Gollum vs OutWiker
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Gollum | OutWiker |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 51 · Fair | 77 · Good |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,330 | ★ 331 |
| First released | 2010 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Notion, OneNote |
What are Gollum and OutWiker?
Gollum
Gollum is an open-source wiki system built on top of Git, where every page is a file in a Git repository. It powers the wikis found on GitHub and supports many markup languages.
- Git-backed page storage
- Multiple markup languages
- Powers GitHub wikis
- Full history via Git
OutWiker
OutWiker is a cross-platform desktop application for storing notes and knowledge in a tree structure, functioning as a personal wiki. Each page can use wiki markup, HTML, or Markdown, and plugins extend its capabilities.
- Tree-structured pages
- Multiple markup modes
- Plugin support
- Cross-platform desktop app
Gollum vs OutWiker: key differences
Gollum is written in Ruby, while OutWiker is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Gollum versus GPL-3.0 for OutWiker. Gollum has the considerably larger community, at 14,330 GitHub stars versus 331. Gollum lists first-class Docker deployment; OutWiker does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Gollum if…
- Pages are plain files in Git
- Easy version control
Watch out for
- No fine-grained ACLs
- Ruby toolchain required
Choose OutWiker if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Desktop only
- No built-in collaboration
Frequently asked questions
Is Gollum or OutWiker better?
Neither is universally better. Gollum has the larger community, while OutWiker is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Gollum and OutWiker free and open-source?
Yes. Gollum is licensed under MIT and OutWiker under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gollum and OutWiker with Docker?
Gollum: yes. OutWiker: check the project docs for container support.