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Indie alternatives to Outline

4 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what Outline does, 4 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

Product	Price	Open source	Self-host	Platforms
BookStack	Free	Yes	Yes	Web, Self-hosted
Wiki.js	Free	Yes	Yes	Web, Self-hosted
Docmost	Free plan	Yes	Yes	Self-hosted, Web
Nuclino	Free plan	–	–	Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android

The alternatives

1. BookStack

Free, self-hosted wiki organized into books and chapters

An open-source, self-hosted platform for organizing documentation into shelves, books, chapters and pages with a WYSIWYG editor. For teams that need a simple internal wiki.

Free · Web, Self-hosted · Website ↗

2. Wiki.js

Open-source, Node.js-based wiki engine

A free, open-source wiki application with Markdown and visual editors, Git sync, access control and search. For teams and communities hosting their own wiki.

Free · Web, Self-hosted · Website ↗

3. Docmost

Open-source collaborative wiki and documentation software

Docmost is an open-source, self-hostable wiki for team documentation and knowledge bases, with real-time collaborative editing.

Free plan · Self-hosted, Web · Website ↗

4. Nuclino

Lightweight team wiki and collaborative docs

A collaborative workspace for team wikis, docs and project boards with real-time editing and a graph view of linked pages. For small teams wanting a simple shared knowledge base.

Free plan · Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android · Website ↗

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Outline?

Yes. 4 of the 4 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: BookStack, Wiki.js, Docmost and Nuclino.

Is there an open-source alternative to Outline?

BookStack, Wiki.js and Docmost are open source.

Can I self-host an alternative to Outline?

Yes: BookStack, Wiki.js and Docmost can run on your own server.

Which Outline alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?

On Mac: Nuclino. On Windows: Nuclino. On Linux: Nuclino. On iPhone and iPad: Nuclino. On Android: Nuclino.

What makes these alternatives to Outline “indie”?

They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as Outline.

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