Confluence vs BookStack

Confluence7.6Visit BookStack—Visit

Higher score Confluence #1 in Knowledge Management Software 7.6/10 Free plan · paid from $5.42/user/mo · 7-day trial Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit Confluence

vs

BookStack #5 in Knowledge Management Software —/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit BookStack

• Confluence fits best

  Teams building a broad knowledge hub

• BookStack fits best

  Teams needing self-hosted hierarchical documentation

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Side by side

Feature	Confluence 7.6/10 Visit ↗	BookStack —/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	7.6	—
Ranking	#1 in Knowledge Management Software	#5 in Knowledge Management Software
Best for	Teams building a broad knowledge hub	Teams needing self-hosted hierarchical documentation
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	$5.42/user/mo	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted, Mobile	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web
Support	Community, Docs, Phone · 24/7	Email, Tickets, Community, Docs
Compliance	SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI DSS	SSO/SAML, 2FA
Integrations	9 integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Confluence 2/5 · BookStack 2/5
AI search	Not published	Not published
Single sign-on	✓	✓
Granular permissions	Not published	Not published
Version history	✓	✓
Mobile app	Not published	Not published
Specs
Supported content types	Not published	Not published
Our review
Pros	Organizes documentation with spaces, page hierarchies, templates, and versioning Connects with Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, and more Available on web and mobile, with a self-hosted option	Organizes content into books, chapters, pages, and shelves Includes page revisions, role-based permissions, and access controls Offers diagrams.net editing, exports, and a REST API
Cons	Free plan limits file storage to 2 GB Standard and Premium pricing is per user each month Cloud SSO requires Atlassian Guard Standard unless included with Enterprise	Requires self-hosting Documentation is organized around a book-and-chapter hierarchy Its scope is wiki and documentation rather than broader knowledge workflows
Our verdict	Confluence gives teams a shared place to create, organize, find, and share knowledge. Its pages, spaces, structured hierarchies, templates, comments, search, and versioning suit internal documentation, project information, and knowledge… Read the review →	BookStack is a free, open-source wiki and documentation platform for teams, organizations, and individuals who need searchable internal documentation or publicly viewable knowledge bases. Its defining structure—books, chapters, pages, and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Confluence — where it wins

  • Organizes documentation with spaces, page hierarchies, templates, and versioning
  • Connects with Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, and more
  • Available on web and mobile, with a self-hosted option

  Where it doesn't

  • Free plan limits file storage to 2 GB
  • Standard and Premium pricing is per user each month
  • Cloud SSO requires Atlassian Guard Standard unless included with Enterprise

• BookStack — where it wins

  • Organizes content into books, chapters, pages, and shelves
  • Includes page revisions, role-based permissions, and access controls
  • Offers diagrams.net editing, exports, and a REST API

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires self-hosting
  • Documentation is organized around a book-and-chapter hierarchy
  • Its scope is wiki and documentation rather than broader knowledge workflows

• Confluence7.6/10 · Free plan · paid from $5.42/user/mo · 7-day trial

  A flexible team wiki with broad integrations, mobile apps, and self-hosted deployment.

  Visit ConfluenceFull verdict →
• BookStack—/10 · Free plan

  BookStack organizes searchable documentation into books, chapters, and pages.

  Visit BookStackFull verdict →