Hosted free plans compared
Hosted wikis are ready in minutes, but each free plan stops at a different point. From the official pricing pages:
| Service | Free limit | What you miss |
|---|---|---|
| Confluence Free | Up to 10 users, no credit card | Storage and other limits not stated on that page |
| Notion Free | For individuals; with several members only a limited number of blocks | 7 days of page history, uploads up to 5 MB each |
| Nuclino Free | Up to 50 items, 2 GB total storage | No version history |
| GitBook Free | 1 free user, no traffic limit on published docs | No custom domain, no advanced reviewer roles |
Outline has no permanent free cloud plan: the first 30 days are free, then the knowledge base becomes read-only until you add a payment method. Its self-hosted Community Edition is $0.
Self-hosted wikis and their licenses
A self-hosted wiki has no user or page caps, only your server's. Read the license if you plan to offer the wiki to customers:
- BookStack is fully free and open, MIT licensed, and organizes content into books, chapters and pages.
- Wiki.js is released under AGPL-v3 and runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, macOS and Windows Server. Version 3 is a beta not for production use; the stable release is 2.x.
- Outline is under the Business Source License 1.1: you may use it, but not to run a Document Service that lets third parties outside your staff create their own teams. Each version changes to Apache 2.0 four years after release, or on October 23, 2030 at the latest.
- Docmost core is AGPL 3.0; enterprise features sit under a separate license.
- DokuWiki (GPL-2.0) and MediaWiki, the software that powers Wikipedia, are classic wiki engines.
Moving content in and out
A knowledge base outlives the tool it starts in, so check how you get your pages out before you write hundreds of them. Markdown is the safest format: Outline describes itself as Markdown compatible, BookStack has an optional Markdown editor with live preview, and Wiki.js includes a Markdown editor and can sync pages to Git.
Draft long pages in our Markdown editor, turn Markdown into HTML for wikis that only take HTML with Markdown to HTML, and strip an exported HTML page back to plain text with HTML to text. Clear page names help as much as the tool: our guide on naming conventions works for wiki pages too.
Wiki, notes app or chat
A wiki is for answers that should still be true next year: how to set up a laptop, who approves expenses, how a release works. Personal notes belong in a notes app; see the free note-taking apps list. Quick questions belong in chat, but chat history on free plans is often short, as the free team chat apps list shows. When an answer in chat keeps coming up, move it into the wiki and link to it.
Back up a self-hosted wiki like any other server: database and uploaded files, on a schedule, with a test restore. Our backup guide covers the basics.
Frequently asked questions
Is Confluence free?
Atlassian offers Confluence Free for up to 10 users without a credit card. The page we checked does not state storage or other limits for the Free plan, so read the current terms when you sign up.
What is the best free self-hosted wiki?
BookStack is fully free and open under the MIT license and organizes content into books, chapters and pages. Wiki.js is under AGPL-v3 with a Markdown editor and Git sync. Both run on your own server with no user caps.
Is Outline free?
The self-hosted Community Edition is $0 with limited features and no support. The cloud version has a 30-day free trial, after which the knowledge base becomes read-only until you add a payment method. The code is under the Business Source License 1.1, which forbids running it as a Document Service for third parties.
Can a team use Notion Free as a wiki?
Notion describes its Free plan as for individuals. A workspace with several members can only add a limited number of blocks before it has to upgrade, page history goes back 7 days and file uploads are limited to 5 MB each.
Which free wiki keeps pages in Markdown?
Wiki.js includes a Markdown editor and can sync to Git services such as GitHub and GitLab. Outline is Markdown compatible, and BookStack offers an optional Markdown editor with live preview.