Best Open-Source Knowledge Base Software 2026: 6 Options Compared

A self-hosted knowledge base is worth the effort when your documentation holds things you do not want on someone else's servers, or when per-seat pricing from hosted wikis has started to hurt. The tools differ most in structure. BookStack organizes content into shelves, books and chapters, which suits manuals and procedures and is easy for non-technical editors to grasp. Docmost feels like a modern collaborative workspace, with real-time editing. XWiki is a large, extensible wiki platform with structured data and many extensions, closer to an application platform. Wiki.js and DokuWiki sit at the simpler end: DokuWiki stores pages in plain files with no database, which makes it very easy to back up, and Wiki.js offers a clean editor with several storage options. AFFiNE mixes notes, documents and whiteboards, and can be self-hosted or used on its cloud. Search is the part to test hardest. A knowledge base that cannot be searched becomes a graveyard, so import real pages and try to find them. Also check permissions, since some tools make it awkward to keep parts of the wiki private. Pick the structure that matches how your team already thinks, because content that does not fit the tool will not get written.

BookStack

MIT wiki organized into shelves, books and chapters, easy for non-technical editors. You provide the hosting.

Price: Free (open-source wiki you host yourself) (BookStack pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MIT (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 19.1k GitHub stars · latest release v26.09.2 (Oct 20, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Manuals and procedures.

Worth knowing: You provide the hosting; the project lists sponsor hosts but says it has not vetted them.

Docmost

AGPL-3.0 core with enterprise features under a separate license. Business is $6 per seat a month with a 10-seat minimum, billed annually.

Price: Free (open-source Community edition); paid from $6 per seat/month, billed annually, 10-seat minimum (Business) (Docmost pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (core; enterprise features under a separate license) (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 22.1k GitHub stars · latest release v0.97.0 (Oct 25, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Teams that want collaborative editing.

Worth knowing: Some features live in an enterprise directory under a separate Docmost Enterprise license.

XWiki

LGPL-2.1 wiki platform for self-hosting. Paid support subscriptions are priced per year on the vendor's page.

Price: Free (self-hosting under the LGPL-2.1) (XWiki pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. LGPL-2.1 (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 1.3k GitHub stars · latest release xwiki-platform-18.9.0 (Oct 26, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Large, structured documentation.

Wiki.js

AGPL-3.0 wiki on Node.js with a clean editor. Free to self-host; no hosted pricing was checked.

Price: Free (Free open-source software; you host it) (Wiki.js pricing, checked 2026-10-24).

Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted (Node.js). AGPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 29.1k GitHub stars · latest release 3.0.0-beta.705 (Oct 26, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: A modern wiki on your own server.

Worth knowing: Repository license per GitHub metadata, checked 2026-10-23.

DokuWiki

GPL-2.0 wiki engine on PHP that stores pages as plain files, so there is no database to maintain.

Price: Free (Free open-source software; you host it) (DokuWiki pricing, checked 2026-10-24).

Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted (PHP). GPL-2.0 (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 4.7k GitHub stars · latest release release-2026-07-14c (Sep 2, 2026) · last commit Sep 29, 2026

Best for: Simple, easy-to-back-up wikis.

Worth knowing: Repository license per GitHub metadata. The repository describes it as a wiki engine.

AFFiNE

MIT workspace of docs and whiteboards. Self-hosted or Cloud; the cloud Basic plan has 10 GB, up to 3 members and 10 MB files, Pro at $6.75 a month.

Price: Free (local workspaces; Cloud Basic has 10 GB of storage, up to 3 members and 10 MB files); paid from $6.75 per month (Pro; the page does not name the billing term) (AFFiNE pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. MIT (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 73.9k GitHub stars · latest release v0.27.4 (Aug 18, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Notes plus whiteboards.

Which one to pick

• You document procedures for non-technical staff: BookStack
• You want real-time collaboration: Docmost
• You need a file-based wiki that is easy to back up: DokuWiki
• You need structured data and extensions: XWiki
• You want docs and whiteboards together: AFFiNE