The shift to remote and hybrid work has spotlighted shortcomings in traditional documentation and knowledge sharing platforms. Wiki software offers a flexible solution to centralize organizational knowledge and make information easily accessible.
Self-hosted wikis give companies more control, extensibility, and data security compared to hosted wiki solutions like Confluence, Notion and Wikidot. You handle managing the infrastructure, but can deeply customize and scale the platform to match evolving business needs.
This guide explores the top self-hosted wiki platforms suitable for small to large enterprises based on features, reliability, support and ease-of-use.
Best Self-Hosted Wikis For Businesses
Wiki.js
Wiki.js is an open-source Node.js wiki packed with collaboration capabilities. Key features include:
- Intuitive WYSIWYG editor
- Real-time collaboration
- Robust integrations (Git, SSO, SCIM)
- Granular access controls
- Multi-language support
- Customizable appearance
- Broad database support
- Page restore and versioning
It simplifies creating internal product manuals, customer support documentation, FAQs and centralized knowledge for remote teams. Users praise the easy Docker installation and approachable editor.
"We migrated our help manuals and legacy Confluence wiki pages to Wiki.js. Our support team updates and finds answers fast." – Michael S., Customer Support Director
DokuWiki
DokuWiki excels at streamlined documentation with its clean syntax and text file storage. Key highlights:
- No database requirements
- Access control lists
- 50+ language support
- Hundreds of free plugins
- Plain text storage and backups
It‘s ideal for personal wikis, knowledge bases, handbooks and release notes. The text file storage simplifies data backups as teams scale documentation.
MediaWiki
MediaWiki delivers enterprise-grade capabilities proven to support heavy traffic loads. Key aspects include:
- WYSIWYG visual editor
- Fine-grained permissions
- Thriving ecosystem of extensions
- Localization support for 100+ languages
- Cloud scalability and caching
- Customizable interfaces
MediaWiki excels at public and private wikis, community portals, documentation hubs and knowledge management. It‘s the platform behind Wikipedia!
XWiki
XWiki offers a highly-extensible Java-based wiki solution. Key capabilities:
- Strong document management
- Hundreds of applications like CRM, PM
- Form/workflow builder
- PDF export
- Skinnable UI with customization
It‘s ideal for documentation, intranets, collaborative apps, business intelligence and custom LOB solutions. Leverage open standards to own and control wiki capabilities.
BookStack
BookStack delivers simplicity while still supporting enterprise use cases. Features include:
- Hierarchical book/chapter structure
- WYSIWYG editor + Markdown
- Multi-language support
- Role-based permissions
- Revision history
- Lightweight – built in PHP
It strikes an ideal balance empowering users to contribute documentation while still maintaining access controls. The straightforward terminology also aids adoption.
Gollum
Gollum represents a coding-centric wiki option built using Ruby and Git. Highlights include:
- Store pages locally in Git
- Built-in web interface
- Live preview with Markdown
- Math and critic markup
- Wide editor format support
It‘s great for developers and engineers looking to leverage existing toolchains to author docs before publishing. The GitHub integration also simplifies versioning.
Outline
Outline Wiki focuses on speed, collaboration and simplicity using React and Node.js. Key aspects:
- Real-time editing
- Custom domains
- Rapid in-platform search
- Integrations (Slack, GSuite)
- Developer-friendly Markdown
- Media embeds
It accelerates authoring documentation, particularly for distributed teams. The pinned revisions aid change management as teams scale.
Self-Host or Go Hosted?
Hosted wiki solutions like Notion, Confluence, Fandom, Wikidot and Foswiki can simplify setup. But they limit custom integrations, branding and security policies. Most cap usage limits, storage and charge extra for advanced permissions.
Self-hosted options unlock greater control to tailor wiki capabilities to evolving team needs. You manage the infrastructure but own the data and platform.
With robust functionality rivalling Confluence, modern self-hosted wikis let you control internal documentation while cutting SaaS costs.
Conclusion
This guide highlighted the top self-hosted wiki solutions suitable for SMBs and enterprises. While Wiki.js ranks as the most well-rounded option, evaluate integration and scaling requirements. Teams focused purely on documentation may opt for lightweight platforms like DokuWiki or BookStack.
Look beyond dated assumptions of difficult setup or vulnerabilities with self-hosted software. Modern wiki engines rival SaaS capabilities while letting you customize, extend and truly own collaboration workflows.
