Cognition
Medium (~300)
Notion
Mid (~800)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Notion
Best for: Product-obsessed engineers who care deeply about craft and want to build tools that millions use daily
Ratings
CognitionNotion
3.8
4.4
Overall
3.2
4.2
Work-Life Balance
3.9
4.5
Culture & Values
3.8
4.4
Comp & Benefits
3.6
4.2
Senior Mgmt
3.6
4.2
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Scott Wu)
👍 88% Recommend
👤 92% CEO Approval (Ivan Zhao)
Culture Values
Cognition only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate
Notion only
🌱 Learning & Growth🪟 Transparent🌈 Diverse & Inclusive
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven💎 Strong Comp & Equity🎯 Direct Product Impact
Pros & Cons
Cognition
- Elite engineering team with strong equity
- Cutting-edge AI agent work
- High-intensity startup pace
- In-person SF expectations
Notion
- Incredible product culture — everyone uses Notion daily and cares deeply
- Transparent leadership with accessible founders and high trust
- Fast pace can lead to burnout, especially during product pushes
- Hybrid required (3 days in-office) — not truly remote-friendly
Bottom Line
Cognition
Choose Cognition if you want world-class AI agent research (makers of Devin) with strong equity upside — but expect top-tier intensity and mandatory in-person in San Francisco.
Notion
Strong product culture with a beloved CEO (96% approval) and genuine design sensibility — but hybrid-required and the pace can burn people out during product pushes.
Open Roles
Cognition — 62 jobs
💻 Engineering
21
💼 Sales / GTM
10
📊 Data
3
⚖️ Legal
2
⚙️ Operations
2
💰 Finance
1
👤 HR / People
1
📣 Marketing
1
🧠 ML / AI
1
Notion — 142 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
70
💻 Engineering
18
📣 Marketing
9
📊 Data
5
👤 HR / People
4
⚙️ Operations
4
📋 Product
4
🎧 Support
4
💰 Finance
3
🎨 Design
2
⚖️ Legal
1
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Notion scores 4.4/5.0 overall with a 4.2 WLB. That’s a 0.6-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Strong Comp & Equity, Direct Product Impact. Cognition also emphasizes Ship Fast & Iterate. Notion also emphasizes Learning & Growth, Transparent, Diverse & Inclusive.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Notion has 142 open roles.