LeafWiki vs Zim
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
LeafWiki
Lightweight self-hosted wiki with Markdown stored on disk
VS
Zim
A desktop wiki and personal knowledge base
| Feature | LeafWiki | Zim |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 997 | ★ 2,194 |
| First released | 2024 | 2008 |
| Replaces | DokuWiki, Confluence | OneNote, Notion |
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
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is LeafWiki or Zim better?
Neither is universally better. Zim has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are LeafWiki and Zim free and open-source?
Yes. LeafWiki is licensed under MIT and Zim under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LeafWiki and Zim with Docker?
LeafWiki: yes. Zim: check the project docs for container support.