BookStack vs Mark Text
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
BookStack
Simple self-hosted documentation and wiki platform
VS
Mark Text
Real-time preview Markdown editor for the desktop
| Feature | BookStack | Mark Text |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 18,974 | ★ 59,781 |
| First released | 2017 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Typora |
Why pick each one
Choose Mark Text if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 59.8k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is BookStack or Mark Text better?
Neither is universally better. Mark Text has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are BookStack and Mark Text free and open-source?
Yes. BookStack is licensed under MIT and Mark Text under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BookStack and Mark Text with Docker?
BookStack: yes. Mark Text: check the project docs for container support.