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.
XWiki
Advanced enterprise wiki and application platform
| Feature | MediaWiki | XWiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| 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 | ★ 5,174 | ★ 1,313 |
| First released | 2002 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Confluence, Notion |
What are MediaWiki and XWiki?
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
XWiki
XWiki is an open-source enterprise wiki and structured collaboration platform written in Java. It goes beyond simple wikis with scripting, custom applications, and structured data within pages.
- Structured data in pages
- App building within the wiki
- Extension marketplace
- LDAP and SSO support
MediaWiki vs XWiki: key differences
MediaWiki is written in PHP, while XWiki is built with Java. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for MediaWiki versus LGPL-2.1 for XWiki. MediaWiki is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for XWiki. MediaWiki is the more established project (first released 2002), while XWiki arrived in 2004. MediaWiki has the considerably larger community, at 5,174 GitHub stars versus 1,313.
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 XWiki if…
- Powerful structured content
- Strong enterprise features
Watch out for
- High memory requirements
- Complex to administer
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.
Which is lighter on resources, MediaWiki or XWiki?
MediaWiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for XWiki. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.