Confluence vs XWiki
Confluence and XWiki are both note-taking & docs tools. Confluence is aimed at enterprise and developers, while XWiki is aimed at enterprise and small businesses. Both have a free plan.
Team wiki tightly integrated with Jira
Open-source enterprise wiki, self-hosted or cloud, now with MCP
| Pricing | Freemium · $7 | Open source |
| Starting price | $7.15/mo | Not published |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | 30 days |
| Built for | Enterprise, Developers | Enterprise, Small businesses, Developers |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web, linux |
| Country | AU · 2004 | FR · 2004 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Confluence if
Organizations already standardized on Jira that need a governed knowledge base.
- Deep Jira integration and shared admin
- Mature permissions for large organizations
- Free for small teams up to 10 users
Look elsewhere if: Teams without Jira or those who value writing experience; Notion, Slite or Outline.
Choose XWiki if
Organisations that want an open-source, self-hostable enterprise wiki with full data ownership and a supported path off Confluence.
- Fully open source, so self-hosting has no licence cost
- Data stays portable between cloud and self-hosted at any time
- Scales to millions of pages and very large user bases
Look elsewhere if: Small teams that want a polished, low-maintenance docs workspace with monthly billing (Notion, Outline).
Confluence vs XWiki pricing
Confluence
- Free$0Up to 10 users, 2 GB storage, community support
- Standard$7.15/user/mo1-100 users monthly; tiered lower ($5.78 avg at 300); 250 GB
- Premium$14.10/user/mo1-100 users monthly ($11.16 avg at 300 users); 30-day trial
- EnterpriseCustom801+ users, advanced analytics, scale and security
XWiki
- Open sourceFreeSelf-hosted XWiki under LGPL 2.1, community support
- Starter€773/yr25 users, XWiki Cloud only, portal support; 3-year term saves 20%
- Basic€1,486/yr25 users, cloud or on-prem, Pro Apps, LDAP/AD
- Business€2,318/yr25 users, SAML/OIDC, IP allowlist, Confluence migration toolkit
- Enterprise€33,990/yr500 users, SCIM, AI integration (beta), account manager
Confluence · Key features
- Spaces, page trees and templates for specs, runbooks and meetings
- Live Jira issue embeds and requirement linking
- Whiteboards, databases and inline comments
- Rovo AI search, chat and writing
- Granular space and page permissions
- Marketplace apps for diagrams, forms and macros
Cons
- Editor and formatting can be frustrating
- Search quality is inconsistent
- Feels heavy compared with modern wikis
XWiki · Key features
- Page hierarchies, templates, forms and structured data applications
- Real-time co-editing with comments and unlimited version history
- Search across pages, attachments and structured content
- 900+ extensions plus Pro Apps for draw.io diagrams and office editing
- Granular permissions with LDAP, Active Directory, SAML, OIDC and SCIM
- Confluence migrator with 150+ supported Confluence macros
Cons
- Interface and administration feel heavier than Notion or Outline
- Prices are in euros and billed yearly, with no monthly plan
- SSO via SAML or OIDC starts at the Business plan
Confluence vs XWiki: FAQ
Do Confluence and XWiki have a free plan?
Yes, both Confluence and XWiki have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.
Which is better for small businesses, Confluence or XWiki?
XWiki lists small businesses as a core audience, while Confluence is aimed more at enterprise and developers.