How to Create Analytics From Any Notion Database

    Updated: May 28, 2026

    You don't need to use one of our pre-built templates to get analytics from Notion. NotionStats works with any Notion database, whether you're tracking books you've read, leads in a CRM, project tasks, or something completely custom. This guide walks you through connecting an existing database and building charts, calendars, and milestones manually.

    When to use your own database instead of a template #

    Our templates are pre-shaped Notion databases tuned for specific workflows: Finance, Habits, Fitness, Subscriptions, and Trading. They make life easier because every chart preset already knows where to look for dates, amounts, and categories.

    You should use your own database when:

    • You already have a Notion database with months or years of data you don't want to migrate.
    • Your use case doesn't match one of the built-in templates (for example: a reading log, CRM, content calendar, mood tracker, or sales pipeline).
    • You want full control over property names and types.

    The key requirement: your Notion database needs at least one date property or one number/select property NotionStats can group by. Everything else is flexible.

    Step 1: Create a workspace and choose Other #

    On the dashboard, click Add workspace (or use Add new → Workspace). In the Create workspace dialog, give it a name that describes what it tracks.

    Under What do you use this workspace for?, select Other ("Set your own axes and build custom charts"). Other skips the template presets and gives you full manual control in the chart editor.

    If you haven't connected Notion yet, the button reads Create and link and sends you to Notion in the next step. If you're already connected, it reads Create workspace, and you can tick Also link this workspace to another Notion page to share more pages.

    On first use, Create and link redirects you to Notion, where you choose which pages and databases NotionStats can read. Tick the page (or databases) you want to analyze, then click Allow access. See the share your database with the integration FAQ for a detailed walkthrough.

    To share more pages later, open the workspace's menu, choose Edit, and click Update Notion connection. If Notion ever reports the connection as revoked or cancelled, a banner on the dashboard offers Reconnect.

    Each workspace also has a primary database on its workspace page. If your Notion share contains the database you want, you can pick it there so new charts, calendars, and milestones start on it.

    Step 3: Create a chart and choose your database #

    Click Add new → Chart (or Add chart on the Charts page, or from the workspace page). In the Create chart dialog, pick the workspace and the Notion database you want to visualize, then click Continue.

    If the database dropdown is empty, see Why are there no options when I try to select a Notion database?.

    Step 4: Configure the chart in the editor #

    The chart editor opens with a live preview next to the settings panel. Because this is an Other workspace there are no template presets, so you configure everything under Settings:

    • Chart Type: choose from the types available for your data, such as bar, line, area, horizontal bar, pie, doughnut, or half-donut.
    • Chart colors: set the chart color or palette.
    • Name: a descriptive name (e.g. "Books read per month").
    • Label: the label shown for the values.
    • x-axis: a date, checkbox, select/status, or title property. Dates give you a time series, select properties give you a category breakdown, and titles group by row name.
    • Group by: for date x-axes, group by Day, Week, Month, Year, or day of week.
    • y-axis: a number property, or count the rows. When you've chosen a number, the Count toggle switches to counting rows instead of summing.
    • Cumulative: turn this on for a running total over time, with an optional Starting Value.
    • Filters: click Add filter to restrict which rows are used. Conditions combine with AND.

    The preview updates as you change settings. To point the chart at a different database, use the Notion Database picker at the top of the panel.

    Step 5: Save and embed the chart back into Notion #

    A new chart is created when you click Save chart in the top bar. After that, the chart saves automatically: the top bar shows "Saving…" and then "All changes saved", and clicking Charts takes you back to the list. If it shows "Couldn't save", click Try again.

    To embed it in Notion:

    1. In the editor, click Copy embed link.
    2. Open the Notion page where you want the chart and type /embed.
    3. Paste the link and press Enter, then resize as needed.

    The chart pulls fresh data from Notion every time the page loads. Read the embed guide for details and theme support.

    Troubleshooting #

    You're not limited to charts #

    The same approach works for calendars (any database with a date column) and milestones (any database with a number column). Read the calendar guide and milestone guide for those.

    Want to learn more about which Notion property types work best with analytics? Read How to Structure Notion Database Properties for Better Analytics.