Raneto vs YesWiki
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Raneto
Free, open, simple Markdown-powered knowledge base
VS
YesWiki
Easy-to-use wiki for collaborative websites
| Feature | Raneto | YesWiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 68 · Good | 73 · Good |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,902 | ★ 138 |
| First released | 2014 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Zendesk Guide | Confluence, Notion |
What are Raneto and YesWiki?
Raneto
Raneto is an open-source knowledge base platform built on Node.js that uses static Markdown files instead of a database. It turns a folder of Markdown files into a searchable knowledge base.
- Markdown file-based content
- Built-in search
- No database required
- Simple theming
YesWiki
YesWiki is a free wiki engine focused on simplicity and collaboration, allowing groups to build databases of structured information through form-based content. It is widely used by associations and community networks.
- Form-based databases
- Bazar content system
- Simple page editing
- Theme customization
Raneto vs YesWiki: key differences
Raneto is written in JavaScript, while YesWiki is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Raneto versus AGPL-3.0 for YesWiki. YesWiki is the more established project (first released 2010), while Raneto arrived in 2014. Raneto has the considerably larger community, at 2,902 GitHub stars versus 138. Raneto lists first-class Docker deployment; YesWiki does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Raneto if…
- Easy to set up
- Content lives in plain files
Watch out for
- Basic editing workflow
- Smaller community
Choose YesWiki if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Raneto or YesWiki better?
Neither is universally better. Raneto has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Raneto and YesWiki free and open-source?
Yes. Raneto is licensed under MIT and YesWiki under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Raneto and YesWiki with Docker?
Raneto: yes. YesWiki: check the project docs for container support.