Five Years Searching for the Perfect Wiki
Over the past five years, I've tried dozens of knowledge management tools. Not out of curiosity—out of desperation. Each time I thought: this is it, the perfect tool. Six months later I'd realize: something's off.
What I tried:
- Obsidian — local markdown, knowledge graphs, plugins
- Notion — beautiful but slow
- Wiki.js — open source but rough
- DokuWiki — simple self-hosted option
- Redmine — old classic with wiki module
- GitBook — for docs, not internal knowledge base
- Outline — promised Confluence replacement, but...
- JetBrains Space — all-in-one, but wiki is secondary
- And finally, Confluence — yes, the corporate mammoth from Atlassian
Spoiler: there's no perfect tool. There's context, team, and tasks. Different situations need different solutions.
Here's what I learned through years of experiments, migrations, and disappointments.
What is Confluence (for those who haven't worked in corporations)
Confluence is a wiki from Atlassian (creators of Jira). Enterprise knowledge base that lives in the cloud or on your server.
Key features:
- Pages with tree structure (spaces → pages → subpages)
- WYSIWYG editor (not markdown, though supported)
- Integrations with Jira, Trello, Slack, Google Drive and hundreds of other services
- Access permissions at space and individual page level
- Comments, mentions, notifications
- Templates for common documents (decisions, meetings, project documentation)
- Macros for dynamic content (diagrams, Jira tables, code snippets)
Who it's for:
- Medium and large business (50+ people)
- Teams already using Jira/Trello
- Projects requiring strict access controls
- Companies with compliance requirements
Important for Russian companies: Confluence officially doesn't work in Russia since 2022. Atlassian completely withdrew from the Russian market, stopping sales and support. Existing installations continue to work, but new licenses can't be purchased, technical support unavailable.
My Journey: What I Tried and Why I Left
Obsidian: Local Files and Knowledge Graphs
Why I chose it:
- Free (for personal use)
- Markdown out of the box
- Local files → full control
- Connection graphs between notes
- Huge amount of plugins
Why I left:
- No proper collaboration. Sync for $8/month, but still hacky.
- Not suitable for teams. Everyone keeps their own copy, sync is a headache.
- Graphs—pretty but useless. Barely used them in real work.
Obsidian is perfect for personal knowledge base (second brain, zettelkasten). But for a team of 5+ people—it's pain. No comments, no mentions, no proper change history.
Verdict: Great tool for yourself, failure for teams.
Notion: Beautiful but Slow
Why I chose it:
- Beautiful interface
- All-in-one: wiki + tasks + databases + calendars
- Convenient block editor
- Templates for everything
Why I left:
- Slow. Especially with large pages (500+ lines).
- Poor search. You search for a phrase—it finds the wrong thing, or doesn't find it at all.
- No proper permissions structure. Either everything's public, or hacks with inheritance.
- Integrations don't always work. Especially with corporate SSO and permissions.
Verdict: Beautiful, but lacks speed and structure for serious work.
Wiki.js: Open Source Dream with Pitfalls
Why I chose it:
- Open source → free
- Markdown + WYSIWYG
- Git sync (automatic commit of each change)
- Can self-host
Why I left:
- Raw product. Bugs, rough edges, plugins work or don't.
- Weak collaboration support. No comments out of the box.
- Git sync is a hack. Great in theory, merge conflicts in practice with concurrent editing.
Verdict: Good for small team (3-5 people) with technical background. Doesn't scale.
JetBrains Space: All-in-One, but Wiki is Secondary
Why I chose it:
- All-in-one: Git, CI/CD, tasks, chats, wiki
- Free for up to 10 users
- From JetBrains—I trust their products
Why I left:
- Wiki is not the main priority. Basic editor, limited features.
- Overloaded with features. If you only need wiki, why drag Git and CI/CD?
- Interface is an acquired taste. Many clicks for simple operations.
- JetBrains doesn't work with Russia. After 2022, they stopped serving Russian companies and users. Even if you already used Space—you'll have to migrate.
JetBrains Space is a great choice if you already use their ecosystem (IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, etc) and want everything in one place. But if you need only wiki—it's overkill.
Verdict: Good for teams wanting all-in-one. But wiki there isn't the best.
DokuWiki: Easy Installation, But That's All
Why I chose it:
- Self-hosted — install on your own server
- Easy installation — literally unpack archive, configure a couple files, done
- No database required — everything stored in text files
- Lightweight — works even on weak hosting
- Free — completely open source
Why I left:
- Interface from the 2000s. Looks like phpBB forum from those times.
