Does Notion have duplicate detection?

Notion does not include a native, built-in duplicate detection feature for its databases or pages. Despite its robust database capabilities, the platform allows users to freely create new entries without any automated checks for uniqueness or duplicate fields. This absence of built-in duplicate management means you'll need to rely on manual approaches or creative workarounds to identify and manage duplicate content in your Notion workspace.

While this limitation might seem frustrating, you can implement several practical solutions to address duplicate detection. The most accessible approach involves using Notion's formula properties to create custom duplicate-checking logic. You can set up formulas that compare values across entries, generate counts of matching items, and mark duplicates with checkboxes or flags. This method requires creating a formula property that outputs true or false when an entry matches another, followed by additional formulas to count total occurrences and identify specific duplicates.

For more advanced users, Notion's API opens up automation possibilities through custom scripts in Python or JavaScript. These scripts can scan your databases for duplicates based on specific properties like titles or URLs. Third-party automation platforms like n8n or Make can also be configured to automatically find and archive duplicate entries based on your defined matching criteria. As one automation expert explains: "Notion doesn't have a built-in way to find or remove duplicates, so you either clean them up manually or just let them pile up. This workflow automatically finds entries that share the same property and archives the extra copies, keeping just one."

However, these solutions come with notable drawbacks. Formula-based detection requires manual setup for each database and may struggle with inconsistent data formatting or whitespace variations. API-based solutions can be slow since Notion doesn't support bulk operations, meaning each record must be processed individually. Additionally, automation workflows consume operational limits quickly when dealing with large datasets, potentially burning through usage quotas during testing or implementation.

The most practical approach combines prevention with periodic cleanup. Establish clear naming conventions and encourage team members to search existing entries before creating new ones. For ongoing maintenance, implement simple formula-based checks for critical databases where duplicates cause the most problems. While Notion's lack of native duplicate detection requires extra effort, these workarounds can effectively maintain clean, organized databases when applied consistently.