MediaWiki vs Zim
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?
| Feature | MediaWiki | Zim |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,135 | ★ 2,194 |
| First released | 2002 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | OneNote, Notion |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is MediaWiki or Zim better?
Neither is universally better. MediaWiki has the larger community, while Zim is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are MediaWiki and Zim free and open-source?
Yes. MediaWiki is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Zim under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MediaWiki and Zim with Docker?
MediaWiki: yes. Zim: check the project docs for container support.