read from vendor pages on October 21, 2026.