Confluence vs Outline: which to choose

Confluence vs Outline: which fits your knowledge base decision

Confluence fits organizations that need Atlassian's ecosystem, Marketplace apps and a vendor-run cloud service, while Outline fits teams that want a modern, self-hosted team knowledge base and can accept its license terms. The decision turns on four factors: license terms, sign-in edition needs, the integrations your teams use and your operating capacity. If you are facing a Confluence renewal, Data Center end-of-life planning or a requirement to keep documentation under your own control, work through these factors before you choose a target.

The license is the first gate. Outline's community edition is distributed under the Business Source License 1.1, which the project's license file says is not an open-source license, and it forbids offering Outline as a Document Service to third parties. Your legal team should confirm that an internal deployment falls within the permitted use, and that the change date for the version you deploy (October 12, 2030 for version 1.11.0, converting to Apache 2.0) meets your planning horizon. Next, check sign-in. Outline has no native email and password login, and SAML is available only in its licensed Business and Enterprise editions, so confirm whether your identity provider requires SAML or whether Google, Microsoft Entra, OIDC or another supported option will do. Confluence's identity options depend on your Atlassian edition and contract, which you should confirm with Atlassian.

Finally, match the integrations and the operating model. Outline's hosting docs list GitHub, Slack, Jira and webhooks, so audit which Marketplace apps and macros your Confluence spaces depend on, since those rarely carry over. Outline requires PostgreSQL 14+ and Redis 4+, and the project's own docs say it requires dev-ops experience to run in production. Budget for that staffing, plus upgrades and backups, as recurring work. If your team cannot carry that load, a fixed-scope implementation with ongoing support is one way to close the gap.

Which option fits which scenario

This table maps common team situations to the option that fits better, with the reason tied to Outline's Business Source License terms, its SAML rule and its integrations list. Read each row against your own constraints, and treat the fit as a starting point to confirm with your licensing and identity teams.

Scenario	Better fit	Reason
Confluence-heavy team that depends on Marketplace apps and macros	Confluence or a fuller wiki such as XWiki	Outline has no macro or Marketplace app model comparable to Confluence, so apps your team relies on may have no equivalent to confirm first.
Team that centres knowledge on Slack, GitHub and Jira	Outline	Outline's hosting docs list Slack, Jira and GitHub integrations, which fits a team whose documents sit next to chat and tickets.
Team that needs SAML sign-in without buying a paid edition	Confluence or a SAML-capable alternative such as BookStack	Outline's SAML login is available only in its licensed Business and Enterprise editions, so SAML on the community edition is not an option to plan around.
Team that needs email and password sign-in only	Confluence or another wiki with native local accounts	Outline does not support email and password authentication natively, so you must run an identity provider or use email magic link.
Company planning to host Outline as a service for customers	Confluence, a licensed Outline offering, or an AGPL or MIT wiki	The BSL forbids using the community edition for a Document Service, and hosting it as a service terminates license rights, so confirm terms with Outline before any commercial offering.
Organization with a strict open-source licensing policy	Confluence, XWiki, BookStack or Docmost	Outline is source-available under the BSL 1.1 and is not OSI-approved, so policies that require OSI licenses will likely rule it out until the change date.
Internal team that accepts a source-available license and self-hosts for its own staff	Outline	Internal use within your own organization is the case Outline's hosting docs describe as self-hosting, and the Notion importer works in all editions from v0.83.0.
Team that needs to run the wiki with limited operations capacity	Confluence or a managed option	Outline's hosting docs say it requires dev-ops experience to run in production, and its stack includes PostgreSQL 14+ and Redis 4+ to maintain.

Where your content and identity data live

Moving from Confluence to Outline changes two things at once: where page content and attachments are stored, and who vouches for each user at sign-in. The cards below cover both, plus the license terms that decide whether a hosted Outline service is permitted at all.

Content location under Confluence

Confluence Cloud stores pages, attachments and comments in the regional data residency configuration Atlassian offers, while Confluence Data Center keeps content in the infrastructure you operate. Under Cloud, user account data sits outside that regional setting, so ask Atlassian exactly which data categories a residency choice covers before you rely on it. Write down where your current backups and exports are kept today, because that inventory is the baseline for the move.

Content location under self-hosted Outline

A self-hosted Outline runs in your own cloud account, data center or private network, with PostgreSQL holding document data and Redis holding cache and session state. File storage can be local or S3-compatible, so the bucket location, encryption settings and replication are choices you make and must document. Confirm which of these components your hosting provider and backup tooling will touch.