- Basic editor. Markdown exists, but very limited. Forget about drag-and-drop images.
- Weak collaboration. No proper comments, mentions, notifications.
- Plugins are a lottery. Half don't work, half incompatible with each other.
DokuWiki is "better than nothing". If you have an old server, no budget, and just need a knowledge base without bells and whistles—it'll do. But for a modern team it's too archaic.
Verdict: Good for personal wiki or small project. For teams—outdated by 10 years.
Redmine: Project Management System with Wiki
Why I chose it:
- All-in-one — tasks, bugs, wiki, forum, files
- Self-hosted — full data control
- Proven solution — used since 2006
- Free — open source
Why I left:
- Interface from last century. Looks like corporate system from 2005. And that's not nostalgia—that's pain.
- Wiki is secondary feature. Basic editor, limited capabilities.
- Slow. On large databases it lags even on decent hardware.
- Complex setup. Ruby on Rails, lots of dependencies, plugins conflict.
Redmine is like the good old Nokia 3310. Reliable, works, but in 2025 nobody wants to work with it. Interface is off-putting, UX is zero.
Verdict: Morally and interface-wise outdated. If you already use Redmine for tasks—tolerable. But for new projects—no.
Confluence: What Hooked Me
After all migrations I came to Confluence. Not because it's perfect. But because it solves problems I had.
1. Speed and Stability
Confluence lags less than Notion. Search works fast and finds what you need. Pages load instantly (unless overloaded with macros).
2. Access Rights Without Hacks
Spaces → pages → permissions.
- Can make public space for entire company.
- Can close space for one department.
- Can give edit access to only a specific page.
Everything's transparent, everything's configurable.
In Confluence permissions work as expected. In Notion—guess who sees this page through nested database inheritance.
3. Integrations That Work
Jira + Confluence = magic. You can insert sprint task list on a page. Or project progress diagram. Or bug table.
Other integrations:
- Slack (change notifications)
- Google Drive (document embedding)
- Miro, Figma (design and diagrams)
- Calendars, Trello, GitHub
Everything works out of the box, without hacks and third-party plugins.
4. Templates for Everything
Template examples:
- Architectural Decision Record (ADR)
- Meeting minutes
- Project documentation
- Onboarding for new employees
- Sprint retrospective
No need to reinvent structure each time—take template and fill it.
5. Change History and Comments
Each page has:
- Full change history (who, when, what changed)
- Ability to roll back to any version
- Comments with mentions (@user)
- Likes, notifications, change subscriptions
Comparison with Alternatives
Confluence vs Notion
When to choose Notion:
- Team up to 5 people
- Need all-in-one tool (wiki + tasks + CRM)
- Budget is limited
- Speed isn't critical
When to choose Confluence:
- Team 10+ people
- Already using Jira/Trello
- Need strict access controls
- Speed and stability important
Confluence vs Obsidian
When to choose Obsidian:
- Personal knowledge base
- Need full data control
- Love markdown and connection graphs
- Work alone
When to choose Confluence:
- Team collaboration
- Need comments, mentions, notifications
- Access rights important
- Need integration with other tools
Confluence vs JetBrains Space
When to choose JetBrains Space:
- Already using JetBrains IDE
- Need unified tool for development (Git + CI/CD + wiki)
- Team up to 10 people (free)
When to choose Confluence:
- Wiki is your main tool
- Need advanced editing capabilities
- Working with non-technical team (marketing, HR, sales)
Confluence vs GitBook
When to choose GitBook:
- Public documentation (API docs, user guides)
- Need beautiful site with search
- Git workflow (docs as code)
When to choose Confluence:
- Internal documentation
- Need access controls and privacy
- Working with non-technical people
When Confluence is Worth the Money
✅ Use Confluence if:
1. Team 10+ people
Small team can get by with Notion or even Google Docs. But when there's 10+ people—need structure, access controls, and collaboration tools.
2. Already using Jira/Trello
Jira integration is killer feature. Inserting tasks, diagrams, reports right into wiki page—priceless.
If you have Jira + Confluence, project documentation lives next to tasks. No switching between tools.
3. Need strict access controls
HR documents, financial data, confidential information—Confluence lets you configure permissions at space and individual page level.
4. Non-technical team
Marketers, designers, HR, sales—they don't need markdown. They need WYSIWYG editor, like Word. Confluence gives this out of the box.
5. Need change history and audit
Compliance, SOC2, ISO 27001—if you need to show "who, when, what changed"—Confluence keeps full audit.
