BookStack vs DokuWiki
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BookStack
Free self-hosted wiki organized into books, chapters and pages
Free plan · from £450/yr
Where they differ
- BookStack starts at £450 per year for an optional support plan; the software itself is free. DokuWiki is free.
- BookStack also covers Markdown, templates and diagrams.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostableWiki
At a glance
| BookStack | DokuWiki | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | £450 per year for an optional support plan; the software itself is free | Free |
| Free plan | The whole application is free and MIT licensed, with no cost to download and install your own instance. Community support carries no assurance of a response. | DokuWiki is available free of charge under the GNU General Public License version 2. The project asks companies that use it to consider donating. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Dan Brown | Andreas Gohr and the DokuWiki Community |
| Price read from | bookstackapp.com | download.dokuwiki.org |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
BookStack
- Teams that want a free wiki running on their own server
- Mixed technical and non-technical staff writing documentation
- Organizations that need LDAP, SAML2 or OIDC sign-in at no cost
DokuWiki
- Small teams that want a wiki without running a database
- Administrators who value simple backups and maintenance
- Internal documentation that needs access controls at no cost
Worth knowing
BookStack
- There is no official hosted version: you install and maintain it yourself, which takes some knowledge of hosting a PHP application and database.
- It needs PHP 8.2 or later with MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.6 or later, and shared PHP hosting is not supported.
- Paid support is priced in pounds, at £450 or £4,500 a year before VAT; free community support has no assured response.
DokuWiki
- You install and host it yourself on a web server with PHP. The download page points to partners that offer hosting with DokuWiki pre-installed.
- Pages are written in DokuWiki's own formatting syntax, which editors have to learn.
- The bundled web server option is for 64-bit Windows and is recommended for personal, single-user use only.
- Help comes from the community forum and mailing list; the author asks not to be contacted directly for support.
Key features
BookStack
- Books, chapters and pages
- All content sits in a three-level structure of books, chapters and pages, and pages can be re-sorted across books.
- WYSIWYG and Markdown editors
- Pages are written in a simple WYSIWYG editor by default. An optional Markdown editor shows a live preview as you write.
- Search and paragraph links
- Search works within a single book or across every book, chapter and page, and any paragraph can be linked to directly.
- Built-in diagrams
- The page editor has diagrams.net drawing built in, so diagrams can be created without leaving the documentation.
- Roles, permissions and sign-in
- A role and permission system locks down content and actions. Sign-in supports OIDC, SAML2 and LDAP besides email and password, and multi-factor authentication can be enforced per role.
- Revisions and API
- Page revisions and image management are built in, and each instance documents an API covering pages, chapters, books, shelves and attachments.
DokuWiki
- No database required
- DokuWiki runs without a database server, which the project presents as the reason it is easy for administrators to maintain, back up and integrate.
- Plain-text wiki syntax
- Pages are written in a readable formatting syntax that covers headings, links, lists, tables, footnotes and media files, with syntax highlighting for code blocks.
- Access controls and authentication
- Built-in access controls and authentication connectors decide who can read or edit, which the project highlights as useful in an enterprise setting.
- Plugins
- Hundreds of plugins are available. The download page can bundle popular ones, such as CAPTCHA, Upgrade, Wrap, Translation and Gallery, into the package.
- Feeds and interwiki links
- A page can pull in data from external RSS and Atom feeds, and interwiki links give quick links to pages on other wikis such as Wikipedia.
- Languages and a portable option
- The interface comes in dozens of languages, and an optional download adds a minimal Windows web server with PHP for trying DokuWiki or running it from a USB stick.
Plans
BookStack
BookStack (self-hosted)Free
The full application on your own server, with community support through the project's discussions, Codeberg and Reddit.
Professional Support Plan£450
per year, VAT not included
Email and help-desk support covering installation and updating issues, with high-priority handling of bug and issue reports.
Enterprise Support Plan£4,500
per year, VAT not included
Everything in Professional, plus highest-priority handling, help with API integrations and up to 10 hours of video support a year.
DokuWiki
DokuWiki$0
The full wiki engine, downloaded and installed on your own web server. The download can be customized with languages and popular plugins.
