Read the Docs vs XWiki
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
XWiki
Advanced enterprise wiki and application platform
| Feature | Read the Docs | XWiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | LGPL-2.1 |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,390 | ★ 1,313 |
| First released | 2010 | 2004 |
| Replaces | GitBook, Confluence | Confluence, Notion |
What are Read the Docs and XWiki?
Read the Docs
Read the Docs is an open-source documentation hosting platform that automatically builds and versions documentation from a Git repository. The community edition can be self-hosted for internal docs.
- Automatic docs builds from Git
- Version and language management
- Webhook-triggered rebuilds
- Full-text search
XWiki
XWiki is an open-source enterprise wiki and structured collaboration platform written in Java. It goes beyond simple wikis with scripting, custom applications, and structured data within pages.
- Structured data in pages
- App building within the wiki
- Extension marketplace
- LDAP and SSO support
Read the Docs vs XWiki: key differences
Read the Docs is written in Python, while XWiki is built with Java. Licensing differs — MIT for Read the Docs versus LGPL-2.1 for XWiki. XWiki is the more established project (first released 2004), while Read the Docs arrived in 2010. Read the Docs has the considerably larger community, at 8,390 GitHub stars versus 1,313.
Why pick each one
Choose Read the Docs if…
- Great for versioned project docs
- Automated build pipeline
Watch out for
- Complex to self-host
- Heavier resource needs
Choose XWiki if…
- Powerful structured content
- Strong enterprise features
Watch out for
- High memory requirements
- Complex to administer
Frequently asked questions
Is Read the Docs or XWiki better?
Neither is universally better. Read the Docs has the larger community, while XWiki is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Read the Docs and XWiki free and open-source?
Yes. Read the Docs is licensed under MIT and XWiki under LGPL-2.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Read the Docs and XWiki with Docker?
Read the Docs: yes. XWiki: yes.