MediaWiki vs XWiki
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
XWiki
Advanced enterprise wiki and application platform
| Feature | MediaWiki | XWiki |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-2.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| Language | PHP | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,135 | ★ 1,292 |
| First released | 2002 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Confluence, Notion |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is MediaWiki or XWiki 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 XWiki free and open-source?
Yes. MediaWiki is licensed under GPL-2.0 and XWiki under LGPL-2.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MediaWiki and XWiki with Docker?
MediaWiki: yes. XWiki: yes.