Read the Docs vs zk
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?
Read the Docs
Documentation hosting platform you can self-host
VS
zk
Plain-text note-taking and Zettelkasten assistant
| Feature | Read the Docs | zk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,373 | ★ 2,748 |
| First released | 2010 | 2021 |
| Replaces | GitBook, Confluence | Roam Research, Obsidian |
Why pick each one
Choose Read the Docs if…
- Great for versioned project docs
- Automated build pipeline
Choose zk if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Read the Docs or zk better?
Neither is universally better. Read the Docs has the larger community, while zk is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Read the Docs and zk free and open-source?
Yes. Read the Docs is licensed under MIT and zk under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Read the Docs and zk with Docker?
Read the Docs: yes. zk: check the project docs for container support.