The Open Source Alternative to Notion & Confluence

🩺 Vitals

📦 Version: v0.24.1 (Released 2025-12-14)
🚀 Velocity: Active (Last commit 2026-01-30)
🌟 Community: 18.8k Stars · 1.1k Forks
🐞 Backlog: 298 Open Issues

🏗️ Profile

Official: docmost.com
Source: github.com/docmost/docmost
License: AGPL 3.0
Deployment: Docker / Kubernetes
Data Model: PostgreSQL + Redis
Jurisdiction: USA 🇺🇸
Compliance: GDPR
Complexity: Low (2/5) - Simple Docker Stack
Maintenance: Low (2/5) - Auto-updating Container
Enterprise Ready: Medium (3/5) - Basic RBAC, growing compliance features

1. The Executive Summary

What is it? Docmost is a modern, open-source collaborative documentation platform designed to replace tools like Notion and Confluence for internal wikis and knowledge bases. It features a rich text editor with real-time collaboration, diagramming support (Mermaid, Excalidraw), and a hierarchical page structure. Unlike Notion, which is exclusively SaaS, Docmost is built to be self-hosted, giving organizations complete control over their proprietary knowledge and documentation data.

The Strategic Verdict:

🔴 For Large Enterprises Requiring Immediate SSO: Caution. Single Sign-On (SSO) and LDAP integration are locked behind the paid Enterprise Edition. Verify pricing if these are mandatory.
🟢 For Privacy-Conscious Teams & Startups: Strong Buy. If you love the Notion UX but cannot legally or strategically store your IP on US servers, Docmost is the ideal self-hosted alternative.

2. The "Hidden" Costs (TCO Analysis)

Cost Component	Proprietary (Notion / Confluence)	Docmost (Open Source)
Licensing (Per-User)	$10-$30/user/mo (Notion Business).	Free (Community) or Custom (Enterprise).
Data Residency	SaaS Only (Notion). No self-host option.	100% Sovereign. Your infrastructure.
SSO & Security	Enterprise Plans Only ($$$).	Paid Feature. Requires Docmost Enterprise.

3. The "Day 2" Reality Check

🚀 Deployment & Operations

Installation: Extremely simple deployment via a single docker-compose.yml file involving the App, PostgreSQL, and Redis.
Performance: Lightweight and fast compared to Java-heavy alternatives like Confluence Data Center.
Migration: Includes built-in importers for Confluence and Notion, significantly reducing the friction of switching platforms.

🛡️ Security & Governance

Access Control: The Community Edition includes a permission system (Space-level permissions) and Groups. Granular Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is more robust in the Enterprise tier.
Compliance: GDPR

Docmost