SHSelfHostIndex

BookStack vs Realms Wiki

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
BO BookStack Simple self-hosted documentation and wiki platform VS RE Realms Wiki Git-backed wiki that stores pages as Markdown
FeatureBookStackRealms Wiki
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseWikis & Documentation
LicenseMITGPL-2.0
LanguagePHPPython
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, source
GitHub stars★ 18,974★ 824
First released20172014
ReplacesConfluence, NotionConfluence

Why pick each one

Choose BookStack if…

  • Very easy to learn
  • Clean organized structure
  • Good permissions
BookStack details

Choose Realms Wiki if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Python
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Realms Wiki details

Frequently asked questions

Is BookStack or Realms Wiki better?

BookStack is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Realms Wiki if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are BookStack and Realms Wiki free and open-source?

Yes. BookStack is licensed under MIT and Realms Wiki under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run BookStack and Realms Wiki with Docker?

BookStack: yes. Realms Wiki: yes.

Related comparisons