Who this is for: founding teams of two to fifty people who want one shared record of what they decided, why, and what would change their minds. Skip it if you already keep decisions somewhere and actually read them; the tool matters far less than the habit.
In short: None of these is truly append-only. Every one lets someone edit an old entry. What matters is how long the tool keeps history, whether you can get everything out in an open format, and whether it is easy enough that the weekly habit survives. A shared document and a 30-minute weekly review beat a perfect database nobody opens.
Key points
- Notion ranks first, but page history is 7 days on Free, 30 on Plus, 90 on Business and unlimited only on Enterprise.
- Slite has version history on all plans and shows every change and who made it.
- Obsidian is best on ownership: every decision is a Markdown file on your machine.
- Coda is left out: rebranded as Superhuman Docs, prices up 10 to 50%, direction uncertain.
- Never edit an old entry; add a new one that supersedes it and link the two.
How we ranked
| Criterion | Weight | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Version history | 30% | You need to see what an entry said when the decision was made, not after someone tidied it. |
| Open export | 25% | The record should outlive the tool. |
| Ease of the weekly habit | 25% | The ledger only works if people write in it within the hour. |
| AI drafting and price | 20% | Drafting entries from calls and memos makes capture cheap. |
The list
1. Notion
- Best for: teams that want a database of decisions with views by owner, date and status, plus AI drafting.
- Why it ranks first: flexible enough to hold a proper decision record (decision, reason, falsifier, review date, outcome) and easy enough that people use it. Custom agents launched in February 2026 can draft entries.
- Watch out for: page history is 7 days on Free, 30 on Plus, 90 on Business and unlimited only on Enterprise, so an edited entry can lose its original wording. Agents now run on paid credits.
- Pricing: free; Plus $10; Business $20 per user a month; Enterprise custom.
- What would change its rank: longer history on cheaper tiers, or a locking feature for past entries.
2. Slite
- Best for: teams that want version history on every tier and a clear record of who changed what.
- Why it ranks here: version history on all plans, a 2026 update that shows every change and who made it, a rebuilt document history in October, SOC 2 Type II, and an MCP server.
- Watch out for: a smaller vendor, and less flexible than a database.
- Pricing: Basic $10; Pro $20 per user a month billed annually; Enterprise custom.
- What would change its rank: structured fields for falsifiers and review dates.
3. Airtable
- Best for: teams that want a strict, structured ledger with required fields and linked records.
- Why it ranks here: the most rigorous structure: every decision as a row, with required fields, links to evidence, and views for review dates. You pay only for editors.
- Watch out for: expensive for what a small team needs, and we could not confirm revision history by tier on its pricing page.
- Pricing: free; Team $20; Business $45 per user a month billed annually.
- What would change its rank: clearer history guarantees.
4. Obsidian
- Best for: founders who want plain files they own outright.
- Why it ranks here: the best answer on ownership: every decision is a Markdown file on your machine, readable by anything, forever. Paid sync keeps one or twelve months of version history.
- Watch out for: weak team permissions and no built-in AI, so it suits two founders better than twenty people.
- Pricing: app free; optional commercial licence $50 per user a year; Sync $4 or $8 a month.
- What would change its rank: better team sharing.
5. Tana
- Best for: founders who think in outlines and want an AI meeting agent feeding the ledger.
- Why it ranks here: an outliner with structure and an AI meeting agent, so decisions can flow from calls into records.
- Watch out for: a steep learning curve, and SOC 2 is listed only for the business tier.
- Pricing: free; Pro $20 a month billed annually ($30 monthly); Business custom.
- What would change its rank: an easier start for new team members.
Left out, and why
- Google Docs. The simplest option and often the right one for two founders. Not ranked because it has no structure, but a single shared document with a weekly review is a perfectly good ledger.
- Coda. Now rebranded as Superhuman Docs, with list prices up by 10–50% depending on plan and billing, and its direction uncertain.
- Linear, Confluence and Attio. An issue tracker, a heavyweight wiki and a CRM: each can hold decisions, none is built for it.
A template that works in any of them
- Date and decision, in one line.
- Why, in one or two sentences.
- What was rejected.
- What would prove it wrong, and when to check.
- Who disagreed, and what they predicted.
- Outcome, filled in on the check date.
Never edit an old entry. Add a new one that supersedes it, and link the two.
Common questions
What is the best tool for keeping a startup decision log?
Notion ranks first for flexibility and AI drafting, followed by Slite, Airtable, Obsidian and Tana. The habit matters more than the tool, and a shared Google Doc with a weekly review is a perfectly good ledger for two founders.
How long does Notion keep page history?
7 days on Free, 30 on Plus, 90 on Business and unlimited only on Enterprise, so an edited entry can lose its original wording. Prices were checked 17 Oct 2026.
What should a decision log entry include?
The date and decision in one line, why, what was rejected, what would prove it wrong and when to check, who disagreed and what they predicted, and the outcome on the check date.
Disclosure: lowob has no commercial relationship with any vendor on this list. Prices checked 17 Oct 2026.