BookStack vs HelpCenter.io
BookStack
bookstackapp.comHelpCenter.io
helpcenter.ioSide by side
| Figure | BookStack | HelpCenter.io |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £37.50/mo | $2.42/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 4 | 6 |
| Spec score · Knowledge base software | 8.9 (#8) | 8.4 (#44) |
| API | The project describes a growing REST API for automation and importing content. | A REST API is available on every plan, and webhooks notify a server when articles or categories change. |
| Publishing audience | both | both |
| Custom domain | Yes | Yes |
| Editor | The page editor provides a WYSIWYG interface, with an optional Markdown editor that includes live preview. | The editor supports drafts, version history, and collaboration. |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Product | BookStack is a simple, self-hosted, easy-to-use platform for organising and storing information. | HelpCenter.io provides a branded, searchable customer-facing knowledge base that can also power an AI Widget and embedded FAQ sections. |
| Security | BookStack supports CSP headers to increase protection against malicious content and stores MFA secrets encrypted in the database. | The security guide says HelpCenter.io runs on AWS, serves its dashboard and help centers over HTTPS, and backs up data several times a day. |
| SSO support | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Official paid support services are provided by HTTP Functions Ltd., while community support is available through discussions, Codeberg, Reddit, documentation and YouTube. | Growth and Catalyst include white-glove support, while Bootstrap lists standard support. |
| Version history | Yes | Yes |
Plans
BookStack
- BookStack self-hostedFree
- Community SupportFree
- Professional Support Plan£450 a year
- Enterprise Support Plan£4,500 a year
HelpCenter.io
- Bootstrap$29 a month
- Growth$119 a month
- Catalyst$179 a month
- Bootstrap$29 a year
- Growth$119 a year
- Catalyst$179 a year
In their own words
BookStack
BookStack is a free, open-source platform for organizing and storing information on a self-hosted instance. It organizes content into Books, Chapters and Pages, with a WYSIWYG editor and an optional Markdown editor with live preview. Search works within a book or across books, chapters and pages, and users can link directly to paragraphs. The editor includes diagrams.net drawing capability. Authentication supports OIDC, SAML2 and LDAP, as well as social-based secondary authentication options. Built-in multi-factor authentication can be enforced by role and uses TOTP and static backup codes. Content exports include contained HTML, PDF, plain text, Markdown and Portable ZIP. The project describes a growing REST API for automation and importing content. The MIT-licensed software has no cost to download and install. Setup requires PHP 8.2 or newer, MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.6 or newer, Git, Composer 2.2 or newer and a PHP-compatible web server. BookStack does not currently support shared PHP hosting. Community support is free but does not assure a response, support or resolution; paid support plans are also listed.
HelpCenter.io
HelpCenter.io has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.