LeafWiki vs phpMyFAQ
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
LeafWiki
Lightweight self-hosted wiki with Markdown stored on disk
VS
phpMyFAQ
Open-source FAQ and knowledge base software
| Feature | LeafWiki | phpMyFAQ |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 76 · Good |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,149 | ★ 620 |
| First released | 2024 | 2001 |
| Replaces | DokuWiki, Confluence | Zendesk Guide, Confluence |
What are LeafWiki and phpMyFAQ?
LeafWiki
LeafWiki is a lightweight self-hosted wiki for long-lived documentation that stores Markdown pages on disk in a tree structure. It ships as a single Go binary with SQLite and supports tables, task lists, footnotes, and Mermaid diagrams.
- Single Go binary deployment
- Markdown pages stored on disk
- Tree-based page organization
- Mermaid diagram support
phpMyFAQ
phpMyFAQ is a mature open-source FAQ and knowledge base system written in PHP. It supports multi-language content, categories, user permissions, and a powerful search for building help centers.
- FAQ-focused knowledge base
- Multi-language content
- Granular permissions
- Powerful search
LeafWiki vs phpMyFAQ: key differences
LeafWiki is written in Go, while phpMyFAQ is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for LeafWiki versus MPL-2.0 for phpMyFAQ. LeafWiki is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for phpMyFAQ. PhpMyFAQ is the more established project (first released 2001), while LeafWiki arrived in 2024.
Why pick each one
Choose LeafWiki if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
Choose phpMyFAQ if…
- Purpose-built for help centers
- Mature and stable
Watch out for
- Interface feels dated
- Less suited to free-form wikis
Frequently asked questions
Is LeafWiki or phpMyFAQ better?
LeafWiki is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider phpMyFAQ if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are LeafWiki and phpMyFAQ free and open-source?
Yes. LeafWiki is licensed under MIT and phpMyFAQ under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LeafWiki and phpMyFAQ with Docker?
LeafWiki: yes. phpMyFAQ: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, LeafWiki or phpMyFAQ?
LeafWiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for phpMyFAQ. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.