BookStack vs KBPublisher
BookStack
bookstackapp.comKBPublisher
kbpublisher.comSide by side
| Figure | BookStack | KBPublisher |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £37.50/mo | $498/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 14 |
| Spec score · HR Knowledge Base Software | 9.0 (#2) | 8.2 (#13) |
| Spec score · Knowledge base software | 8.9 (#8) | 8.1 (#69) |
| Authentication | BookStack supports OIDC, SAML2 and LDAP, plus social-based secondary authentication options. | The feature page lists LDAP authentication, SAML integration, and remote authentication for single sign-on. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Search | Content is fully searchable at book level or across all books, chapters and pages, with direct paragraph linking. | Its search supports full-text search, spell check, word variation, partial-word recognition, and Sphinx. |
Plans
BookStack
- BookStack self-hostedFree
- Community SupportFree
- Professional Support Plan£450 a year
- Enterprise Support Plan£4,500 a year
KBPublisher
- Community EditionFree
- 5 License Pack$498 a month
- 10 License Pack$898 a month
- 20 License Pack$1,498 a month
- 30 License Pack$1,998 a month
- EssentialPrice not published
- TeamPrice not published
- 5 License Pack$498, paid once
- 10 License Pack$898, paid once
- 20 License Pack$1,498, paid once
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.
KBPublisher
KBPublisher is knowledge base and knowledge management software for organizations, with web, API, and self-hosted options. Teams can create and format articles, attach files, and revise published content in drafts. Approval workflows support review and publication. Search offers full-text matching, spell checking, word variations, partial-word recognition, and Sphinx. Access controls include security groups and user roles; authentication options include LDAP, SAML integration, and remote authentication for single sign-on. The HR solution describes employee onboarding programs, versioned personnel documents, and an employee self-service portal. The licensed download installs on one web server, and the Community Edition is on-premise only. That free edition has unlimited staff users, end users, articles, and files, but no support or maintenance and no cloud version. Cloud fees include support, upgrades, and automatic content backups; data export is available without charge. Content analytics, custom branding, multilingual content, and approval workflows are supported. Pricing is freemium, with paid service listed from $33/mo (annual); a free trial is available.