Outline vs Slab
We give Outline a 3.4 GPA and Slab a 3.6, out of 4.0. Slab grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Outline
Fast team knowledge base and wiki, cloud-hosted or self-hosted
Slab
Knowledge base and team wiki with search across connected tools
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAOutlineVery good | 3.6GPASlabExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$10 a month for the whole team, up to 10 members, with SSO, AI answers, the API and the audit log all in. Most rivals charge about that per person. The next tier, 11 to 100 members, is $79, and that's still a flat fee. | AStartup is $6.67 a person a month billed annually, about half what paid plans in this category typically start at. Even Business, with the API and SAML SSO, is $12.50. One catch: there are no read-only accounts, so everyone who can log in is a paid seat. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe self-hosted Community Edition is $0 with unlimited docs, real-time editing, SSO and the API, but no AI answers, guest users or support. On the cloud there's no free plan: you get 30 days, then the workspace turns read-only until you add a payment method. | AFree for up to 10 people, with unlimited posts and topics, templates, verification and the search across your tools. A small team could stay here for good. No private topics and no AI on Free, though. |
| Features | AA Markdown editor with slash commands and embeds, live co-editing with comments and threads, workspace search with AI answers, groups and permissions, public sharing on your own domain, and unlimited documents and version history on every tier. | APosts, Topics, a real-time editor, templates, and a search that covers your connected tools as well as Slab. A post can carry a verified banner with an expiry date, so someone gets nudged to recheck it. AI Ask and the API wait on Business. |
| Ease of use | BNo app rating on record. The cloud version means no server to run, and the editor takes Markdown and slash commands. Self-hosting is there if you want it, and that's a bigger job. | BThere's no app store rating on record, so we can't lean on one. It's sign up in a browser and start writing, though: the editor handles the formatting for you and templates come with every plan. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus desktop apps for macOS and Windows, with more than 20 integrations including Slack, Figma, GitHub and Zapier, and an API with webhooks on every tier. No mobile apps are listed. | BWeb, Mac and Windows apps plus a Chrome extension, and it hooks into Slack, GitHub, Google Workspace, Jira and more. There's a GraphQL API from Business. But the downloads page lists no phone apps at all. |
| Best for | a Markdown-friendly team wiki at a flat price | a tidy team wiki that's free up to 10 people |
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: Outline and Slab. How we grade
Where they differ
- Outline starts at $10 per month for a team of 1 to 10 members (cloud-hosted). Slab starts at $6.67 per user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly).
- Only Slab lists a browser extension.
- Outline is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Outline also covers Markdown.
- Slab also covers templates and documents.
At a glance
| Outline | Slab | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month for a team of 1 to 10 members (cloud-hosted) | $6.67 per user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | The self-hosted Community Edition costs $0, with limited features and no support. The cloud-hosted version has no free plan, only a 30-day trial. | Free plan for up to 10 users: unlimited posts and topics, real-time collaboration, templates, verification, unified search, 90 days of version history, 10 MB attachments and 10 standard integrations. |
| Free trial | First 30 days free on the cloud version; the workspace then turns read-only until a payment method is added | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | General Outline, Inc. | Slab Inc. |
| Price read from | getoutline.com | slab.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Outline
- Teams that want a fast, Markdown-friendly internal wiki
- Organizations that need to host their knowledge base themselves
- Small teams: cloud hosting is a flat $10 a month for up to 10 members
Slab
- Teams of up to 10 that want a free internal wiki
- Companies that want one place to search docs and connected tools
- Non-profits and schools, which can get the Startup plan free
Worth knowing
Outline
- The cloud version has no free plan: after the 30-day trial the workspace is read-only until a payment method is added.
- Cloud pricing goes by team-size tier, so an 11th member moves a team from $10 to $79 a month, and teams over 200 need a quote.
- The free Community Edition lacks AI answers, guest users, SAML 2.0 and the audit log; paid self-hosted licenses need at least 10 users.
- The download page offers desktop apps for macOS and Windows only; no mobile apps are listed.
Slab
- The Free plan stops at 10 users and has no private topics, no custom domain and no AI features.
- SAML-based SSO, SCIM, the API and webhooks need Business at $12.50 per user / month billed annually; audit logs are Enterprise only.
- Slab has no read-only accounts: billing counts every user who can log in, and guests are capped at 3 or 5 per user below Enterprise.
