Gollum vs Wikmd
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Gollum | Wikmd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 51 · Fair | 78 · Good |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,330 | ★ 424 |
| First released | 2010 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Confluence, Notion |
What are Gollum and Wikmd?
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
Wikmd
Wikmd is a lightweight, file-based wiki that stores all pages as Markdown files and tracks changes with Git. It offers a clean web interface for editing without a database.
- Markdown file storage
- Git-tracked history
- No database required
- Search across pages
Gollum vs Wikmd: key differences
Gollum is written in Ruby, while Wikmd is built with Python. Wikmd is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Gollum. Gollum is the more established project (first released 2010), while Wikmd arrived in 2020. Gollum has the considerably larger community, at 14,330 GitHub stars versus 424.
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 Wikmd if…
- Easy to back up with Git
- Simple to host
Watch out for
- Smaller feature set
- Basic access control
Frequently asked questions
Is Gollum or Wikmd better?
Neither is universally better. Gollum has the larger community, while Wikmd is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Gollum and Wikmd free and open-source?
Yes. Gollum is licensed under MIT and Wikmd under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gollum and Wikmd with Docker?
Gollum: yes. Wikmd: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Gollum or Wikmd?
Wikmd has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Gollum. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.