Outline is a note-taking & docs tool for Developers and Small businesses, offered as freemium ($10/mo). Founded in United States in 2017.
About Outline
Outline is a fast, modern knowledge base and team wiki built by a small independent team. It offers a clean Markdown-friendly editor with slash commands and real-time collaboration, collections that group nested documents with their own permissions, and quick full-text search, all with a focus on speed and simplicity. The source code is public under the Business Source License, which allows free self-hosting, and a hosted cloud version is sold by the same team.
Key features include single sign-on with Slack, Google, Microsoft Entra ID, Okta and other OIDC providers, document history and restore, templates, comments, public sharing and publishing of collections, an AI feature that answers questions from your documents, and a REST API with webhooks. Hosted plans are priced per workspace rather than per user, with flat monthly tiers based on team size bands such as up to 10 or up to 100 members, which makes it unusually affordable for teams near the top of a band.
Outline fits engineering-led companies and teams who want a fast, focused wiki, either self-hosted for data control or hosted at a predictable cost. It is a wiki only: there are no databases, task boards or project views, the template library is limited, and self-hosting requires Postgres, Redis and file storage. Notion suits teams that want docs, databases and projects in one tool, Confluence fits Atlassian-centric organisations, and Slite or Nuclino are other lightweight hosted wikis.
Key features of Outline
- Markdown editor with slash commands and real-time collaboration
- Collections with nested documents and permissions
- SSO via Slack, Google, Microsoft, Okta and OIDC
- Fast full-text search and AI question answering
- Public sharing and publishing of docs
- Self-hosted or hosted; REST API and webhooks
Pros and cons
Pros
- Flat per-workspace pricing by team size
- Open source and self-hostable
- Very fast and clean
- Excellent SSO support
Cons
- Wiki only; no databases or tasks
- Small team; features ship slower than big players
- Self-hosting requires Postgres, Redis and S3
- Limited template library
Outline pricing
Outline uses a freemium model. A 30-day free trial is available.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $10 / mo | Cloud, 1-10 team members; annual pricing available |
| Team | $79 / mo | Cloud, 11-100 team members |
| Business | $249 / mo | Cloud, 101-200 team members |
| Community Edition | $0 | Self-hosted, limited features, no support |
| On-prem Business | $4 / user/mo | Self-hosted, billed annually, 10 user minimum |
| On-prem Enterprise | $5 / user/mo | Self-hosted, billed annually, 100 user minimum, support |
Source: www.getoutline.com · checked on Oct 20, 2026
How Outline compares in Note-taking & docs
- Rank by votes
- #1 / 15
- Starting price
- $10
- Free alternatives
- 3
0 votes from members
At the category median of $10/mo
Free or open-source tools in Note-taking & docs
Outline ranks #1 of 15 note-taking & docs tools by community votes and is priced in line with the category.
Common use cases
- 1Engineering wiki replacing Confluence
- 2Company handbook self-hosted for compliance
- 3Public documentation shared via publishing
- 4Startup knowledge base on a flat monthly price
Best for
Engineering-led teams and companies wanting a fast wiki with predictable pricing or self-hosting.
Not ideal for
Teams wanting all-in-one workspaces or non-technical setups.
Integrations
- Slack
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft Entra
- Okta
- GitHub
- Figma
- Loom
- Zapier
Our take
Outline is the best pure wiki for the money, especially past 20 users. Self-host it if you have the ops capacity; the hosted Team plan is a bargain otherwise.
FAQ
- What is Outline?
- Outline is a Note-taking & docs tool: Fast, self-hostable team knowledge base.
- How much does Outline cost?
- Outline uses a Freemium model; paid plans start at $10 per month.
- Does Outline have a free trial?
- Yes, Outline offers a 30-day free trial.
- What does Outline integrate with?
- Outline integrates with Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra, Okta, GitHub, Figma and more.
- Which platforms does Outline support?
- Outline is available on web.
- Who is Outline for?
- Engineering-led teams and companies wanting a fast wiki with predictable pricing or self-hosting.
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