6. Lots of integrations
Slack, Google Drive, Figma, Miro, Salesforce—if your team works in dozens of tools, Confluence connects them all.
When Confluence is Wasted Money
❌ Don't use Confluence if:
1. You work in Russia
Atlassian completely withdrew from Russian market in 2022. New licenses aren't sold, tech support unavailable. If you already have working installation—it works, but updates and support are absent. For new projects better look at alternatives (Outline, Wiki.js, or self-hosted solutions).
2. Team smaller than 5 people
For small team it's overkill. Notion or even Google Docs will handle better and cheaper.
3. Work alone
Obsidian is free. Local files, full control, no subscriptions. Why pay for collaboration that doesn't exist?
4. Need public documentation
GitBook, Docusaurus, VitePress—these are specialized tools for public documentation. Confluence is for internal knowledge base.
5. Entire team are developers
If everyone writes markdown and lives in Git, why WYSIWYG? Wiki.js, GitBook, or even GitHub Wiki will handle better.
Confluence is an enterprise tool. If you don't have enterprise processes, access controls, integrations—you're paying for features you don't use.
6. Budget is limited
$5.75/month per user. For team of 20 people—that's $115/month = $1380/year. If budget is tight, there are free alternatives.
7. Not ready for vendor lock-in
Confluence is closed platform. Migration from Confluence is pain. If you want to keep data in open format (markdown in Git)—this isn't your choice.
Practical Tips for Using Confluence
1. Space Structure
Don't make one big space.
Better split by teams/projects:
- Engineering (technical documentation, ADR, runbooks)
- Product (roadmap, specs, user research)
- Marketing (content plans, campaigns, brand book)
- HR (onboarding, policies, internal processes)
2. Use Templates
Create templates for common documents:
- Architectural Decision Records (ADR)
- Meeting minutes
- Project documentation
- Onboarding checklists
How to create template: Page → Templates → Create new template
3. Macros Are Your Weapon
Useful macros:
- Jira Issues — insert tasks from Jira
- Table of Contents — automatic contents
- Expand — collapsible blocks
- Status — colored labels (Done, In Progress, Blocked)
- Code Block — syntax highlighting
4. Search and Filters
Use advanced search:
title:deployment— search in titlesspace:ENG— search in spacecontributor:john— who editedcreated:>2024-01-01— filter by date
5. Notifications and Subscriptions
Subscribe to important pages:
- Watch page → get notifications on changes
- Mention colleagues via @mention
- Slack integration — notifications to channel
Confluence isn't just wiki. It's communication tool. Use comments and mentions instead of endless email threads.
6. Export and Backups
Regularly make exports:
- Space tools → Content Tools → Export
- Formats: PDF, HTML, XML
- Automate via API
Confluence Alternatives: Quick Comparison
| Tool | Price | Better for | Worse for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notion | $10/mo | Small teams, all-in-one | Speed, access controls |
| Obsidian | Free/$8/mo | Personal knowledge base | Team collaboration |
| JetBrains Space | Free (up to 10)/individual | Development (Git+CI/CD+wiki) | Wiki as main tool |
| GitBook | Free (public)/$6.70/mo | Public documentation | Internal knowledge base |
| Wiki.js | Free (self-hosted) | Technical team, DIY | Non-technical users |
| Outline | Free (self-hosted)/$8/mo | Confluence replacement cheaper | Integrations, stability |
| DokuWiki | Free (self-hosted) | Minimal hosting, personal wiki | Teams, modern UI |
| Redmine | Free (self-hosted) | Task management + wiki | Wiki as main tool |
My Verdict
After five years of experiments I came to simple conclusion:
Confluence isn't the best wiki. It's the best enterprise wiki.
If you have:
- Team 10+ people
- Different departments (not just developers)
- Need access controls and audit
- Using Jira/Trello
- Ready to pay for stability
→ Confluence is your choice.
If you have:
- Small team (up to 5 people)
- All technical specialists
- Limited budget
- Need personal knowledge base
→ Look towards Notion, Obsidian, or open source alternatives.
What's Next
I'm not urging everyone to rush to Confluence. I'm urging to think about context.
Tool isn't religion. It's task solution. If Notion solves your task for $10/month—great. If Obsidian solves for $0—even better.
But if you faced problems:
- Notion lags on large pages
- Obsidian doesn't fit team
- Wiki.js requires too much configuration
→ Try Confluence. There's free plan for 10 users. Test for a month, see if it fits you.
And if you decide it's not for you—okay. Main thing is you made conscious decision, not just went with the flow.
P.S. If you have experience using other knowledge bases—write to me. Interested to compare notes.