Identity without email and password

Outline does not support native email and password sign-in, so every user must come through an external provider such as Microsoft Entra, Google, OIDC, GitLab or Slack, or through passkeys or email magic link. This means your identity provider becomes a hard dependency: if it is unavailable, users cannot reach the wiki. Plan the provider, its MFA policy and the offboarding process before the pilot, because removing a user from the directory is what removes their access.

SAML only in paid editions

SAML sign-in is available only in Outline's licensed Business and Enterprise editions, not in the community build. If your Confluence estate relies on SAML federation with an enterprise identity provider, the community edition may force an OIDC bridge or a different sign-in path. Ask the vendor to confirm which provider flows are supported in the edition you plan to run, and record that decision in your access design.

The BSL ban on hosted service

Outline is distributed under the Business Source License 1.1, which is not an OSI-approved open source license. The license forbids using the community edition for a Document Service, meaning a commercial offering where third parties create their own teams and documents, and Outline's hosting docs say reselling or hosting it as a service ends license rights. Your own staff using Outline internally is the intended use, but a managed-service provider must review the license before taking on a client's wiki.

Compliance evidence for a self-hosted wiki

A self-hosted Outline gives you direct control over logs, backups, access reviews and retention, but no vendor report covers your deployment of it. Any assurance you need must come from your own controls and an independent auditor's work on them. Decide early which evidence your auditors will ask for, such as access reviews, backup restore tests and change records, and confirm that your identity provider and infrastructure can produce it.

What the Business Source License means for your rights

Outline's community edition is distributed under the Business Source License 1.1, and Outline's own license file states that it is not an open-source license under the Open Source Initiative's definition. For a CISO or procurement lead, that means the code is readable and self-hostable for internal use, but the license carries restrictions that a standard OSI license would not. Each release converts to Apache 2.0 on its change date. For version 1.11.0 that date is October 12, 2030, so the restrictions apply to that version until then. Confirm the change date for any other version you plan to deploy by reading the license file in the release you install.

The license forbids using Outline for a Document Service, which is a commercial offering that lets third parties create their own teams and documents. Internal use by your own employees and contractors sits outside that restriction, but a managed service for customers, partners or affiliates may not. Outline's hosting documentation goes further: selling, reselling or hosting Outline as a service breaches the license and automatically terminates the license rights. If your business model or any affiliate arrangement involves giving third parties access to a hosted wiki, route that question to counsel before deployment.

Paid Business and Enterprise licenses add functionality and guarantees, and SAML sign-in is only available in those editions. If your identity policy requires SAML, budget for the licensed edition from the start rather than assuming the community build will meet it. Ask Outline for the written terms of any paid license, including what support and guarantees it covers. This section is general information about the license and is not legal advice. Have your legal team review the LICENSE file for the exact version you deploy, and get a written view on whether your intended use is permitted.

Where the cost sits on each side

Confluence is a commercial product, and its cost depends on the deployment model and edition you buy. Atlassian prices Cloud and Data Center through its own channels, so this page does not quote figures. Recurring fees are the main line item, typically tied to the number of users and the tier you select. Your renewal date and any change in Atlassian's product lifecycle can change the total, so check both before you model a multi-year view.

Subscription fees: Recurring charges billed per user or per tier, set by Atlassian and renewed on your contract cycle.
Data Center timing: Atlassian's Ascend announcement sets dates for new Data Center subscriptions and for read-only status, which affects how far ahead you need to plan.
Marketplace apps: Third-party apps carry their own licenses and renewals, and they can add cost that is easy to miss.
Internal admin effort: Your team still administers spaces, permissions and upgrades, even though Atlassian hosts Cloud.
Export and migration work: Leaving Confluence has one-time costs for export, mapping and validation.

Ask Atlassian or your reseller for a written quote covering your user count, edition and renewal term, and list every app you rely on.",

Cost components, one-time and recurring

Confluence and self-hosted Outline shift cost in different places. Confluence bundles most of the platform into a subscription, while Outline moves hosting, database operation, identity, backups and upgrades onto your own budget and staff. Each card below names one component, whether it is one-time or recurring, and what moves it up or down.

Confluence licensing or subscription

Confluence is paid through an Atlassian subscription, and the price depends on edition, deployment model and user count, so ask Atlassian or a reseller for a quote based on your exact seat count. This is a recurring cost that scales with headcount and any Marketplace apps you rely on. Check the Atlassian timeline before renewing: Data Center subscriptions for new customers end on March 30, 2026, and Data Center licenses expire and become read-only on March 28, 2029.

