MediaWiki vs Wikmd
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | MediaWiki | Wikmd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 78 · Good |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,174 | ★ 424 |
| First released | 2002 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Confluence, Notion |
What are MediaWiki and Wikmd?
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
Wikmd
Wikmd is a lightweight, file-based wiki that stores all pages as Markdown files and tracks changes with Git. It offers a clean web interface for editing without a database.
- Markdown file storage
- Git-tracked history
- No database required
- Search across pages
MediaWiki vs Wikmd: key differences
MediaWiki is written in PHP, while Wikmd is built with Python. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for MediaWiki versus MIT for Wikmd. Wikmd is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for MediaWiki. MediaWiki is the more established project (first released 2002), while Wikmd arrived in 2020. MediaWiki has the considerably larger community, at 5,174 GitHub stars versus 424.
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 Wikmd if…
- Easy to back up with Git
- Simple to host
Watch out for
- Smaller feature set
- Basic access control
Frequently asked questions
Is MediaWiki or Wikmd better?
Neither is universally better. MediaWiki has the larger community, while Wikmd is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are MediaWiki and Wikmd free and open-source?
Yes. MediaWiki is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Wikmd under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MediaWiki and Wikmd with Docker?
MediaWiki: yes. Wikmd: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, MediaWiki or Wikmd?
Wikmd has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for MediaWiki. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.