MediaWiki vs W
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
W
Lightweight, mutli-user, flat-file-database Wiki engine
| Feature | MediaWiki | W |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,135 | ★ 55 |
| First released | 2002 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | — |
Why pick each one
Choose W if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is MediaWiki or W 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 W free and open-source?
Yes. MediaWiki is licensed under GPL-2.0 and W under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MediaWiki and W with Docker?
MediaWiki: yes. W: check the project docs for container support.