Comparison · from each project's own repo and docs, checked 15 October 2026
Open source Confluence alternatives you can self-host
If you want to own your wiki rather than rent it per user, there are six open source wikis you can run on your own server, plus Outline, which you can self-host under a source-available license. Here's how they compare on license, getting your Confluence content in, editing, permissions and single sign-on, with every fact taken from the project's own repository or documentation.
Tablewide is an independent service. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of the projects below. We host one of them, Docmost, so we have an interest; we've kept to what each project publishes about itself.
The alternatives at a glance
| Wiki | License | Confluence import, per the project's own docs | Editor | Permissions | Single sign-on in the free edition | Hosted by its makers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docmost | AGPL-3.0 core; enterprise features under a separate commercial license | Yes, from a space's HTML export, in the paid Business and Enterprise editions | Visual editor with a slash menu and Markdown shortcuts | Per space; per page in the paid editions | No: SAML, OIDC and LDAP are in the paid editions | Its docs mention a cloud version; its pricing page lists self-managed editions |
| BookStack | MIT | No: "We don't yet have an automated way to migrate your content directly from Confluence" | Visual editor, or Markdown with live preview | Down to a single page | Yes: OIDC, SAML 2.0 and LDAP | No, and it doesn't intend to |
| Wiki.js | AGPL-3.0 | None found on js.wiki or in its repo | Markdown, a visual editor, or raw HTML | By group, with rules on page paths | Yes: LDAP, SAML, OIDC and more | None found |
| XWiki | LGPL-2.1 | Yes, from a Confluence XML export: a free importer from the XWiki contrib project, or the paid Confluence Migrator Pro | Visual editor, or XWiki syntax | Down to a single page | Through free LDAP and OpenID Connect extensions | Yes, XWiki Cloud |
| DokuWiki | GPL-2.0 | None found in the core | Wiki markup with a toolbar | Access lists on namespaces and pages | LDAP and Active Directory plugins included | None found |
| MediaWiki | GPL-2.0 or later | None found in the core; a third-party extension in beta reads from Confluence's API | Wikitext, plus the bundled VisualEditor | Wiki-wide groups; not designed for per-page read limits | Through extensions (OIDC, SAML, LDAP) | None found |
| Outline (source-available) | Business Source License 1.1, not an open source license | Yes, from a space's HTML export, in the Cloud, Business and Enterprise editions per its docs | Visual editor with Markdown support and slash commands | Per collection, and per document by sharing | OIDC, Google and others; SAML is paid | Yes, Outline's cloud |
Sources, from each project: Docmost repo and license note, editions, import and cloud FAQ. BookStack license, Confluence page, permissions and FAQ. Wiki.js license and js.wiki. XWiki license, Confluence importer, Confluence Migrator Pro, pricing and cloud. DokuWiki repo and license. MediaWiki license, access limits and the Confluence extension. Outline license, Confluence import and pricing. "None found" means we didn't find it in the project's own pages; a third-party tool may exist. We haven't tested the other projects' importers.
Open source or source-available?
Six of these wikis use licenses approved by the Open Source Initiative: MIT (BookStack), LGPL-2.1 (XWiki), GPL-2.0 (DokuWiki and MediaWiki) and AGPL-3.0 (Docmost's core and Wiki.js). You can run, change and share them, under each license's conditions.
Outline is different. Its Business Source License 1.1 lets you use it, but not for a "Document Service", which it defines as "a commercial offering that allows third parties (other than your employees and contractors) to access the functionality of the Licensed Work by creating teams and documents controlled by such third parties." Each release converts to the Apache 2.0 license on its Change Date, or four years after that version was first published if that's sooner; for Outline 1.11.0, the Change Date is 12 October 2030. Self-hosting it for your own team is the common case, but read the license for yours.
Docmost is open core. Its core is AGPL-3.0, while the code for its Business and Enterprise features sits in separate directories under Docmost's own enterprise license, which needs a paid license key.
Each one in brief
Docmost
In our view, the closest in feel to Confluence Cloud: spaces, a page tree, live co-editing and a slash-menu editor. Docmost, Inc. develops it, and it's still on version numbers below 1.0 (v0.96.0, 8 September 2026). The free edition covers the core wiki. Docmost's pricing page lists its Confluence importer, page-level permissions and single sign-on (SAML, OIDC and LDAP) under the paid Business and Enterprise editions. See Docmost vs Confluence for a feature-by-feature look.
BookStack
A wiki organised like a library: shelves, books, chapters and pages. It's MIT-licensed, led and mainly maintained by its creator, Dan Brown, and its code now lives on Codeberg. Sign-in through OIDC, SAML 2.0 and LDAP is built in, with no paid edition. BookStack's own site says it has no automated Confluence migration yet, though its REST API can automate parts of a move. Its FAQ says it doesn't offer official hosting and doesn't intend to. We compare running it yourself with a host in hosted vs self-hosted BookStack.
