MDwiki vs MediaWiki
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | MDwiki | MediaWiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 19 · At risk | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,187 | ★ 5,174 |
| First released | 2013 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Confluence | Confluence, Notion |
What are MDwiki and MediaWiki?
MDwiki
MDwiki is a completely client-side wiki engine that renders a set of Markdown files into a navigable site without any server-side processing or database. Pages are loaded and rendered on demand directly in the browser.
- Pure client-side rendering
- No server logic
- Markdown content
- Themeable layout
MediaWiki
MediaWiki is the free, open-source wiki software developed for and used by Wikipedia. It is built to handle large collaborative knowledge bases with powerful templating, extensions, and revision history.
- Powers Wikipedia at scale
- Powerful template system
- Vast extension library
- Full revision history
MDwiki vs MediaWiki: key differences
MDwiki is written in JavaScript, while MediaWiki is built with PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for MDwiki versus GPL-2.0 for MediaWiki. MDwiki is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for MediaWiki. MediaWiki is the more established project (first released 2002), while MDwiki arrived in 2013. MediaWiki lists first-class Docker deployment; MDwiki does not.
Why pick each one
Choose MDwiki if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (3.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Choose MediaWiki if…
- Battle-tested at massive scale
- Huge extension ecosystem
Watch out for
- Wikitext has a learning curve
- Setup can be involved
Frequently asked questions
Is MDwiki or MediaWiki better?
Neither is universally better. MediaWiki has the larger community, while MDwiki is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are MDwiki and MediaWiki free and open-source?
Yes. MDwiki is licensed under GPL-3.0 and MediaWiki under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MDwiki and MediaWiki with Docker?
MDwiki: check the project docs for container support. MediaWiki: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, MDwiki or MediaWiki?
MDwiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for MediaWiki. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.