DokuWiki vs MediaWiki

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

MediaWiki

• Large public wikis and encyclopedia-style reference sites
• Organizations with a server administrator to install and update it
• Communities that already know how to edit Wikipedia

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.

MediaWiki

• The manual says MediaWiki is often not suitable when access to part of a wiki must be restricted, because it was designed for open content.
• You host it yourself: it needs PHP 8.3 or later, web server software and a database such as MariaDB or MySQL, and ongoing security upgrades.
• It is optimized for very high-traffic sites and may not suit small sites where disk space or memory is the tighter limit.
• Hosting comes only from third parties: the site lists hosting services that the Wikimedia Foundation neither guarantees nor endorses.

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.

MediaWiki

Wikitext and VisualEditor

Pages use MediaWiki's wikitext format, which needs no knowledge of HTML or CSS. The VisualEditor extension, bundled since version 1.35, allows editing pages as rich content instead.

Full revision history

Every edit is written to the database without deleting earlier versions of the page, so vandalism, spam or mistakes can be reverted easily.

Extensions

Administrators add functions by installing extensions. Some are bundled with the software; third-party ones may be unmaintained or incompatible with each other.

Action API

A web service at the api.php endpoint lets programs log in, read data and post changes over HTTP, covering features such as page operations and search.

Built for high traffic

The software was designed to serve sites that get millions of hits a day. It supports caching and can be coupled with proxy server software.

Image and media files

MediaWiki also manages images and multimedia files, which are stored in the server's file system rather than in the database.

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.

MediaWiki

• MediaWiki$0

  The full software, downloaded and installed on your own server, with help from the community support desk.