SHSelfHostIndex

Docmost vs Outline

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?
Docmost Open-source collaborative wiki and documentation VS Outline Team knowledge base and wiki
FeatureDocmostOutline
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score96 · Excellent99 · Excellent
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseAGPL-3.0BSL-1.1
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker
GitHub stars★ 21,773★ 40,682
First released20242017
ReplacesConfluence, NotionNotion, Confluence

What are Docmost and Outline?

Docmost

Docmost is an open-source collaborative documentation and wiki software for teams to create and organize knowledge. It targets organizations seeking a self-hosted Confluence alternative. It is deployed via Docker with PostgreSQL.

  • Real-time collaborative editing
  • Spaces and nested pages
  • Permissions and SSO
  • Diagrams and embeds

Read the full Docmost guide →

Outline

Outline is a fast, collaborative knowledge base and wiki for teams with real-time editing and powerful search. It targets organizations that want a self-hosted documentation hub. It is deployed via Docker with PostgreSQL and Redis.

  • Real-time collaborative editing
  • Fast full-text search
  • SSO and team permissions
  • Slack and API integrations

Read the full Outline guide →

Docmost vs Outline: key differences

Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Docmost versus BSL-1.1 for Outline. Outline is the more established project (first released 2017), while Docmost arrived in 2024.

Why pick each one

Choose Docmost if…

  • Clean modern interface
  • Good team collaboration
  • Active development

Watch out for

  • Young project
  • Requires Postgres
Docmost details

Choose Outline if…

  • Polished team wiki
  • Great search
  • Strong integrations

Watch out for

  • Requires Postgres and Redis
  • BSL is not fully open source
Outline details

Frequently asked questions

Is Docmost or Outline better?

Neither is universally better. Outline has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Docmost and Outline free and open-source?

Yes. Docmost is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Outline under BSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Docmost and Outline with Docker?

Docmost: yes. Outline: yes.

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