MediaWiki vs MkDocs
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?
MediaWiki
The wiki engine that powers Wikipedia
VS
MkDocs
Documentation site generator for technical teams
| Feature | MediaWiki | MkDocs |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,135 | ★ 22,317 |
| First released | 2002 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Confluence, GitBook |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is MediaWiki or MkDocs better?
MkDocs is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider MediaWiki if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are MediaWiki and MkDocs free and open-source?
Yes. MediaWiki is licensed under GPL-2.0 and MkDocs under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MediaWiki and MkDocs with Docker?
MediaWiki: yes. MkDocs: check the project docs for container support.