MediaWiki vs Tiki Wiki (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, MediaWiki grades higher than Tiki Wiki: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
MediaWiki grades higher on value for money. Tiki Wiki grades higher on 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.
Which one is for you
Pick MediaWiki if
- Fits if you're building a large public wiki or an encyclopedia-style reference site
- Works for organizations with a server administrator to install and update it
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if parts of your wiki must stay private, because the manual says it was designed for open content
- Not for you if nobody can look after PHP 8.3, a web server, a database and regular security upgrades
- Tight if your server is short on disk space or memory, since it's tuned for very high-traffic sites
- Watch out: hosting comes only from third parties the Wikimedia Foundation neither guarantees nor endorses
- Not for you if you want phone apps or ready-made integrations: none are on record, and extensions may be unmaintained
Pick Tiki Wiki if
- Fits if you want one self-hosted package for a wiki, trackers and a website
- Works for an organisation with a technical person to run it
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you do not want to run a server, as you install and host it
- Watch out: you apply frequent security releases yourself
- Not for you if you want a simple wiki, since it is a broad framework with many options
- Tight if you need vendor support, as it comes from the community or paid consultants
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAMediaWikiGood | 2.4GPATiki WikiFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree of charge under the GNU General Public License, with no paid edition and nothing to upgrade to. You pay for a server and nothing else, and it comes with no warranty. | CFree software, but it only runs on a server you provide or on TikiHosting, which is sold separately. That needs a server, so it sits at the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright. The full software is a download for your own server, and help comes from the community support desk. There is no paid tier to be nudged towards. | AFree and open source with no plan caps. You pay only for hosting and any consultant help. |
| Features | CWikitext or the bundled VisualEditor, a full history of every revision, extensions, an API and room for millions of hits a day. The gap is a big one, and the manual says it: MediaWiki is often not suitable when access to part of a wiki must be restricted. Third-party extensions may also be unmaintained. | BWiki pages with full layout control, trackers, built-in CMS parts and groupware, on an active release line. It covers the whole wiki job and more, and nothing in the listing shows a gap. |
| Ease of use | DYou host it yourself. It needs PHP 8.3 or later, web server software, a database such as MariaDB or MySQL, and ongoing security upgrades. Ready-made hosting comes only from third parties the Wikimedia Foundation doesn't endorse. | DYou install and maintain it yourself, including the frequent security releases, and it has many more options to configure. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA browser and nothing else: no phone or desktop app, and no integrations at all on record. The Action API is the one way in for programs, letting them log in, read data and post changes over HTTP. | CWeb only, served from your own server. No integrations or apps are listed on the pages read. |
| Best for | large public wikis that anyone can read | a wiki, CMS and groupware you host yourself |
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: MediaWiki and Tiki Wiki. How we grade
Price against what you get
MediaWiki has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Tiki Wiki has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
Tiki Wiki scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other docs and wiki tools on the chart, none scores higher than MediaWiki for less, and none scores higher than Tiki Wiki 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
- Tiki Wiki also covers databases, no-code and forms.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostableWiki
At a glance
| MediaWiki | Tiki Wiki | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The software is free of charge and licensed under version 2 or later of the GNU General Public License, with no warranty. | Free open source software; you host it yourself or pay a separate hosting provider. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Wikimedia Foundation | Tiki Software Community Association |
| Price read from | mediawiki.org | tiki.org |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Tiki Wiki
- You install and maintain it yourself, including applying the frequent security releases.
- Support comes from the community or from paid consultants and hosts.
- It is a broad framework rather than a focused wiki, so it has many more options to configure.
Key features
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.
Tiki Wiki
- Wiki pages with full layout control
- Pages are edited like a wiki but can take any layout and style, built on Bootstrap with custom themes.
- Trackers
- Tiki Trackers handle data input, management and display, with 45 field types, and a wiki page can act as a form or output template.
- Built-in CMS parts
- File galleries, article publishing and a blog engine come with the standard install.
- Community and groupware
- Forums, teams and chat are part of the project's own site, which runs on Tiki.
- Active release line
- The news feed shows Tiki 30 LTS released in August 2026 and security releases for 30.2, 27.9 and 24.16 in November 2026.
Plans
MediaWiki
MediaWiki$0
The full software, downloaded and installed on your own server, with help from the community support desk.
Tiki Wiki
Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware$0
Free and open source. You install and host it yourself; TikiHosting managed hosting is sold separately.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, MediaWiki or Tiki Wiki?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both MediaWiki and Tiki Wiki are free to use.
Which has a free plan, MediaWiki or Tiki Wiki?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both MediaWiki and Tiki Wiki 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.