Open Source Self-Hosted BookStack Alternatives

There are many alternatives to BookStack as a self-hosted solution if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Self-Hosted alternative is TiddlyWiki. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to BookStack and many of them are open source and available as a self-hosted solution so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Self-Hosted alternatives to BookStack are Docmost, Ibis Wiki, DokuWiki and MediaWiki.

filter to find the best alternatives

BookStack alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools, but if you're looking for Wiki Engines or Todo List Managers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Self-Hosted + Open Source. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to BookStack.
BookStack iconBookStack
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BookStack is a free and open source knowledge management platform built on PHP. The system has been built around simplicity to ensure that adding information to it is not a chore. The content structure is built on the...

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BookStack alternatives page was last updated Jun 3, 2025
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  1. TiddlyWiki icon

    TiddlyWiki

     297 likes
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    TiddlyWiki is a single html file with all the characteristics of a wiki - including all of the functionality (including editing, saving, tagging and searching) and the style sheet. Because its a single file, its very portable - you can email it, put it on a web server or share...

    164 TiddlyWiki alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Xfce
    • RemoteStorage
    TiddlyWiki screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Standalone
    2.  Cross page linking
    3.  Support for MarkDown
    4.  Wiki
    5.  Portable
    6.  Wiki-like interface
    7.  Personal Information Manager (PIM)
    8.  No registration required
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Dark Mode
    11.  No Coding Required
    12.  WYSIWYG Support

    TiddlyWiki VS BookStack

     

    • TiddlyWiki is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to BookStack.

    • TiddlyWiki is Free and Open SourceBookStack is also Free and Open Source
    • TiddlyWiki is CustomizableBookStack is not according to our users
  2. Docmost icon

    Docmost

     36 likes
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    Docmost is an open-source collaborative wiki and documentation software. It is an open-source alternative to Confluence and Notion.

    73 Docmost alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • Docker
    Docmost screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Full-Text Search
    2.  No Tracking
    3.  Real time collaboration
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  File Versioning
    6.  Support for MarkDown
    7.  Knowledge base
    8.  Nested Notes
    9.  Activity history
    10.  Wiki
    11.  Attachments
    12.  Knowledge Management

    Docmost VS BookStack

     
  4. Ibis Wiki icon

    Ibis Wiki

     14 likes
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    Ibis is a federated encyclopedia which uses the ActivityPub protocol, just like Mastodon or Lemmy. Users can create, browse, edit articles and use many other features. If you want to start a wiki for a TV series, a video game, or an open source project, then Ibis is for you!

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Docker
    • Self-Hosted
    • PostgreSQL
    Ibis Wiki screenshot 1
    Ibis Wiki screenshot 2

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Support for MarkDown
    3.  Ad-free
    4. LaTeX icon  Support for LaTeX
    5.  Dark Mode
    6. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub
    7.  Built-in Commenting System
    8.  Comment section
    9.  Wiki
    10.  Fediverse
    11.  Federated
    12.  Rust

    Ibis Wiki VS BookStack

     
  5. DokuWiki icon

    DokuWiki

     188 likes
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    DokuWiki is a standards compliant, simple to use Wiki, mainly aimed at creating documentation of any kind. It is targeted at developer teams, workgroups and small companies. It has a simple but powerful syntax which makes sure the datafiles remain readable outside the Wiki and...

    90 DokuWiki alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    DokuWiki screenshot 1

    DokuWiki Features

    1.  Plain text file
    2.  Wiki
    3.  No database needed
    4.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    5.  Multiple languages
    6.  Access Control
    7.  Support for Multiple Users
    8.  Drag and Drop

    DokuWiki VS BookStack

     
    Comments about DokuWiki as an Alternative to BookStack
    Wolfram Schmidt
    Positive Nov 12, 2017
    0

    DokuWiki is pretty powerful once you get used to using the syntax. Once you use it you can be working very fast on DokuWiki.

    BookStack Icon
    DokuWiki icon

    • Almost everyone thinks DokuWiki is a great BookStack alternative.

    • DokuWiki is Free and Open SourceBookStack is also Free and Open Source
  6. MediaWiki icon

    MediaWiki

     177 likes
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    MediaWiki is a free software wiki package written in PHP, originally for use on Wikipedia. It is now used by several other projects of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation and by many other wikis.

