NoteDiscovery vs Wiki.js
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
NoteDiscovery
Self-hosted Markdown knowledge base with graph view
VS
Wiki.js
Modern and powerful open-source wiki
| Feature | NoteDiscovery | Wiki.js |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 98 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,812 | ★ 28,956 |
| First released | 2024 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Obsidian, Notion | Confluence, Notion |
What are NoteDiscovery and Wiki.js?
NoteDiscovery
NoteDiscovery is a self-hosted Markdown knowledge base featuring wikilinks, a graph view, a drawing editor, and LaTeX and Mermaid rendering. It is designed for building and exploring a connected personal knowledge base.
- Wikilinks and graph view
- Drawing editor
- LaTeX and Mermaid support
- Self-hosted knowledge base
Wiki.js
Wiki.js is a modern, feature-rich wiki engine with multiple editors, authentication options, and storage backends. It targets teams and communities building a structured knowledge base. It is deployed via Docker or Node.js.
- Markdown, WYSIWYG and code editors
- Many authentication providers
- Git and storage sync
- Powerful permissions
NoteDiscovery vs Wiki.js: key differences
NoteDiscovery is written in JavaScript, while Wiki.js is built with Vue. Licensing differs — MIT for NoteDiscovery versus AGPL-3.0 for Wiki.js. NoteDiscovery is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Wiki.js. Wiki.js is the more established project (first released 2017), while NoteDiscovery arrived in 2024. Wiki.js has the considerably larger community, at 28,956 GitHub stars versus 2,812.
Why pick each one
Choose NoteDiscovery if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Choose Wiki.js if…
- Flexible and full-featured
- Many auth options
- Good content management
Watch out for
- Configuration can be involved
- Version 3 rewrite in progress
Frequently asked questions
Is NoteDiscovery or Wiki.js better?
Neither is universally better. Wiki.js has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are NoteDiscovery and Wiki.js free and open-source?
Yes. NoteDiscovery is licensed under MIT and Wiki.js under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run NoteDiscovery and Wiki.js with Docker?
NoteDiscovery: yes. Wiki.js: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, NoteDiscovery or Wiki.js?
NoteDiscovery has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Wiki.js. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.