Last checked October 15, 2026

Outline

Outline is a real-time knowledge base with a clean editor and a solid API. The community edition is BSL 1.1, so you may self-host it internally. Offering it as a competing hosted service is not allowed.

Source-availableBusiness Source License 1.1Small teamsStartupsDevelopers

Selling, reselling, or hosting Outline as a service breaches the community license.

WebSelf-host

Website·Source

Free tier

Self-hosting the community edition is free within the BSL terms. Outline also sells hosted Business and Enterprise plans.

Hosted

No hosted price recorded.

Self-host

Moderate. Docker and a Postgres database are the usual install. You also need an authentication provider. About $6–15/mo for a small VPS. Unverified estimate.

Drop-in scores

Replacing Notion100% of the checklist checked.

Sources checked

https://docs.getoutline.com/s/hosting/doc/license-restrictions-f9aq6uEL3H