Choose by how content gets in and who keeps it fresh. Plain wikis suit teams that write their own pages, documentation tools suit customer help centres, and AI-first tools answer questions from content you already have. Whichever you pick, name an owner for the pages, because an unowned wiki goes stale fast.
Every company wiki starts tidy and ends up half wrong unless someone owns it. That's worth keeping in mind as you look at replacements. This list is for operations leads, founders and small teams who want an internal wiki or knowledge base other than Tettra, with eight options in no particular order.
How content gets in, and how it stays current
Tettra is an internal knowledge base built to answer the questions a team asks over and over. The alternatives differ less on search and more in two places: how content gets into them, and how it's kept fresh once it's there.
Some are plain wikis where people write pages. Some are documentation tools aimed at customer help centres, with internal docs as a second job. And some now sell an AI answer layer on top of company content, so staff ask a question and get a reply drawn from what's already written down.
That AI layer is only as good as what it reads. If the underlying pages are out of date, the answers will be too, just delivered with more confidence. So check who will keep pages current before you compare features, and be wary of any pitch that suggests the software will keep itself tidy.
Guru was an obvious name for this list until recently, but its page now describes a governed knowledge layer for enterprise AI, which is a different job from a simple team wiki, so it isn't listed.
Eight knowledge base options from A to Z
In no particular order. Each line uses the vendor's own words about its product.
BookStack
Best for: Teams happy to self-host an open-source platform for organising and storing information; the vendor calls it simple, free wiki software.
HelpDocs
Best for: Support-led teams running a help centre that also want team docs in one place; the vendor pitches AI ticket deflection and one source of truth.
Notejoy
Best for: Small teams who think in notes rather than wiki pages; the vendor pitches fast, focused notes that stay in sync across Mac, PC, mobile and the web.
Outline
Best for: Internal docs, specs, onboarding and meeting notes in a team wiki you can host yourself; the vendor describes a modern knowledge base with open-source roots.
Papyrs
Best for: Companies wanting an intranet, internal wiki and knowledge base in one, which the vendor calls a modern take on the company intranet.
Question Base
Best for: Teams who work in Slack; the vendor's AI agent trains on company docs, wikis and past chats to answer questions there.
Slite
Best for: Connecting the tools where work happens to build and maintain company knowledge, which the vendor pitches as a source of truth for your team and its AI.
Whale
Best for: Operations teams documenting SOPs and training staff; the vendor adds an AI ops assistant it calls Coral.
Wikis, AI answer tools and help centres
Team wikis you write yourself
Outline, BookStack, Papyrs and Notejoy are the write-it-yourself end. Two of them have open-source roots, by their vendors' own account, and can run on your own server if you have someone technical. The other two range from a full company intranet to shared team notes.
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AI-first answers
Slite and Question Base put AI at the front. One connects to the tools where work happens and maintains company knowledge from there; the other trains an agent on your docs and past chats and answers inside Slack. Whale adds an AI ops assistant to process documentation and staff training.
Help centres that double as team docs
HelpDocs starts from customer support, deflecting tickets with AI, and keeps team docs alongside. It makes sense when the same answers go to customers and staff, so you're not maintaining two versions of the truth.
Eight wiki tools in one table
| Tool | Kind | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| BookStack | Self-hosted wiki | A self-hosted wiki on your own server |
| HelpDocs | Help centre and team docs | Help centre articles plus internal docs |
| Notejoy | Team notes | Shared notes synced across devices |
| Outline | Open-source wiki | Specs, onboarding and meeting notes |
| Papyrs | Intranet and wiki | A company intranet with a wiki inside |
| Question Base | Slack answer agent | Answering team questions inside Slack |
| Slite | AI knowledge base | Company knowledge connected to work tools |
| Whale | SOP and training | Documenting processes and training staff |
My advice on keeping a wiki alive
Pick the tool your team will write in without being chased. A clever AI layer won't rescue a wiki nobody updates, and a plain wiki with a named owner for each section will serve you better than a sophisticated one with none. Give each area an owner and a review date before you migrate a single page.
If most questions arrive in Slack, an answer agent there meets people where they already are. If you're writing processes for new starters, a tool built around SOPs and training keeps them in order. For wider lists, see my guides to knowledge management software and Confluence alternatives.
Moving your pages across
Export everything from Tettra first and check what format the export comes in, because that decides how much tidying the import needs. Then use the move as a cleaning exercise. Archive pages nobody has opened in a long while, merge duplicates, and only bring across what someone is willing to own.
Finally, tell the team where answers live now. Pin the new home in your chat tool, update links in onboarding documents and keep the old system read-only for a short spell, so nobody quietly keeps editing the version you're leaving.
Do you make wiki or knowledge base software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
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Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a wiki and a knowledge base?
A wiki is a set of pages anyone on the team can write and edit. A knowledge base is organised around answering questions, for staff, customers or both. Many tools now do a bit of each.
Do AI knowledge base tools replace writing documentation?
No. They answer questions from what's already written, so the answers are only as good as the pages behind them. Someone still has to write and update the content.
Should a small team self-host its wiki?
Only if someone is happy to handle the server, updates and backups. Self-hosting gives you control over your data, but a hosted wiki is less work for a small team.
Can one tool serve a help centre and internal docs?
Some can, and it saves keeping two versions of the same answer. Check that internal pages stay private and that the customer side looks the way you want.
How do I stop a wiki going out of date?
Give each section a named owner and a review date, archive pages nobody uses, and make updating a page part of changing a process rather than a job for later.
