Dendron vs Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Dendron | Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-3.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,470 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2020 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Notion, Confluence | Confluence, SharePoint |
What are Dendron and Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware?
Dendron
Dendron is an open-source, local-first note-taking tool that works as a hierarchical personal knowledge wiki on top of VS Code. It uses a structured naming scheme to organize thousands of Markdown notes and can publish them as a static site.
- Hierarchical note schema
- Local Markdown storage
- Static site publishing
- VS Code integration
Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware
Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware is an open-source platform combining a wiki, CMS, forums, and groupware features in a single application. It is known for having a very large set of built-in features.
- Wiki, CMS, and groupware in one
- Huge built-in feature set
- Forums and trackers
- Granular permissions
Dendron vs Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware: key differences
Dendron is written in TypeScript, while Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware is built with PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Dendron versus LGPL-2.1 for Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware. Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware is the more established project (first released 2002), while Dendron arrived in 2020. Dendron has the considerably larger community, at 7,470 GitHub stars versus 300. Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware lists first-class Docker deployment; Dendron does not.
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
Watch out for
- Tied to VS Code
- Learning curve for hierarchy
Choose Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware if…
- Everything included out of the box
- No add-ons needed for most needs
Watch out for
- Can feel overwhelming
- Interface is dated
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendron or Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware better?
Neither is universally better. Dendron has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dendron and Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware free and open-source?
Yes. Dendron is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware under LGPL-2.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendron and Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware with Docker?
Dendron: check the project docs for container support. Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware: yes.