MoinMoin 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.
| Feature | MoinMoin | Realms Wiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 73 · Good | 16 · At risk |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 373 | ★ 824 |
| First released | 2000 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Confluence | Confluence |
What are MoinMoin and Realms Wiki?
MoinMoin
MoinMoin is an open-source wiki engine written in Python with a focus on being easy to use yet extensible. It stores pages as files and supports access control, themes, and a plugin macro system.
- File-based page storage
- Access control lists
- Macro and plugin system
- Theming support
Realms Wiki
Realms Wiki is a lightweight, self-hosted wiki that stores all pages as Markdown files in a Git repository. This gives full version history and lets pages be edited either through the web UI or directly in Git.
- Git-backed pages
- Markdown editing
- Full version history
- Simple web UI
MoinMoin vs Realms Wiki: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. MoinMoin is the more established project (first released 2000), while Realms Wiki arrived in 2014. Realms Wiki has the considerably larger community, at 824 GitHub stars versus 373. Realms Wiki lists first-class Docker deployment; MoinMoin does not.
Why pick each one
Choose MoinMoin if…
- No database to manage
- Long-running, stable project
Watch out for
- Smaller modern community
- Dated interface in older versions
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
Watch out for
- Maintenance has slowed
- Basic feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is MoinMoin or Realms Wiki better?
Neither is universally better. Realms Wiki has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are MoinMoin and Realms Wiki free and open-source?
Yes. MoinMoin is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Realms Wiki under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MoinMoin and Realms Wiki with Docker?
MoinMoin: check the project docs for container support. Realms Wiki: yes.