Overview

CompassDocs is a self-hosted knowledge base for teams managing procedures, policies, technical documentation and internal guidance. It is a stronger fit for organizations willing to run their own software than for teams seeking a managed service today.

Its central distinction is that staff can ask questions of the team’s documents and get cited answers, while access and publishing controls support governed documentation. That approach depends on an AI key for question answering; keyword search remains the fallback.

Key features

Authoring and discovery

Rich-text and Markdown editing, with diagrams, tables, checklists, embeds and AI proofreading, gives teams flexibility to maintain different kinds of documentation in one system. Plain-English questions can make a large document set easier to navigate, and inline citations point users back to source material. Without an AI key, keyword search preserves basic retrieval but not the question-and-answer experience.

The Outlook add-in brings search and AI answers into the email workflow and inserts document links from the ribbon. Other integrations include a Claude connector, Microsoft 365 and Entra sync, Google Workspace directory sync, and notifications through Webex, Teams, Slack, email or webhooks. This is a useful spread for organizations already using those services, though it does not change the self-hosting requirement.

Governance, publishing and resilience

Viewer, Editor, Approver and Admin roles, custom roles, private spaces and an optional review queue let teams separate access from publishing responsibility. Version history, read acknowledgements and completion tracking suit procedures and policies that need an approval trail or confirmation of readership. Selected spaces can be published as a branded, read-only public site; sharing is off by default and indexing can be configured.

The security features include AES-256-GCM encryption at rest for credentials and backups, hashed session tokens, login throttling and security headers. Self-hosted backups can be scheduled, retained, restored with one click and mirrored off-site to S3, R2, MinIO or Azure. These options give administrators practical control over recovery, but also make deployment and ongoing operations part of the ownership decision.

Pricing

Community is free forever: $0.00 USD per free, with unlimited users and documents, an AGPL-3.0 license, self-hosting and GitHub community support. It is a compelling starting point for teams able to administer their own installation. The trade-off is that it does not include Enterprise identity and governance capabilities or dedicated support.

Enterprise costs $599.00 USD per year, flat, for unlimited users, with one license per install. It adds self-hosting, SSO, directory and group sync, policy acknowledgements, training, SCIM and audit-log export. This is the more appropriate tier for organizations that need those controls without per-seat pricing. Optional dedicated support costs $3,000.00 USD per year and carries a 48-hour response commitment.

Cloud is shown at $8.00 USD per month per user, billed monthly, but is coming soon and has not launched. Its listed offer includes fully managed hosting, 25 GB of document and attachment storage, and a free trial at launch with no credit card. Teams choosing it would avoid self-administration, but must wait for launch; the listed storage allowance is also a meaningful constraint to assess for document-heavy use.

Platforms

CompassDocs lists API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web and Windows support. A Docker command starts CompassDocs and PostgreSQL; the self-hosting options include Linux with Docker, macOS or Windows with Docker Desktop, or manual Node.js and PostgreSQL installation on any OS. This makes self-hosting broadly deployable, though manual installation and database operation call for technical ownership. Cloud is planned but not yet available.

Who it's for

CompassDocs suits teams that want a central, searchable home for SOPs, technical documents and policies, especially when approvals, access boundaries, acknowledgements or self-managed backups matter. Its free unlimited-user plan lowers the cost of adopting that model, and Enterprise adds identity and governance controls for larger operational needs.

It is less suitable for organizations that require managed hosting immediately, or that cannot provide an AI key but expect conversational answers. Cloud may address the first need once launched; without an AI key, the product still offers keyword search rather than AI answers.

Pros and cons

Pro: Community allows unlimited users and documents at no charge, making self-hosted evaluation and use possible without seat caps.
Pro: Role controls, review workflows, acknowledgements and completion tracking address the publishing and follow-through needs of policy and procedure owners.
Pro: Scheduled backups, restore and multiple off-site mirroring targets provide concrete recovery options for self-hosted installations.
Con: The currently described deployment path is self-hosted; Cloud is coming soon, so teams needing managed hosting now should look elsewhere.
Con: AI answers require an AI key. Keyword search remains available without one, but it is a less conversational way to find guidance.
Con: The $599.00 USD per year Enterprise license is per install, and dedicated support adds $3,000.00 USD per year, which raises the commitment for teams needing premium assistance.

Alternatives

For a focused procedure workflow, compare SOP Software, IT Documentation Software, IT Knowledge Base Software and HR Knowledge Base Software.

Tango is worth considering when browser-captured workflows and sharing matter more than a self-hosted document knowledge base: its free plan includes five shared workflows and supports up to 10 users per workspace. Scribe is another freemium option for shareable, customizable documentation that works with any web app; choose it if that capture-and-share approach is the priority.

SOPGalaxy may suit teams seeking a per-user SOP product with a free trial: its Starter plan is $6.00 USD per month per user, capped at 15 users and 100 SOPs, with 5,000 AI tokens and five active suggestions per user. Whale is a different freemium option for teams whose needs fit its free allowance of 10 members, one creator, 20 Playbook items and 20 AI credits.

Q-Hub is an alternative with a free trial and a Starter plan at £85 per month for one Full user and five Basic users. SweetProcess is a paid alternative with a free trial and a monthly plan at $99.00 USD per month for up to 10 users. For other paid options, Dozuki and Poka use request-based pricing.

Verdict

Choose CompassDocs if your team wants a self-hosted, governed knowledge base with cited document answers, flexible authoring and robust backup choices, and can take responsibility for operating it. The free Community plan is unusually unconstrained by user and document caps; look elsewhere if managed hosting is an immediate requirement or if the Enterprise identity and governance tier does not fit your budget.

	CompassDocs	EMPTrust
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	$8/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows	Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Access controls	advanced	—

CompassDocs vs EMPTrust

CompassDocs

EMPTrust