What is a number property in Notion?

A number property in Notion is a specialized database field that stores and processes purely numerical values, enabling calculations, formatting options, and data analysis that aren't possible with regular text fields. When you designate a column as a number property, Notion recognizes the data as actual numbers rather than text characters, which unlocks powerful features like mathematical operations, sorting by value, and visual formatting options. This distinction becomes crucial when you're managing quantitative data—storing numbers as text severely limits your ability to perform calculations or create meaningful visualizations. Understanding how number properties work can transform how you organize and analyze data in your Notion workspace.

Number properties offer several formatting variations to match your specific needs. You can display values as basic numbers, currency with symbols and decimal places, percentages, or even progress bars that provide visual representations of completion rates or goals. For instance, if you're tracking project budgets, you might format one column as currency for expenses and another as a progress bar to show spending against your total budget. These formatting options make your data more readable and help you quickly identify trends or outliers in your information.

The real power of number properties emerges when you start using them for calculations and analysis. Notion allows you to create formulas that reference number properties, enabling automatic calculations like totaling expenses, averaging scores, or computing remaining budget amounts. You can also apply aggregation functions at the bottom of database views to see sums, averages, or other statistical summaries across all your records. This makes number properties invaluable for expense tracking, inventory management, grade calculations, and project progress monitoring.

However, number properties do have limitations you should consider. They only accept numeric input—any attempt to enter text or mixed alphanumeric values will result in errors. While Notion's formula system is powerful, creating complex calculations can require a learning curve, especially for users without technical backgrounds. Additionally, if you need advanced data visualization like charts or graphs, you'll likely need to export your data to external tools since Notion's built-in visualization options are somewhat limited.

Setting up a number property is straightforward: simply add a new property to your database, select "Number" as the type, and choose your preferred formatting option. From there, you can enter values directly or use formulas to calculate them automatically. Whether you're managing personal finances, tracking team performance metrics, or organizing inventory data, number properties provide the foundation for turning raw numerical information into actionable insights within your Notion workspace.