BookStack vs Foswiki (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, BookStack grades higher than Foswiki: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
BookStack grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
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
Which one is for you
Pick BookStack if
- Fits if you want a free wiki on your own server and someone can run it
- Works for companies that need LDAP, SAML2 or OIDC sign-in without paying for it
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if nobody on the team can look after a PHP app and its database
- Not for you if you want a hosted wiki you just sign up for, because BookStack doesn't run one
- Pricey if you need support with a promised reply, which starts at £450 a year before VAT
- Watch out: it needs PHP 8.2 or later and MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.6, and shared PHP hosting isn't supported
- Skip it if you want phone or desktop apps or many integrations; diagrams.net is the one listed
Pick Foswiki if
- Fits if you have a server and someone to look after it and want a wiki you fully control
- Works for teams moving off TWiki who want to keep its syntax
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want hosting, as you provide and maintain the server
- Not for you if you need paid support, as it comes from the community with no vendor plan
- Watch out: security releases were posted in 2023 and 2026, and the site says to upgrade when they appear
- Tight if you lack Perl and Apache, Nginx or Lighttpd skills
How we grade them
| 2.8GPABookStackGood | 2.2GPAFoswikiFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt costs nothing. The whole application is MIT licensed with no paid edition at all, so there's no tier to climb; the only thing on sale is support, from £450 a year, and you can do without it. | CFree to download, but it only runs on a server you provide, with Perl and Apache, Nginx or Lighttpd, so it is not free in practice and lands at the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright with nothing held back, LDAP, SAML2 and OIDC sign-in and multi-factor authentication included, and no cap a team would reach. Free support is the community, with no promise of a reply. | AFree to download and run, with no plan caps. The cost is the server and the upkeep, which sit outside the listing. |
| Features | BBooks, chapters and pages for structure, a WYSIWYG editor with an optional Markdown one, search inside a book or across the lot, links to any paragraph, diagrams.net drawing in the editor, page revisions, roles and permissions, and a documented API. The wiki job, covered. | CEditing in the browser, macros for dynamic pages, extensions, layout customisation and TWiki compatibility. The wiki job is done, but there is no vendor support plan and no hosted version. |
| Ease of use | DYou host it yourself, and that's the whole difficulty: a server running PHP 8.2 or later with MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.6, and shared PHP hosting is ruled out. There's no hosted version to sign up for instead. | DYou install and maintain it yourself, which needs a Perl server and, on Unix-like systems, a few shell commands. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no phone or desktop apps on record and diagrams.net the one integration listed. Every install does document an API covering pages, chapters, books, shelves and attachments. | CWeb only, served from your own machine. No integrations or apps are listed on the pages read. |
| Best for | a free wiki on your own server | a wiki you run on your own Perl server |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BookStack and Foswiki. How we grade
Price against what you get
BookStack starts at about $50.25 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Foswiki has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
BookStack scores higher, and starts $50.25 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other docs and wiki tools on the chart, 37 score higher than BookStack for less, and none scores higher than Foswiki for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- BookStack is open source, according to its own site.
- BookStack also covers Markdown, templates and diagrams.
- Foswiki also covers documents.
At a glance
| BookStack | Foswiki | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Free to download and run; you provide and maintain the server. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Dan Brown | Foswiki community |
| Price read from | bookstackapp.com | foswiki.org |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
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.
Foswiki
- You install and maintain it yourself: it needs a Perl server with Apache, Nginx or Lighttpd and, on Unix-like systems, a few shell commands.
- Support comes from the community; there is no vendor support plan on the site.
- The project posted security releases in 2023 and 2026, and its site recommends upgrading when they appear.
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.
Foswiki
- Browser editing
- Team members create and edit pages directly in the web browser with a built-in WYSIWYG text editor.
- Macros for dynamic pages
- Macros automate pages and let users build applications such as status boards, to-do lists, inventory systems and bug trackers from within the browser.
- Extensions
- The site lists over 200 maintained extensions that expand what the wiki does out of the box.
- Layout customization
- The look of the site can be changed for the whole site, or per page, user or group.
- TWiki compatibility
- Foswiki is compatible with TWiki and offers a migration path from it.
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.
Foswiki
Foswiki$0
Free platform with community-based support. You install and host it yourself.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BookStack or Foswiki?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Foswiki is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $50.25 a month for BookStack. BookStack starts at £450 per year for an optional support plan; the software itself is free, and Foswiki is free.
Which has a free plan, BookStack or Foswiki?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both BookStack and Foswiki have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.