Outline
Fast team knowledge base and wiki, cloud-hosted or self-hosted
Our verdict
Third of our top three docs and wiki tools
For: Teams that want a wiki on their own servers or at a flat price
Outline is a team wiki with a Markdown-friendly editor, real-time collaboration and search, and its source code is public, so it can run on your own infrastructure: the self-hosted Community Edition costs $0, with unlimited documents and version history. If you would rather not run a server, Outline hosts it for a flat $10 a month for a team of 1 to 10 members. It is third because the cloud version has no free plan, only a 30-day trial, where Confluence is free for up to 10 users, and no mobile apps are listed. The Community Edition lacks AI answers, guest users, SAML 2.0 and the audit log, and an 11th cloud member moves a team from $10 to $79 a month.
See all three and how we rankWhat is Outline?
Outline is a knowledge base and wiki for teams, built around a Markdown-friendly editor with real-time collaboration, comments and search that can answer questions with AI. Its source code is public, so it can be run on your own infrastructure as well as on Outline's cloud. Cloud pricing is a flat monthly fee per team-size tier rather than a charge per user.
Outline has a free plan. Paid plans start at $10 per month for a team of 1 to 10 members (cloud-hosted). See every plan
Good for
- 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
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
Outline pricing
- Starts at
- $10 per month for a team of 1 to 10 members (cloud-hosted)
- 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 trial
- First 30 days free on the cloud version; the workspace then turns read-only until a payment method is added
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | $10per 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 | $79per 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 | $249per 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 | $4per 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 | $5per user / month, billed annually, 100-user minimum | Everything in On-Premises Business, plus removal of Outline branding and a support contract. |
Read from getoutline.com on Oct 5, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Outline before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Nonprofit30% 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.
Stated on getoutline.com - Education30% off for educational institutions
The same pricing FAQ extends the 30% discount to educational institutions that contact Outline.
Stated on getoutline.com
Works with
Outline alternatives
- Outline vs Confluence
Free plan · from $6.70/mo
- Outline vs Notion
Free plan · from $10/mo
- Outline vs Slab
Free plan · from $6.67/mo
- Outline vs Nuclino
Free plan · from $6/mo
- Outline vs BookStack
Free plan · from £450/yr
Common questions
Is Outline free?
Outline has a 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. Paid plans start at $10 per month for a team of 1 to 10 members (cloud-hosted).
How much does Outline cost?
Outline lists 6 plans. Community Edition: $0. Cloud, 1–10 members: $10 per month for the whole team; annual pricing available. Cloud, 11–100 members: $79 per month for the whole team; annual pricing available. Cloud, 101–200 members: $249 per month for the whole team; annual pricing available. On-Premises Business: $4 per user / month, billed annually, 10-user minimum. On-Premises Enterprise: $5 per user / month, billed annually, 100-user minimum. Prices were read from getoutline.com on Oct 5, 2026.
What platforms does Outline work on?
Outline is available on Web, macOS and Windows.
Does Outline offer any discounts?
Outline publicly lists the following: 30% off for non-profits; 30% off for educational institutions.
Does Outline have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Outline is listed for Web, macOS and Windows.
Does Outline have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Outline is listed for Web, macOS and Windows.
Is Outline open source?
Yes. Outline is open source, according to its own site. It can also be run on a server of your own.
Does Outline have an API?
Yes. Outline offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Outline integrate with?
Outline's listing names Slack, Figma, GitHub, GitLab, Linear, Zapier, Make and Google Analytics. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Does Outline have a student discount?
30% off for educational institutions. The same pricing FAQ extends the 30% discount to educational institutions that contact Outline.
Does Outline have a free trial?
Yes. First 30 days free on the cloud version; the workspace then turns read-only until a payment method is added.
Who makes Outline?
Outline is made by General Outline, Inc. It dates from 2020.
What are the alternatives to Outline?
The closest alternatives to Outline in our directory are Confluence, Notion, Slab, Nuclino and BookStack. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Outline.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 5, 2026.