DokuWiki 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.
| Feature | DokuWiki | Outline |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | GPL-2.0 | BSL-1.1 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,721 | ★ 40,682 |
| First released | 2004 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Confluence | Notion, Confluence |
What are DokuWiki and Outline?
DokuWiki
DokuWiki is a simple, versatile wiki engine that stores all content in plain text files, needing no database. It targets users who want an easy-to-back-up, low-maintenance wiki. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- No database required
- Large plugin and template library
- Built-in versioning and ACLs
- Plain-text storage
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
DokuWiki vs Outline: key differences
DokuWiki is written in PHP, while Outline is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for DokuWiki versus BSL-1.1 for Outline. DokuWiki is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Outline. DokuWiki is the more established project (first released 2004), while Outline arrived in 2017. Outline has the considerably larger community, at 40,682 GitHub stars versus 4,721.
Why pick each one
Choose DokuWiki if…
- Trivial to back up
- Very stable and mature
- Low resource needs
Watch out for
- Dated default look
- Markup is wiki-specific
Choose Outline if…
- Polished team wiki
- Great search
- Strong integrations
Watch out for
- Requires Postgres and Redis
- BSL is not fully open source
Frequently asked questions
Is DokuWiki or Outline better?
Neither is universally better. Outline has the larger community, while DokuWiki is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are DokuWiki and Outline free and open-source?
Yes. DokuWiki is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Outline under BSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run DokuWiki and Outline with Docker?
DokuWiki: yes. Outline: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, DokuWiki or Outline?
DokuWiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Outline. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.