LeafWiki vs Wikmd
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
Wikmd
File-based wiki using Markdown and Git
| Feature | LeafWiki | Wikmd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 78 · Good |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,149 | ★ 424 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | DokuWiki, Confluence | Confluence, Notion |
What are LeafWiki and Wikmd?
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
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
LeafWiki vs Wikmd: key differences
LeafWiki is written in Go, while Wikmd is built with Python. LeafWiki is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Wikmd. Wikmd is the more established project (first released 2020), while LeafWiki arrived in 2024. LeafWiki has the considerably larger community, at 1,149 GitHub stars versus 424.
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 Wikmd if…
- Easy to back up with Git
- Simple to host
Watch out for
- Smaller feature set
- Basic access control
Frequently asked questions
Is LeafWiki or Wikmd better?
Neither is universally better. LeafWiki has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are LeafWiki and Wikmd free and open-source?
Yes. LeafWiki is licensed under MIT and Wikmd under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LeafWiki and Wikmd with Docker?
LeafWiki: yes. Wikmd: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, LeafWiki or Wikmd?
LeafWiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Wikmd. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.