head to head · open source
Docmost vs iwe
Docmost has 21,764 GitHub stars, 1,574 forks, 326 open issues and last shipped yesterday. iwe has 1,715 stars, 88 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Docmost leads on adoption by 1,169% (21,764 vs 1,715 stars). Docmost is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; iwe is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Docmost has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, iwe 5%. Docmost was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Docmost | iwe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 88 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docmost if
- You weight community size — 22K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick iwe if
- You want the iwe feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and iwe fits your workflow better
About Docmost
Docmost is an open source collaborative wiki and documentation software written in TypeScript and licensed under the AGPL 3.0 license. It positions itself as an open alternative to Atlassian Confluence and Notion, and its tagline describes it as a self hosted wiki with AI, compliance, and real time editing. The project lives in the knowledge management and note taking ecosystem, where teams manage documentation and knowledge base content.
read the full Docmost overview →
About iwe
IWE is a local first Rust tool that turns a directory of Markdown files into a knowledge graph, serving the same notes to your editor through a language server and to AI agents through a CLI and MCP server — it is built for anyone who wants database style queries over plain notes they continue to own.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docmost or iwe more popular?
Docmost has 21,764 GitHub stars and iwe has 1,715. Docmost has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docmost and iwe free?
Both are open source. Docmost is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and iwe under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docmost and iwe?
Docmost is written in TypeScript and iwe in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Docmost or iwe?
Choose Docmost if you want the larger community (21,764 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose iwe if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.