Dendron vs Read the Docs
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Dendron
Hierarchical note-taking and personal knowledge wiki
VS
Read the Docs
Documentation hosting platform you can self-host
| Feature | Dendron | Read the Docs |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,458 | ★ 8,373 |
| First released | 2020 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Notion, Confluence | GitBook, Confluence |
Why pick each one
Choose Dendron if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Mature project with 7.5k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Read the Docs if…
- Great for versioned project docs
- Automated build pipeline
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendron or Read the Docs better?
Neither is universally better. Read the Docs has the larger community, while Dendron is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dendron and Read the Docs free and open-source?
Yes. Dendron is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Read the Docs under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendron and Read the Docs with Docker?
Dendron: check the project docs for container support. Read the Docs: yes.