- The downloads page offers desktop apps for Mac and Windows and a Chrome extension, but lists no mobile apps.
Key features
Outline
- Markdown-friendly editor
- The editor supports Markdown, slash commands and interactive embeds. Documents and their version history are unlimited on every tier, including the free Community Edition.
- Real-time collaboration
- Several people can edit a document at the same time, and comments, threads and @mentions keep the discussion attached to the text.
- Search and AI answers
- Search covers the whole workspace, and questions about your documents get direct AI answers. AI answers are in every cloud tier but need a paid license when self-hosting.
- Permissions and public sharing
- Read and write permissions, user groups and guest users control access. Documents can be shared publicly by link, with your own brand colors, logo and domain.
- Self-hosting
- Outline can run on your own infrastructure, either as the free Community Edition or with a paid Business or Enterprise license that adds features such as SAML 2.0.
- Integrations and API
- More than 20 integrations cover tools such as Slack, Figma, GitHub, GitLab and Zapier, and an API with webhooks is included on every tier.
Slab
- Posts and Topics
- Content is written as posts and grouped into Topics, which organize related posts and give readers context. Posts and topics are unlimited on every plan.
- Real-time editor and templates
- The editor applies consistent formatting by default and lets several people work on a post at once. Templates are included on every plan.
- Unified Search
- One search box returns results from Slab content and from the tools connected to it, so answers stored elsewhere surface in the same list.
- Post verification
- A published post can be given a verifier and a review interval. A banner shows who verified it and when that expires, and verifiers are reminded to recheck it.
- AI Autofix, Predict and Ask
- Slab lists three AI capabilities: AI Autofix from the Startup plan, and AI Predict and AI Ask from Business. The Free plan includes none of them.
- Integrations, API and webhooks
- Standard integrations such as Slack, GitHub and Google Workspace are capped at 10 on Free. The GraphQL API, webhooks and premium integrations start on Business.
Plans
Outline
Community Edition$0
Self-hosted on your own server: unlimited docs, real-time editing, SSO, integrations and the API, with no AI answers, guest users or support.
Cloud, 1–10 members$10
per month for the whole team; annual pricing available
Hosted by Outline with every cloud feature: AI question answering, SSO, templates, groups and permissions, API and webhooks, and a security audit log.
Cloud, 11–100 members$79
per month for the whole team; annual pricing available
The same features as the smaller tier. A team moves to this tier automatically once it has more than 10 members.
Cloud, 101–200 members$249
per month for the whole team; annual pricing available
The same features for 101 to 200 members. Larger cloud teams are asked to contact Outline for pricing.
On-Premises Business$4
per user / month, billed annually, 10-user minimum
Self-hosted license that adds AI question answering, guest users, SAML 2.0, extra security controls, a Confluence importer and the audit log.
On-Premises Enterprise$5
per user / month, billed annually, 100-user minimum
Everything in On-Premises Business, plus removal of Outline branding and a support contract.
Slab
Free$0
Up to 10 users with unlimited posts and topics, 90 days of version history, 10 MB attachments and 10 standard integrations.
Startup$6.67
per user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)
Unlimited users, 3 guests per user, private topics, AI Autofix, 365 days of version history, 25 MB attachments and unlimited standard integrations.
Business$12.50
per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
5 guests per user, custom domains, AI Predict and AI Ask, SAML SSO, SCIM, the GraphQL API, webhooks, 3 premium integrations and an uptime SLA.
EnterpriseCustom
For at least 100 users: unlimited guests and premium integrations, audit logs, advanced AI Ask and dedicated support.
Ways to pay less
Outline
- Nonprofit
30% off for non-profits
Outline's pricing FAQ offers non-profits a 30% discount on request, and says it will sponsor accounts for non-profits working directly on climate change.
- Education
30% off for educational institutions
The same pricing FAQ extends the 30% discount to educational institutions that contact Outline.
Slab
- Annual discount
About 17% lower with annual billing
Startup is $6.67 per user a month billed annually against $8 billed monthly, and Business is $12.50 against $15.
- Nonprofit
Startup plan free for nonprofits
Nonprofits can request the Startup plan at 100% off or the Business plan at 50% off, after registering a free team.
- Education
Startup plan free for educational use
The same request form covers educational use: the Startup plan is 100% free and the Business plan is 50% off.
