SHSelfHostIndex

MkDocs vs Realms Wiki

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?
MK MkDocs Documentation site generator for technical teams VS RE Realms Wiki Git-backed wiki that stores pages as Markdown
FeatureMkDocsRealms Wiki
CategoryWikis & DocumentationWikis & Documentation
LicenseBSD-2-ClauseGPL-2.0
LanguagePythonPython
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB256 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcedocker, source
GitHub stars★ 22,317★ 824
First released20142014
ReplacesConfluence, GitBookConfluence

Why pick each one

Choose MkDocs if…

  • Very easy to get started
  • Material theme is excellent
MkDocs details

Choose Realms Wiki if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Python
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Realms Wiki details

Frequently asked questions

Is MkDocs or Realms Wiki better?

MkDocs is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Realms Wiki if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are MkDocs and Realms Wiki free and open-source?

Yes. MkDocs is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Realms Wiki under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run MkDocs and Realms Wiki with Docker?

MkDocs: check the project docs for container support. Realms Wiki: yes.

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