Outline licensing for self-hosting

The Outline community edition is free to self-host under the Business Source License 1.1, so there is no per-seat license fee for internal use. Paid Business and Enterprise licenses add functionality such as SAML sign-in and guarantees, and they are a recurring cost to confirm with Outline directly. Any plan to offer Outline to customers as a service needs a separate commercial conversation, because the license forbids it.

Hosting and compute

Self-hosted Outline runs on your own servers or cloud accounts, so you pay for compute, networking and the staff who size and patch it. This is recurring and grows with user count, concurrent editing and the number of Outline instances you run for separate teams. Ask your platform team to price the hosting footprint the same way they would price any internal application, and confirm horizontal scaling needs with Outline's hosting guidance before sizing.

PostgreSQL and Redis operation

Outline needs PostgreSQL 14 or later and Redis 4 or later, so you carry the cost of running both, including managed or self-managed instances, storage growth, replicas and monitoring. Confluence hides this work entirely. The cost driver is whether your organization already operates these services; if it does, the marginal cost is small, and if it does not, budget for the operational skill as a recurring cost.

File storage

Outline supports local or S3-compatible file storage, so attachments and uploads become a recurring storage cost on your side. Confluence stores attachments in Atlassian's infrastructure as part of the subscription. Growth in attachments, retention rules and backup copies drive this cost, so estimate it from your current Confluence attachment volume rather than from a generic per-GB figure.

Identity provider

Outline does not support email and password sign-in, so you must run or buy an identity provider such as Google, Microsoft Entra, OIDC or GitLab sign-in. SAML requires a paid Outline edition. The cost is a mix of existing directory licenses you may already hold and any new identity service you deploy. Confirm which sign-in method you need before comparing totals, because SAML changes the licensing line.

Backup and restore testing

Confluence backups are handled by Atlassian for Cloud, while self-hosted Outline makes your team responsible for database and file backups and for proving that a restore works. This is recurring labor plus storage for backup copies. Budget for periodic restore tests, not only backup jobs, and ask your auditors which evidence they expect before the first assessment.

Upgrades and support

Outline releases such as v1.11.0, published on October 12, 2026, need planned upgrades, testing and database migrations on your side. Support options come from Outline's paid editions or from third parties such as DeployOpen, which offers fixed-scope engagements and retainers for ongoing upgrades and support. Ask for the upgrade cadence, what is covered, and what is excluded in any written scope.

Migration effort

Moving from Confluence to Outline is a one-time project covering content export, mapping spaces to collections, re-creating permissions, configuring sign-in and user onboarding. Outline's Notion importer is available in all editions, but a Confluence import path should be verified against your export format and Outline version. Effort rises with the number of spaces, macros, attachments and custom apps. The Atlassian XML export reaches end of life on December 1, 2026, so plan the export format early.

How a move from Confluence to Outline usually runs

The sequence turns an inventory of Confluence content into a self-hosted Outline instance that holds the same spaces, permissions and links, with a checked cutover date.

