Antora vs MDwiki
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Antora
Multi-repository documentation site generator
VS
MDwiki
CMS-free wiki that renders Markdown in the browser
| Feature | Antora | MDwiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 800 | ★ 3,188 |
| First released | 2017 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Confluence, GitBook | Confluence |
What are Antora and MDwiki?
Antora
Antora is an open-source documentation site generator built for technical content authored in AsciiDoc. It assembles documentation from multiple versioned Git repositories into a single coherent site.
- AsciiDoc-based documentation
- Multi-repository aggregation
- Built-in versioning
- Static output
MDwiki
MDwiki is a completely client-side wiki engine that renders a set of Markdown files into a navigable site without any server-side processing or database. Pages are loaded and rendered on demand directly in the browser.
- Pure client-side rendering
- No server logic
- Markdown content
- Themeable layout
Antora vs MDwiki: key differences
Both projects are written in JavaScript. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Antora versus GPL-3.0 for MDwiki. MDwiki is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Antora. MDwiki is the more established project (first released 2013), while Antora arrived in 2017. MDwiki has the considerably larger community, at 3,188 GitHub stars versus 800.
Why pick each one
Choose Antora if…
- Great for large multi-repo docs
- Strong versioning support
Watch out for
- AsciiDoc learning curve
- No web-based editing
Choose MDwiki if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (3.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Antora or MDwiki better?
MDwiki is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Antora if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Antora and MDwiki free and open-source?
Yes. Antora is licensed under MPL-2.0 and MDwiki under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Antora and MDwiki with Docker?
Antora: check the project docs for container support. MDwiki: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Antora or MDwiki?
MDwiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Antora. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.