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Last checked October 15, 2026

Best Free Alternatives to Confluence (2026)

Confluence is a company wiki: spaces, pages, permissions, and comments, with real-time editing on Cloud. The free Cloud plan is capped. The tools below replace the wiki, not Jira, whiteboards, or Atlassian admin. Outline is source-available under the Business Source License. BookStack, Docmost, and Wiki.js are open source.

Small teamsEnterprisesStartupsPrice checked

What Confluence costs

Atlassian's pricing page lists Confluence Cloud Standard at $5.42 per user per month and Premium at $10.44 per user per month, beside a monthly/annual toggle.

Free is listed at $0 for up to 10 users, with 2 GB of storage. Standard adds permissions, guest access, and 250 GB. Premium adds unlimited storage and a support line for critical issues. Confirm the billing toggle before you treat the per-user figures as the month-to-month rate. The page says annual billing can save up to 17%.

Confluence website·Pricing source

Ranked by Drop-in score

How we rank

#1 is the highest-scoring alternative that is not sponsored. A featured listing, when one is sold, is labeled and sits after #1.

  1. #1 · Best drop-inSource-available

    Outline

    A fast team wiki under the Business Source License.

    Last checked October 15, 2026 · Business Source License 1.1

    WebSelf-host
    Cost and detailsMigration guideWebsite
  2. #2Open source

    Docmost

    An open-source team wiki with real-time editing.

    Last checked October 15, 2026 · AGPL-3.0 (core)

    WebSelf-host
    Cost and detailsWebsite
  3. #3Open source

    BookStack

    A MIT-licensed wiki organized as books, chapters, and pages.

    Last checked October 15, 2026 · MIT

    WebSelf-host
    Cost and detailsWebsite
  4. #4Open source

    Wiki.js

    An AGPL wiki with git sync for the pages.

    Last checked October 15, 2026 · AGPL-3.0

    WebSelf-host
    Cost and detailsWebsite

Feature by feature

Full is the whole job. Partial is a real version with a gap. Missing means it does not do this. Not checked counts as zero in the score.

Scroll sideways to compare every alternative.

Feature comparison. Full, partial, missing, or not checked.
FeatureOutline#1 · 91Docmost#2 · 84BookStack#3 · 82Wiki.js#4 · 73
Pages in a nested wikiWeight 10FullFullFullThe tree is books, chapters, and pages, not Confluence spaces.Full
Real-time collaborative editingWeight 8FullFullMissingOne editor at a time. Not a live multi-cursor document.Missing
PermissionsWeight 8FullCollections and membership. You also need an external auth provider.PartialIt is a team wiki. Space-level Confluence permissions were not re-checked feature by feature.FullRoles and permissions are a documented part of the project.PartialGroup access is part of running the wiki. This check did not line it up against Confluence space permissions.
File attachmentsWeight 4FullFullFullImage and file management is part of the product description.Full
SearchWeight 6FullPartialFullFull
Self-hosting for internal useWeight 8PartialInternal self-hosting is allowed. The Business Source License forbids offering Outline as a competing hosted service.FullThe AGPL core is self-hosted. Enterprise directories are a separate license.FullFull

Real cost

Outline

Free tier
Self-hosting the community edition is free within the BSL terms. Outline also sells hosted Business and Enterprise plans.
Hosted plan
No hosted price recorded.
Self-hosting
Moderate. Docker and a Postgres database are the usual install. You also need an authentication provider. Approximate server cost: $6–15/mo for a small VPS. Unverified estimate.

Docmost

Free tier
The AGPL core is free to self-host.
Hosted plan
No hosted price recorded.
Self-hosting
Moderate. Docker Compose is the documented path. You run the app plus Postgres. Approximate server cost: $6–15/mo for a small VPS. Unverified estimate.

BookStack

Free tier
Free to download and run. The project does not sell a hosted edition.
Hosted plan
No hosted price recorded.
Self-hosting
Easy. PHP and a database. The project documents a straightforward install and a demo instance. Approximate server cost: $5–10/mo for a small VPS. Unverified estimate.

Wiki.js

Free tier
The maintainers say Wiki.js is open source and free to install, including on-premises.
Hosted plan
No hosted price recorded.
Self-hosting
Moderate. Node.js and a database. Git sync is optional and is the part worth turning on if you want a copy of the pages outside the database. Approximate server cost: $6–15/mo for a small VPS. Unverified estimate.

Did you switch?

If you left Confluence, tell us whether it worked and how long it took. Notes stay private until we approve them, and nothing is shown until at least five are approved.

How did it go?

Top pair

Migrate from Confluence to Outline

Export the space, then rebuild the pages you still open. Macros, permissions, and comments do not become an Outline collection.

Read the migration guide

Questions