Inventory spaces, permissions and apps
Before any export, list every Confluence space, its owner, page count, attachment volume, and who can view or edit it. Record the Marketplace apps and macros in use, such as diagram, table or embed macros, because Outline does not run Confluence apps and each one needs a plain-text replacement or a decision to drop it. Confirm which sign-in method your users have today, since Outline needs an authentication provider configured from the start. Done when you have a written inventory that the content owners have reviewed and signed off.
Export content in a format you can import
Run the space exports from Confluence Cloud as the admin, choosing a format the import path supports. Confluence Cloud offers PDF, CSV, HTML and XML, and XML site and space export reaches end of life on December 1, 2026, after which Atlassian will no longer fix bugs or accept support tickets for it and recommends CSV. Confirm with Outline and with your Atlassian admin which export format the migration tooling you choose accepts, because Outline's Confluence import path is not established in the research for this page. Done when every space has an export file stored outside the Atlassian platform and the file counts match the inventory.
Map spaces to Outline collections
Decide how each Confluence space becomes an Outline collection, and how the page tree inside each space maps to nested documents. Outline organizes content into collections and documents, so large or loosely related spaces may need splitting, and personal or archived spaces may need a retention decision rather than migration. Write down the target permissions for each collection, including which groups can view, edit and manage it. Done when a mapping sheet lists every source space, its target collection, and its permission model, and the owners have approved it.
Stand up PostgreSQL, Redis, storage and sign-in
Build the self-hosted Outline environment in your own infrastructure. Outline requires PostgreSQL 14 or later and Redis 4 or later, at least 512MB of memory with 1GB or more recommended, a dedicated domain, and an authentication provider. Choose local or S3-compatible file storage for attachments, and plan for dev-ops ownership because Outline's hosting docs say it requires dev-ops experience to run in production. Remember that SAML is only available in the paid Business and Enterprise editions, so pick a supported provider such as OIDC, Google, Microsoft Entra or Slack for the community edition. Done when Outline loads on the dedicated domain, a test user can sign in, and backups of the database and file storage run.
Import content through the supported path
Run the import into a staging instance first, not production. Outline's Notion importer is available in all editions from v0.83.0, so if source material exists in Notion, it can be imported that way. For Confluence content, confirm with Outline the supported import path and version before you start, since the research for this page does not establish a Confluence importer. If no supported path exists for your export, convert the content to a format Outline accepts and document the steps so they can be repeated. Done when the staging instance contains every collection and document from the mapping sheet and a sample has been opened and read by the content owners.
Verify links, attachments and permissions
Check the imported content against the inventory. Test internal links, since Confluence page links often break when page paths change, and confirm that attachments open and that images render. Compare permissions in each collection with the mapping sheet and test access with a user from each group, including a user who should be denied access. Note any Confluence macros, diagrams or embeds that did not carry over and assign each one an owner for rebuilding. Done when a written verification log records each sampled page, each failed link or attachment, and each permission test with its result.
Cut over and retire the Confluence spaces
Agree a cutover date with the content owners, freeze edits in Confluence, run a final export and import for changes since the first pass, and point users, bookmarks and integrations at the Outline domain. Keep the Confluence spaces readable for a defined period so people can check old content, and confirm with Atlassian what your subscription terms require before you cancel. Re-check Slack, Jira and GitHub integrations, which Outline lists among its supported integrations, against the new domain. Done when users can find and edit content in Outline, the freeze and final sync are recorded, and the decommissioning plan for Confluence is signed off.

Questions buyers ask before choosing Outline

Is Outline open source?

Not under the OSI definition. Outline's community edition is distributed under the Business Source License 1.1, which its license file says is not an open-source license. The license limits certain uses, most notably offering Outline as a Document Service or hosted commercial product to third parties. Each release converts to Apache 2.0 on its change date. For version 1.11.0 that date is October 12, 2030. Your legal team should read the Outline license file against your intended use before rollout, especially if you plan to host it for partners, customers or affiliates.

Can I use SAML without buying a paid Outline license?

No. SAML login is available only in Outline's licensed Business and Enterprise editions. The community edition does not support email and password sign-in either, so you must configure an authentication provider such as Google, Microsoft Entra, Slack, OIDC, Discord, GitLab, passkeys or email magic link. If your identity provider requires SAML, budget for a paid license or plan an OIDC bridge through your existing identity platform. Confirm the current edition boundaries with Outline before you finalize the identity design.

How much effort does self-hosting Outline take, and what skills are needed?

Outline needs PostgreSQL 14 or later, Redis 4 or later, at least 512MB of memory (1GB or more recommended), a dedicated domain and an authentication provider, on a Unix-compatible system. Outline's hosting documentation says it requires dev-ops experience to run in production. Your team needs skills in container or source deployment, database operations, TLS and DNS, backups, upgrades and identity integration. Effort is mostly one-time setup plus recurring upgrades, monitoring and backup testing. Ask any implementation partner for a written list of tasks, owners and assumptions tied to your environment.

Can an in-house team run Outline on its own?

It can, if the team already operates PostgreSQL, Redis and web applications and has an identity provider in place. Outline offers Docker and from-source installation, local or S3-compatible file storage and horizontal scaling, so the platform itself is manageable. The risks sit in the surrounding work: patching on each release, restoring backups, handling Redis and database failover, and keeping integrations such as Slack, Jira and GitHub working. Decide who owns on-call response and upgrade testing before you commit, because that ownership is what most often determines whether a self-hosted wiki stays healthy.

How long does a Confluence to Outline migration take, and what drives it?

