WackoWiki 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 | WackoWiki | XWiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | LGPL-2.1 |
| Language | PHP | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 55 | ★ 1,313 |
| First released | 2003 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Confluence, Notion |
What are WackoWiki and XWiki?
WackoWiki
WackoWiki is a lightweight, open-source wiki engine focused on ease of installation and multilingual support. It includes WYSIWYG editing, access control, and file uploads.
- Easy installation
- WYSIWYG editing
- Multilingual interface
- Access control lists
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
WackoWiki vs XWiki: key differences
WackoWiki is written in PHP, while XWiki is built with Java. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for WackoWiki versus LGPL-2.1 for XWiki. WackoWiki is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for XWiki. XWiki has the considerably larger community, at 1,313 GitHub stars versus 55.
Why pick each one
Choose WackoWiki if…
- Lightweight and simple
- Good multilingual support
Watch out for
- Small community
- Limited extensions
Choose XWiki if…
- Powerful structured content
- Strong enterprise features
Watch out for
- High memory requirements
- Complex to administer
Frequently asked questions
Is WackoWiki or XWiki better?
Neither is universally better. XWiki has the larger community, while WackoWiki is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are WackoWiki and XWiki free and open-source?
Yes. WackoWiki is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and XWiki under LGPL-2.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run WackoWiki and XWiki with Docker?
WackoWiki: yes. XWiki: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, WackoWiki or XWiki?
WackoWiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for XWiki. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.