Thirteen criteria, eleven systems.
| ThurWiki | Confluence | MediaWiki | DokuWiki | XWiki | BookStack | Wiki.js | Docmost | Outline | Notion | SharePoint | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A page tree as deep as you like | yes, as deep as you like | yes | flat, sub-pages only through a slash in the title | yes, through namespaces | yes | no: shelf, book, chapter, page | yes, through paths | yes | yes | yes | a page library, not a wiki tree |
| Search inside PDF, Word and Excel attachments, tolerant of typing mistakes | attachments yes, including scans and archives; typing mistakes yes, and by meaning | attachments yes, typing mistakes no | attachments and typing mistakes only through extensions | attachments and typing mistakes only through plugins | attachments yes, typing mistakes no | attachments no, typing mistakes no | attachments no; typing mistakes depending on the search module | attachments depending on the edition; simple full-text search | attachments no, typing mistakes no; new pages with a delay | weak with many pages, according to user reports | attachments yes; search across the whole tenant, not only the wiki |
| An editor without markup | yes, a ribbon like Word’s | yes | VisualEditor is shipped; templates stay markup | through plugins | yes, with hurdles | yes, WYSIWYG | Markdown and WYSIWYG | yes | yes | yes, blocks | yes |
| Simultaneous editing | yes | yes | no | no, a page lock while editing | yes | no, only a warning | no | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Four-eyes approvals | yes, without an add-on | through marketplace apps | FlaggedRevs as an extension | through plugins | through extensions | no | no | no | no | no, only a verification tick | an approval flow through Power Automate |
| Invoices, tickets, issues and files from other systems on the page | yes, 41 connectors, from bexio, Odoo and Jira to Zabbix and Proxmox | Jira yes, the rest through apps | through extensions | through plugins | through extensions and scripts | no | no | no | individual services such as Slack and Linear | through integrations | the Microsoft world |
| SSO (OIDC, SAML) without a price per user | yes, included | Atlassian Guard, separate | through extensions | through plugins | through extensions | yes | yes | Enterprise only, paid for | run yourself: an outside service is mandatory | from Business upwards | Entra ID |
| An AI assistant | yes, with your rights, without credits | Rovo, credits per user | no | no | through an extension | no | no | not in the free edition | optional, outside | only from the Business plan upwards | Copilot, an extra licence |
| Operation, backup and updates by the provider, data in Switzerland | yes, ThurData in Switzerland | Cloud: data residency per region, provider in the USA; Data Center ends in 2029 | yourself | yourself | cloud at the maker or yourself | yourself | yourself | cloud at the maker or yourself | cloud at the maker or yourself | cloud, provider in the USA | cloud, provider in the USA |
| Run it yourself (open source) | no, run by ThurData | only Data Center, until March 2029; not open source | yes, open source | yes, open source | yes, open source | yes, open source | yes, open source | yes, open source | yes, under the BSL, not open source in the strict sense | no | only SharePoint Server; not open source |
| Export chosen pages and whole branches as PDF | yes, chosen pages and whole branches as one PDF; every page as Markdown through the API | yes, PDF and XML | yes, as XML; PDF through an extension | pages are stored as text files; PDF through a plugin | yes, as XAR, HTML or PDF | yes, books as PDF, HTML or Markdown | yes, Markdown through Git or file storage | yes, as a Markdown archive | yes, Markdown or HTML as an archive | Markdown and CSV, with losses | as Office files |
| A review date per page with a reminder | yes, a responsible person, a date, a repetition, a notice on the page | through marketplace apps | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | yes, verification, in the higher plans | through retention policies |
| Price | per wiki, from CHF 4.90 a month | per user per month, plus Guard, apps, credits | free, you run it | free, you run it | free; support and cloud are paid for | free, you run it | free, you run it | free; cloud and SSO are paid for | free if you run it (BSL); cloud is paid for | per user per month | per user, within the Microsoft subscription |
As of September 2026, based on the makers’ public statements and on user reports, without warranty. What can be achieved with extensions depends on the particular module and how well it is maintained.
In short.
Confluence
The yardstick everybody measures themselves against. Strong on the editor, macros and Jira. Weak on search, on a price built from seats, Guard, apps and credits, and on where the data sits. Data Center ends in 2029.
Confluence alternative →MediaWiki
Unbeatable for open wikis with many practised writers, like Wikipedia. In companies, usually only the people who know wikitext write; upgrades like to break extensions.
MediaWiki alternative →DokuWiki
Lean, no database, installed in five minutes. A syntax of its own, a page lock instead of collaborative editing, some plugins without a maintainer, a plain interface.
DokuWiki alternative →XWiki
The most powerful open-source wiki, if developers have the time. A scripting language, extensions, a Java server: without developers of your own you will hardly tap it.
XWiki alternative →BookStack
The darling of the self-hosters: simple, handsome, SSO for free. Shelf, book, chapter, page and nothing below; with simultaneous editing, only a warning.
BookStack alternative →Wiki.js
Modern and fast, pages in Git. Version 2 still receives security updates; version 3, announced in 2021, has no date.
Wiki.js alternative →Docmost
Young, lean, pleasant. SSO and AI not in the free edition, run yourself with Postgres and Redis in-house, few connections.
Docmost alternative →Outline
Fast and good-looking. A Business Source License that purchasing has to review; run yourself it needs an outside login service; new pages appear in the search with a delay.
Outline alternative →Notion
Magnificent for small teams. From about twenty people, users complain about the search and about rights that trickle down; the export loses databases, AI only from the Business plan, provider in the USA.
Notion alternative →SharePoint
Strong as a document store, with a good search inside Office files. The classic wiki is no longer being developed, the Teams wiki has been switched off since 2024, and Loop is more a workspace than a wiki.
SharePoint alternative →Which wiki for whom.
Questions about choosing
Which wiki software is the best for a company?
The one the office writes in too, and that somebody runs. For companies with a Confluence past, ThurWiki is the obvious alternative; anyone who wants to run it themselves and can live with a fixed hierarchy does well with BookStack; anyone who has developers and wants scripts, with XWiki. The table on this page says, criterion by criterion, who is ahead.
Open source or a managed wiki?
Open source saves the licence and costs operation: updates, backup, security, extensions that break at a version jump. A managed wiki costs a price and saves the operation. Count the hours that go into running MediaWiki or Wiki.js in your own house.
What is the difference between a wiki and a knowledge base?
A wiki is built for many people to write in: a page tree, versions, approvals, rights per space. A knowledge base such as Document360 is built for publishing to customers. For internal company knowledge, a wiki is the right tool.
Wiki software comparison, wiki alternatives, the best company wiki, a wiki for SMEs, Confluence alternative, BookStack alternative, MediaWiki alternative, XWiki alternative, DokuWiki alternative, Wiki.js alternative, Notion alternative, SharePoint wiki alternative, knowledge management software Switzerland: this page compares the systems against the same criteria and says, for each starting point, what fits. ThurWiki is the company wiki of ThurData GmbH, run in Switzerland.
Would you rather compare on your own collection?
Twenty of your pages in a demo wiki, imported with a preview. Then you will know.