Wiki.js
A wiki from Requarks.io with a choice of Markdown, visual or HTML editing, and a long list of sign-in options (LDAP, SAML, OpenID Connect, Azure AD, Okta and more). The stable release is 2.5 (2.5.315, 21 September 2026). Version 3 is in beta, and its README says it is "NOT FOR PRODUCTION USE". We found no Confluence importer on its site or in its repo.
XWiki
A wiki with page-level rights and sub-wikis, developed by the company XWiki SAS and its community. It has two Confluence routes, both reading a Confluence XML export: a free importer from the XWiki contrib project (LGPL-2.1), and the paid Confluence Migrator Pro, which XWiki's pricing page includes, as part of its Confluence migration toolkit, in the Business and Enterprise plans. XWiki SAS also runs XWiki Cloud.
DokuWiki
A lightweight wiki maintained by Andreas Gohr and the DokuWiki community. Editing is wiki markup with a toolbar, and access lists control who can read or edit each namespace or page. LDAP and Active Directory sign-in plugins ship with it. We found no Confluence importer in the core.
MediaWiki
The software behind Wikipedia, with wikitext editing and the bundled VisualEditor. It suits open, read-by-everyone wikis: its own manual says it "was not designed to support per-page or partial-page access restrictions". We found no Confluence importer in the core. A third-party extension, PandocUltimateConverter, is marked beta and fetches a Confluence space through Confluence's REST API.
Outline (source-available)
A team knowledge base from General Outline, Inc., organised into collections, with per-document sharing. It has no built-in email-and-password sign-in, so a self-hosted Outline needs a sign-in provider such as Google, Microsoft, Slack or any OIDC provider; SAML is in the paid editions. Its Confluence importer takes a space's HTML export and, per its docs, is only in the Cloud, Business and Enterprise editions (its pricing page lists the self-hosted importer under Enterprise, so check with Outline); its docs say comments, macros and authorship don't come across.
What self-hosting takes
The software is free; running it is work. Whichever wiki you pick, someone on your team owns:
- Updates. Applying new releases, and security fixes promptly, including for the database and operating system underneath.
- Backups. Copying the database and uploaded files somewhere else on a schedule, and testing that a restore works.
- Email. Most wikis send invitations and notifications, which needs a mail service set up to send from your domain.
- Sign-in. Connecting your company's accounts. Check which sign-in methods are in the free edition: for Docmost they're paid, and for Outline SAML is.
- HTTPS and the server. A domain, a certificate, and a server sized for your team.
If you'd rather not, XWiki and Outline offer hosting from their makers, Docmost's docs mention a cloud version, and independent hosts run several of these wikis. For Docmost, we compare the options in Docmost hosting.
Getting your Confluence content in
Most routes start from a Confluence export. Docmost and Outline read a space's HTML export, and XWiki's importers read an XML export; our export guide shows how to make either. Each importer's docs list what doesn't come across (Outline's, for example, names macros and comments). In our own imports, comments, page history and permissions don't come across. So check a few important pages in the new wiki before you switch. Keep your Confluence site and a full backup until you've checked the new copy. If you're on Data Center, our Data Center alternatives page covers the end-of-life deadline, and Confluence alternatives compares hosted products too.
Where Tablewide fits
We host one of these, Docmost's free open source edition, for your whole company at one flat price with unlimited users: $49, $99 or $199 a month depending on storage. We handle updates and backups, and move your Confluence spaces in at no extra charge when you subscribe, using our own converter rather than Docmost's paid importer, on a best-efforts basis; formatting, macros and attachments may not transfer exactly. It isn't for every team: we host in the US, sign-in is through Google accounts only, access is set per space rather than per page, and Docmost's paid-edition features aren't included. Because it's standard Docmost, you can export your pages and run them yourself later; in a free Docmost of your own you'd still have no single sign-on or per-page permissions, since those are paid. Our Confluence to Docmost guide shows the move step by step.
Try it with one space: the free preview puts one Confluence space into a private Docmost wiki for 7 days, with no card. It's deleted after 7 days unless you subscribe. The preview terms say where your export is stored and when it's deleted.
Organizations in the EEA, UK or Switzerland: please use the form and don't upload an export. We'll build your preview from your public pages instead, or tell you if that isn't possible (preview terms).
Get a free preview Compare Docmost hosting
Atlassian and Confluence are trademarks of Atlassian. Docmost, BookStack, Wiki.js, XWiki, DokuWiki, MediaWiki and Outline are trademarks of their respective owners. Tablewide is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them. Details are summarised from each project's own pages on the date above, and projects change; check their docs before you decide.