MediaWiki vs phpMyFAQ
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | MediaWiki | phpMyFAQ |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 76 · Good |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,174 | ★ 620 |
| First released | 2002 | 2001 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Zendesk Guide, Confluence |
What are MediaWiki and phpMyFAQ?
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
phpMyFAQ
phpMyFAQ is a mature open-source FAQ and knowledge base system written in PHP. It supports multi-language content, categories, user permissions, and a powerful search for building help centers.
- FAQ-focused knowledge base
- Multi-language content
- Granular permissions
- Powerful search
MediaWiki vs phpMyFAQ: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for MediaWiki versus MPL-2.0 for phpMyFAQ. MediaWiki has the considerably larger community, at 5,174 GitHub stars versus 620.
Why pick each one
Choose MediaWiki if…
- Battle-tested at massive scale
- Huge extension ecosystem
Watch out for
- Wikitext has a learning curve
- Setup can be involved
Choose phpMyFAQ if…
- Purpose-built for help centers
- Mature and stable
Watch out for
- Interface feels dated
- Less suited to free-form wikis
Frequently asked questions
Is MediaWiki or phpMyFAQ better?
Neither is universally better. MediaWiki has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are MediaWiki and phpMyFAQ free and open-source?
Yes. MediaWiki is licensed under GPL-2.0 and phpMyFAQ under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MediaWiki and phpMyFAQ with Docker?
MediaWiki: yes. phpMyFAQ: yes.