    86 MediaWiki alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    • Cloudron
    • Sandstorm
    MediaWiki screenshot 1

    Top MediaWiki Features

    1.  WYSIWYG Support
    2.  File Versioning
    3.  Business-wiki
    4.  Multi-user editing
    5.  Syntax Highlighting
    6.  Semantic Data
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Wiki
    9.  Non profit
    10.  Suggests DSL format
    11.  Web-Based
    12.  Wiki-like interface

    MediaWiki VS BookStack

     
  7. Foam icon

    Foam

     47 likes
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    Foam is a personal knowledge management and sharing system inspired by Roam Research, built on Visual Studio Code and GitHub.

    235 Foam alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Visual Studio Code
    Foam screenshot 1

    Foam Features

    1.  Knowledge base
    2.  VSCode
    3.  Knowledge Management
    4.  Write files in markdown
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Works Offline
    7.  Support for MarkDown
    8.  Graph view

    Foam VS BookStack

     
  9. XWiki icon

    XWiki

     94 likes
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    XWiki is the ultimate open-source structured wiki designed to enhance business collaboration and efficiency. Tailored for tech-savvy professionals, XWiki’s extensibility, customization, and flexibility make it indispensable for managing large projects and datasets, while...

    94 XWiki alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    XWiki screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Structured data
    2.  Support for scripting
    3.  Real time collaboration
    4.  Hierarchical Structure
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Support for @mentions
    7.  Support for MarkDown
    8.  Works Offline
    9.  Full-Text Search
    10.  Reminders
    11.  WYSIWYG Support
    12.  No Tracking

    XWiki VS BookStack

     
  10. Wiki.js icon

    Wiki.js

     48 likes
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    Write your content in the widely used and simple Markdown format, using the built-in visual editor. Unlike other wiki software that save content in a database with a difficult to extract format, Wiki.js saves all your content directly into Markdown (.

    73 Wiki.js alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CA flagCanada

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    Wiki.js screenshot 1

    Wiki.js Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Built-in authentication
    3.  Wiki
    4.  Built-in search engine
    5.  Knowledge base
    6. Git icon  Git Support
    7.  WYSIWYG Support
    8.  Real time collaboration
    9.  Access Control

    Wiki.js VS BookStack

     
  11. GitJournal icon

    GitJournal

     27 likes
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    Manage your Notes from any Git Repo.

    250 GitJournal alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • IN flagIndia

    Platforms

    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    GitJournal screenshot 1
    GitJournal screenshot 2
    GitJournal screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2. Git icon  Git integration
    3. GitHub icon  GitHub Integration
    4. Android icon  Android Sync
    5.  Works Offline
    6. GitLab icon  Gitlab integration
    7. Git icon  Git Support
    8.  Ad-free
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Real time collaboration
    11.  Command line interface
    12.  No Tracking

    GitJournal VS BookStack

     
  12. TiddlyRoam icon

    TiddlyRoam

     18 likes
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    TiddlyRoam is your open source external brain. TiddlyRoam allows you to quickly create your own wiki. You can add fragments of thoughts and findings whenever they come to you. TiddlyRoam will link them and help you spot the patterns.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • Self-Hosted
    • TiddlyWiki
    A full screen view of TiddlyRoam.

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Support for MarkDown
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Works Offline
    6.  Connecting ideas
    7.  Notebook

    TiddlyRoam VS BookStack

     
  13. Archivy icon

    Archivy

     10 likes
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    A self-hosted knowledge repository that allows you to safely preserve useful content that contributes to your own personal, searchable and extensible wiki.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Python
    • Nix Package Manager
    • Docker
    Archivy screenshot 1

    Archivy Features

    1.  Syntax Highlighting
    2.  Support for MarkDown
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  Knowledge base
    5. Node.js icon  Support for Node.js
    6.  LaTeX Math
    7.  Knowledge Management
    8.  Wiki

    Archivy VS BookStack

     
  14. Tiddly Research icon

    Tiddly Research

     8 likes
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    Local and Anki-compatible note-taking tool based on TiddlyWiki.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Tiddly Research screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    This repository has been archived by the owner on Oct 11, 2022. It is now read-only.

    Tiddly Research Features

    1.  Knowledge Management
    2.  Wiki
    3.  Backlink
    4.  Srs

    Tiddly Research VS BookStack

     
12 of 25 BookStack alternatives