How do I create a rollup property in Notion?

Creating a rollup property in Notion requires one essential prerequisite: you must already have a relation property connecting two databases. Think of rollups as powerful calculators that automatically summarize and aggregate data from your linked records—whether you're counting completed tasks, summing project hours, or finding average scores. Once you understand this fundamental relationship between relations and rollups, you'll unlock one of Notion's most valuable features for dynamic data analysis and automated reporting.

Start by establishing your relation property if you haven't already. Open your target database and click the "+ Add a property" button at the rightmost column. Select "Relation" from the menu and choose the database you want to connect to. This creates the bridge that your rollup will use to pull information. For example, you might connect a "Projects" database to a "Tasks" database to track project progress.

Next, add your rollup property by clicking "+ Add a property" again and selecting "Rollup" from the menu. The configuration dialog presents three crucial dropdowns: first, select your relation property from the "Relation" dropdown. Then choose which property from the related database you want to summarize in the "Property" dropdown—this could be status fields, numerical values, or dates. Finally, pick your calculation method from the "Calculate" dropdown, which offers options like Sum, Count, Average, Show Unique, Min, and Max.

The versatility of rollup calculations makes them incredibly practical for various workflows. You can count all related entries, calculate percentages of completed items, find earliest or latest dates, or sum numerical values like expenses or hours worked. Advanced users often appreciate that rollups update automatically as source data changes, eliminating manual calculations and ensuring accuracy across your workspace.

However, rollups do have limitations worth considering. They require that relation property foundation, so you can't create rollups between unconnected databases. The available calculation types, while comprehensive, don't include advanced statistical functions—though you can often achieve similar results using formulas. Additionally, rollups work best with moderate-sized databases, as very large datasets may experience slower update times. Despite these constraints, rollups remain one of Notion's most powerful tools for transforming raw data into meaningful insights across your connected workflows.