shouldiuse.io

Categories

VERDICT

DokuWiki Review

Depends

Should I use DokuWiki?

Open-source, no-database wiki - dokuwiki.org

· 1 month ago

Adopt it if you're technical, want a free self-hosted wiki, and can live with markup editing. Skip it if you need vendor support, polished collaboration, or a hosted product.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~25 public sources: Reddit threads, G2/Capterra listings, CVE databases, forum posts, and official docs.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Self-hosted (open source)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Self-hosters and homelab users
  • IT and internal documentation teams
  • Zero-budget teams
  • Technical teams storing SOPs and manuals

Not for

  • Non-technical teams — you must learn wiki markup syntax
  • Enterprises needing vendor SLAs or paid support
  • Teams unwilling to self-host, patch, and manage plugins
  • Guess: teams wanting real-time collaborative editing a la Notion

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Plugins add risk: runcommand plugin RCE (CVE-2025-51958) shows third-party code can be critical

medium

Free software isn't free of cost — hosting, backups, and patching are on you

medium

Self-managed upgrades have repeatedly tripped up long-time users

medium

No paid support path; help depends on community forum response

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free and open source
  • No database required — flat files simplify setup and backups
  • Quick to set up, lightweight footprint
  • Self-hosters still call it the best wiki

Cons

  • Syntax-based editing, not modern WYSIWYG
  • Advanced features require plugins — extra maintenance surface
  • You own updates; users report upgrade problems
  • No vendor support — community forums only

Sources & method

- 9 sources - Actively maintained with a security page, but recent CVEs include a plugin RCE and XSS — patching is your job.

official x2review x4security x2news x1
  • CVE-2025-51958: runcommand plugin remote code execution, Critical command injection/RCE in a third-party runcommand plugin.
  • CVE-2025-61224: cross-site scripting, XSS vulnerability disclosed in the NVD.
  • XSS in DokuWiki 2025-05 release, Cross-site scripting vulnerability tracked as GHSA-pp4p-g4w7-gvp7.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 9

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free, open source, no license fees
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Quick to set up, simple to administer
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Core wiki solid; advanced features depend on plugins
  • Support quality: 2/5. Community forums only, no vendor
  • Security posture: 3/5. Active project, but recent plugin RCE and XSS CVEs
  • $0 Starting price Open source, self-hosted
  • Yes Free tier Entire product is free software
  • 13 G2 reviews Small review base
  • 14,807 Live sites Detected by BuiltWith

Pricing

Self-hosted (open source)

$0

  • Full wiki software
  • No database needed
  • You pay hosting and admin time only

Security

Actively maintained with a security page, but recent CVEs include a plugin RCE and XSS — patching is your job.

  • CVE-2025-51958: runcommand plugin remote code executionCritical command injection/RCE in a third-party runcommand plugin.⁶
  • CVE-2025-61224: cross-site scriptingXSS vulnerability disclosed in the NVD.⁷
  • XSS in DokuWiki 2025-05 releaseCross-site scripting vulnerability tracked as GHSA-pp4p-g4w7-gvp7.

What users say

Self-hosters consistently praise its simplicity and no-database design; complaints center on dated editing and upgrade friction.

“Dokuwiki is still the best wiki.”
Reddit, r/selfhosted

Companies that use it

  • University of Twente
Full analysis

Based on ~25 public sources: Reddit threads, G2/Capterra listings, CVE databases, forum posts, and official docs.

Free, no-database wiki loved by self-hosters; wrong fit for non-technical teams wanting modern collaboration.

Methodology

Based on ~25 public sources: Reddit threads, G2/Capterra listings, CVE databases, forum posts, and official docs.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. DokuWiki official sitedokuwiki.org
    official
  2. DokuWiki Review 2026: The No-Database Wikidocsio.co
    review
  3. Why is DokuWiki so popular? — r/selfhostedreddit.com
    review
  4. Looking for a better Wiki — r/selfhostedreddit.com
    review
  5. DokuWiki Reviews — G2g2.com
    review
  6. CVE-2025-51958: DokuWiki runcommand Plugin RCEthehackerwire.com
    security
  7. CVE-2025-61224 — NVDnvd.nist.gov
    security
  8. Websites using DokuWiki — BuiltWithtrends.builtwith.com
    news
  9. DokuWiki — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    official

Add this review to your site

This check for DokuWiki says Depends.

Put the badge on your site.

Visitors see the independent review.

The link points here, and search engines follow it.

This is the badge visitors see on your site.

Depends DokuWiki Independent review on Should I Use It

Paste one snippet. Keep the link as it is. A nofollow tag stops search engines from following it.

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.