Dendron vs YesWiki
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Dendron | YesWiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 55 · Fair | 73 · Good |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,470 | ★ 138 |
| First released | 2020 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Notion, Confluence | Confluence, Notion |
What are Dendron and YesWiki?
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
YesWiki
YesWiki is a free wiki engine focused on simplicity and collaboration, allowing groups to build databases of structured information through form-based content. It is widely used by associations and community networks.
- Form-based databases
- Bazar content system
- Simple page editing
- Theme customization
Dendron vs YesWiki: key differences
Dendron is written in TypeScript, while YesWiki is built with PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Dendron versus AGPL-3.0 for YesWiki. YesWiki is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Dendron. YesWiki is the more established project (first released 2010), while Dendron arrived in 2020. Dendron has the considerably larger community, at 7,470 GitHub stars versus 138.
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 YesWiki if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendron or YesWiki better?
Neither is universally better. Dendron has the larger community, while YesWiki is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dendron and YesWiki free and open-source?
Yes. Dendron is licensed under GPL-3.0 and YesWiki under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendron and YesWiki with Docker?
Dendron: check the project docs for container support. YesWiki: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Dendron or YesWiki?
YesWiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Dendron. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.