The duration depends on the volume and structure of your content, how much of it needs manual cleanup, and how many integrations and permission models must be rebuilt. Outline's Notion importer is available in all editions from v0.83.0, but no supported Confluence importer appears in the researched facts, so confirm the current import path with Outline before planning. Other drivers include the number of spaces, attachment volume, macros that do not translate, single sign-on cutover and user training. Ask for a timeline in the written scope, with milestones for a pilot space, a full import and a parallel-run period.

Can I offer Outline to my customers as a hosted service?

No, not under the community license. Outline's license forbids using it for a Document Service, which covers a commercial offering that lets third parties create their own teams and documents. Outline's hosting documentation states that selling, reselling or hosting Outline as a service breaches the license terms and automatically terminates license rights. If you need a multi-tenant product for customers, evaluate a different wiki with a permissive license, or contact Outline about commercial terms before building the service.

What does a DeployOpen engagement need from my team?

DeployOpen plans, implements, integrates, hardens, backs up and documents self-hosted platforms inside your own cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks. Most engagements are fixed-scope, with scope, deliverables and timelines agreed in writing before work starts. To scope accurately we need your hosting targets, identity provider, expected user count, content volume and inventory, required integrations such as Slack, Jira and GitHub, backup and retention rules, and your compliance obligations. DeployOpen does not publish a price list. A quote follows from the written scope, and ongoing support is available as a retainer.

Which Outline integrations work with Jira, Slack and GitHub?

Outline's hosting documentation lists integrations including GitHub, Linear, Figma, Slack, Jira and webhooks. Confirm the exact feature set, configuration steps and which edition each integration requires with Outline's current documentation, because integrations change between releases. Also check whether your Confluence macros, Marketplace apps and Jira links have a direct equivalent, since most do not carry over one for one. Test each integration in a staging environment with real permission models before cutover.

What a Confluence to Outline move leaves behind

A Confluence to Outline move does not carry everything across, and the items most likely to be lost are the ones teams notice last. Marketplace app macros are the first risk. Outline has no equivalent of Confluence's macro and Marketplace app model, so any page that depends on a macro needs to be found, rewritten as plain Outline content or retired. Complex page layouts, such as multi-column arrangements, embedded app content and nested tables built with macros, can also flatten or break. Page-level permissions are a second risk, because Outline organizes access around collections and document sharing, and the mapping from Confluence space and page restrictions has to be checked by hand against your access model. Attachment history is a third, since most migration paths bring across current files rather than every prior version. Confirm each of these with the vendor's current import documentation and with a sample of your own pages, not from general assumptions.

A pilot limits the damage. Choose one representative space, ideally one with macros, restricted pages, attachments and links to other spaces, and migrate it into a non-production Outline instance. Then test the things users will actually do: sign in through your chosen provider, confirm that SAML is not needed for your edition or that the paid Business or Enterprise license covers it, search for known pages and attachments, and check that restricted pages stay restricted for users outside the permitted group. Next, verify the integrations your teams depend on. Outline's hosting docs list Slack, Jira and GitHub among its integrations, so confirm each one with a real link, notification and permission check in the pilot environment. Record every gap in a list with an owner and a decision (fix, accept or retire) before migrating the next space.

How DeployOpen helps you evaluate and move to Outline

DeployOpen plans, implements, integrates, hardens, backs up and documents self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks. For a move from Confluence to Outline, we start by checking the license terms, authentication model and infrastructure fit against your actual requirements before any installation begins.

How we scope

We confirm which Confluence edition, spaces, permissions and integrations are in use before any Outline work is planned.
We check how your team plans to sign in, since SAML is only in Outline's paid editions and email and password sign-in is not native.
Engagements are fixed-scope, so scope, deliverables and timelines are agreed in writing before work starts.

How we build

We deploy Outline with PostgreSQL and Redis in your environment, sized to the memory and storage guidance in the vendor requirements.
We configure your chosen sign-in provider, file storage and dedicated domain, and wire up Slack, Jira and GitHub integrations you need.
We test the import path from your Confluence export, reviewing pages, attachments and permissions against a sample set before a full run.

How we hand over

We document the architecture, license obligations, including the ban on offering Outline as a hosted service, and operating runbooks.
We provide backup and restore procedures for the database and file storage, and verify that a restore works.
We set out the compliance evidence your assessors may ask for, while noting that independent auditors issue any attestation.

How we support

Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as a retainer, which covers future Outline releases.
We can review each new Outline release against your configuration and integrations before you apply it.
Ask us to confirm the current release, support terms and retainer scope in the written quote, not from this page.

Confluence vs Outline