LeafWiki vs Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware
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
Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware
All-in-one wiki, CMS, and groupware platform
| Feature | LeafWiki | Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | LGPL-2.1 |
| Language | Go | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,149 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2024 | 2002 |
| Replaces | DokuWiki, Confluence | Confluence, SharePoint |
What are LeafWiki and Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware?
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
Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware
Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware is an open-source platform combining a wiki, CMS, forums, and groupware features in a single application. It is known for having a very large set of built-in features.
- Wiki, CMS, and groupware in one
- Huge built-in feature set
- Forums and trackers
- Granular permissions
LeafWiki vs Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware: key differences
LeafWiki is written in Go, while Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for LeafWiki versus LGPL-2.1 for Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware. LeafWiki is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware. Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware is the more established project (first released 2002), while LeafWiki arrived in 2024. LeafWiki has the considerably larger community, at 1,149 GitHub stars versus 300.
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 Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware if…
- Everything included out of the box
- No add-ons needed for most needs
Watch out for
- Can feel overwhelming
- Interface is dated
Frequently asked questions
Is LeafWiki or Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware better?
LeafWiki is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are LeafWiki and Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware free and open-source?
Yes. LeafWiki is licensed under MIT and Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware under LGPL-2.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LeafWiki and Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware with Docker?
LeafWiki: yes. Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, LeafWiki or Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware?
LeafWiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.