Best Self-Hosted Wiki Software

Wiki software has quietly become essential infrastructure for modern teams. Every startup, government, development group, and enterprise division needs somewhere to store documentation, process guides, and the accumulated wisdom that makes organizations function.

Self-hosting matters because it gives you ownership of your data, ensures compliance with internal policies, and removes dependency on a cloud vendor. For organizations in finance, government, healthcare, and other regulated industries, this control is not optional. It is the only way to guarantee data sovereignty and meet compliance standards.

An on-premises wiki can run on internal servers or within a private cloud, integrate with identity systems like LDAP or SSO, and operate securely in air-gapped environments.

What is a Wiki

A wiki is a collaborative knowledge base that allows people to create, edit, and organize information in one shared space. Unlike static documents stored in folders, a wiki is designed to be dynamic and continuously updated. Team members can contribute to pages, link related content, and keep information current as projects evolve.

The value of a wiki comes from structure and accessibility. Pages are easy to search, categorize, and connect, so knowledge does not get buried in emails or chat threads. This makes wikis well suited for documentation, company policies, product guides, onboarding materials, and project notes.

When deployed in a self-hosted environment, it offers control over where the data lives, how it is secured, and how it integrates with the rest of the organization’s systems.

Docmost - The Best On-Premises Wiki Software

Docmost is an enterprise-ready, self-hosted wiki designed for organizations that need a modern collaboration platform without giving up control over their data. It combines the usability of cloud tools with the security and compliance of on-premises deployment.

Enterprises and institutions including Airbus, the Australian Government, the German Red Cross, Bechtle GmbH, and the University of Bern rely on Docmost to manage their knowledge.

Many companies are now migrating from Confluence Data Center, Confluence Cloud, and Notion to Docmost’s self-hosted on-premises edition. The built-in importers make the transition straightforward, while enterprise features such as SSO, granular permissions, and compliance-ready deployment give organizations the control and assurance they need.

Docmost offers the following features:​

• Air-gapped Ready: Docmost can run fully offline without an internet connection.
• Collaborative Real-time Editor: Work together on pages in real time.
• Diagrams: Built-in support for Drawio, Excalidraw, and Mermaid diagramming tools.
• Spaces: Organize your pages by team, projects, or departments for better collaboration.
• Permissions Management: Easily control access to pages with easy-to-understand permissions.
• Groups: Easily grant unified permissions to users via groups.
• Comments: Add inline comments to pages for better communication and feedback.
• Page History: Track changes with a comprehensive version history.
• Nested Navigation: You can nest and reorder pages via the sidebar.
• Search: Quickly find the information you need with powerful search capabilities.
• File Attachment: Attach files to your pages for quick reference and sharing.
• Attachments Search: Full-text search and indexing of content in PDF and DOCX file attachments.
• Embeds: Embed content from Airtable, Loom, YouTube, and more.
• Authentication: Email and password, LDAP and SSO login (SAML 2.0 /OIDC) in the Enterprise edition.
• High Availability: Built from the ground up with high availability from day one.
• Importers: Docmost supports multiple import formats to make migration straightforward. Supported import formats includes Confluence, Notion, Markdown, and HTML. This allows teams to bring over existing spaces, pages, and attachments without having to rebuild documentation from scratch.

Why Self-Hosting is Important

When you run a wiki on your own infrastructure, you decide the physical and digital boundaries of your knowledge base. You control which servers it runs on, which region or jurisdiction the data resides in, and how backups are managed.

This removes dependency on a third-party cloud provider and ensures that sensitive information stays within the security perimeter and compliance framework you define.

• Data location: A self-hosted wiki allows you to choose exactly where your data resides, whether on company-owned servers or in a specific region of your choice. This is particularly important for organizations that operate across borders and must comply with data residency laws that restrict where information can be stored.
• Compliance and regulations: Many industries face strict obligations around record keeping, privacy, and data handling. Finance, healthcare, government, and defense organizations often cannot rely on multi-tenant cloud services for sensitive information. Standards such as HIPAA (healthcare), FedRAMP (U.S. government), GDPR (European Union), and ITAR (defense exports) impose requirements that cloud vendors may not meet. In some cases, deployments must be air-gapped, with no connection to the public internet, to satisfy regulatory or security policies. A self-hosted wiki makes these deployment models possible while keeping control in the hands of the organization.
• Security: Instead of relying on a vendor’s security model, you enforce your own policies. This includes how authentication works, what encryption standards are applied, and who has access at a granular level. Self-hosting reduces exposure to third-party risks and gives you confidence that security practices meet the expectations of your organization.

FAQ

Can I migrate from Confluence or Notion to Docmost?
Yes. Docmost includes importers for Confluence, Notion, Markdown, and HTML, which makes migration straightforward without losing structure or attachments.

Does Docmost support enterprise authentication?
Docmost integrates with SSO, LDAP, SAML, OIDC, and multi-factor authentication, giving administrators the ability to align the platform with existing identity systems.

Is Docmost suitable for regulated industries?
Yes. Docmost can be deployed on-premises or in air-gapped environments to meet requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA, FedRAMP, and ITAR.

Why choose Docmost over Confluence Cloud or Data Center?
Atlassian is phasing out Confluence Data Center, and many teams cannot rely on Confluence Cloud due to compliance and data residency gaps. Docmost offers a modern, self-hosted alternative that keeps documentation under your control while delivering enterprise-grade features.

What makes Docmost stand out from competitors?
Unlike older wiki platforms that feel outdated or lightweight tools that lack enterprise features, Docmost delivers a balance of modern collaboration and straightforward deployment. It offers a clean, intuitive interface that teams actually enjoy using, backed by constant development and regular releases.