Microsoft OneNote vs XWiki
Microsoft OneNote and XWiki are both note-taking & docs tools. Microsoft OneNote is aimed at freelancers and small businesses, while XWiki is aimed at enterprise and small businesses. Both have a free plan.
Free freeform digital notebook from Microsoft with ink and sync
Open-source enterprise wiki, self-hosted or cloud, now with MCP
| Pricing | Free | Open source |
| Starting price | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | 30 days |
| Built for | Freelancers, Small businesses, Enterprise | Enterprise, Small businesses, Developers |
| Platforms | web, windows, macos, ios, android | web, linux |
| Country | US · 2003 | FR · 2004 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Microsoft OneNote if
Students, teachers and Microsoft 365 users who want a free, pen-friendly notebook that syncs across every device.
- Completely free on every major platform with no note limits
- Best-in-class pen experience for students and tablet users
- Freeform canvas suits mixed media better than linear note apps
Look elsewhere if: Knowledge workers who need databases, linked notes or plain-file ownership (Notion, Obsidian or Evernote suit them better).
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).
Microsoft OneNote vs XWiki pricing
Microsoft OneNote
- OneNote$0Free with a Microsoft account; notebooks sync via 5 GB OneDrive
- Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99/mo$99.99/year; 1 TB OneDrive and Copilot in OneNote
- Microsoft 365 Family$12.99/mo$129.99/year; up to 6 people, 2 TB shared storage
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
Microsoft OneNote · Key features
- Freeform pages where text, images, ink and files can be placed anywhere
- Notebook, section and page hierarchy with color-coded tabs
- Pen and stylus inking with handwriting search and ink-to-text
- Text extraction from images and printouts inserted into notes
- Audio recording linked to notes and tags such as To Do and Important
- OneNote Web Clipper for saving web pages into a notebook
Cons
- Storage is capped by OneDrive, only 5 GB on free accounts
- No databases, Markdown or bidirectional links
- Weak export makes migrating to another app painful
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
Microsoft OneNote vs XWiki: FAQ
Do Microsoft OneNote and XWiki have a free plan?
Yes, both Microsoft OneNote and XWiki have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.