MediaWiki vs Tiddloid
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
Tiddloid
Host and edit single-file TiddlyWiki wikis
| Feature | MediaWiki | Tiddloid |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,135 | ★ 284 |
| First released | 2002 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Evernote, OneNote |
Why pick each one
Choose Tiddloid if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Java
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is MediaWiki or Tiddloid better?
Neither is universally better. MediaWiki has the larger community, while Tiddloid is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are MediaWiki and Tiddloid free and open-source?
Yes. MediaWiki is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Tiddloid under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MediaWiki and Tiddloid with Docker?
MediaWiki: yes. Tiddloid: check the project docs for container support.