Around
Notion Calendar
| Feature | Around | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10.99/mo | Free only |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | remote-teams, quick-standups, pair-programming, distributed-teams | notion-users, freelancers, knowledge-workers, startup-teams |
| Founded | 2020 | 2021 |
| Floating Video | ✓ | ✗ |
| Auto Leveling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Noise Cancellation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Screen Sharing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reactions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Virtual Backgrounds | ✓ | ✗ |
| Time Blocking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Availability Sharing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Notion Integration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Calendar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Scheduling Links | ✗ | ✓ |
| Keyboard Shortcuts | ✗ | ✓ |
| Menu Bar Widget | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Around Pros
- Lightweight and fast
- Minimal floating interface
- Good noise cancellation
- Reduces meeting fatigue
✗ Around Cons
- Limited features vs Zoom
- Smaller user base
- No recording on free
✓ Notion Calendar Pros
- Beautiful native app with fast performance
- Deep integration with Notion databases and pages
- Availability sharing without back-and-forth emails
- Multi-calendar view across Google and Notion calendars
- Free for all users
✗ Notion Calendar Cons
- Requires Notion account for full functionality
- No Microsoft 365 calendar support yet
- Mobile app less feature-rich than desktop
The Verdict
Around is built for remote teams and quick standups, with a focus on floating-video and auto-leveling. Notion Calendar targets notion users and freelancers and leads with time-blocking and availability-sharing.
Notion Calendar uses custom enterprise pricing, while Around starts at $10.99/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Notion Calendar offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Around takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.