Happy Valley

Notion vs XWiki

Notion and XWiki are both note-taking & docs tools. Notion is aimed at small businesses and freelancers, while XWiki is aimed at enterprise and small businesses. Both have a free plan.

Notion

All-in-one workspace for notes, docs and projects

XWiki

Open-source enterprise wiki, self-hosted or cloud, now with MCP

PricingFreemium · $12Open source
Starting price$12/moNot published
Free planYesYes
Free trial—30 days
Built forSmall businesses, Freelancers, EnterpriseEnterprise, Small businesses, Developers
Platformsweb, ios, android, macos, windowsweb, linux
CountryUS · 2016FR · 2004
Rating——

Choose Notion if

Startups and small teams (2–50 people) that want docs, wiki and simple project tracking in one place, and individuals who like building their own systems.

  • Replaces several tools (docs, wiki, light PM, CRM) for small teams
  • Extremely flexible data model; databases with relations and rollups
  • Huge template ecosystem and integrations via API and Zapier/Make

Look elsewhere if: Engineering teams that need a strict issue tracker with cycles and estimates, finance teams that live in spreadsheets, or organizations that need offline-first access.

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).

Notion vs XWiki pricing

Notion

  • Free$07-day page history, 10 guests, limited Notion AI trial
  • Plus$12/member/mo$10/mo billed yearly; 30-day history, unlimited guests
  • Business$24/member/mo$20/mo billed yearly; 90-day history, Notion Agent, AI notes
  • EnterpriseCustomUnlimited history, zero data retention with LLM providers

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

Notion · Key features

  • Block-based editor with slash commands, synced blocks and 50+ content types
  • Relational databases with table, board, calendar, gallery, timeline and list views
  • Templates, buttons and database automations for repeatable workflows
  • Notion AI: Q&A across workspace plus Slack, Drive and GitHub connectors
  • Public publishing with custom domains (Notion Sites) and SEO settings
  • Granular sharing: teamspaces, guests, page-level permissions and SSO on Business

Cons

  • No native structure means workspaces sprawl without governance
  • Slower on large databases; offline mode is limited
  • Per-seat pricing adds up for large teams, AI bundled only in Business and up

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

Notion vs XWiki: FAQ

Do Notion and XWiki have a free plan?

Yes, both Notion and XWiki have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Not sure yet?