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Should I self-host Confluence?
Per-seat wiki pricing adds up fast, and BookStack/Docmost/XWiki are all credible team wikis. It's KINDA because wiki migrations are where good intentions die — the software moves in an evening, the content and habits take a quarter.
The math (nothing hidden, including your time)
| Confluence (Standard, per seat) | $6.70/mo |
| VPS share + storage | −$1.00/mo |
| Your maintenance: 30 min/mo at $20/h | −$10.00/mo |
| Net saving | $-4.30/mo |
| Setup: 15 min measured (one-time) | $5.00 |
| Break-even | never |
| Markup Index (price ÷ real self-host cost) | 0.6× |
Price: source, checked 2026-08-07. Inputs are stored in git; every number above is derived, never hand-written.
What you lose
- Confluence's Jira integration if you're captive there anyway
- Enterprise permission schemes
What you're paying Confluence for
- team wiki
- page hierarchies & permissions
- templates
- search
Ranked alternatives
A structured enterprise wiki with spaces, macros and per-page rights, on a hostname you own and a database you can dump.
Spaces, nested pages and an editor two people can type in at once, with every word in a Postgres you can dump.
A team wiki organised into shelves, books, chapters and pages, on a hostname you own and a database you can dump.
Hardware
Runs comfortably on a real VPS (2 GB+).
Verification
Protocol v1 · verified by zernonia on 2026-08-10 · setup measured at 15 min · AI assistant: claude-code (allowed & stated)
Full timed log
# Confluence — verdict log - **Date:** 2026-08-10 - **Verdict:** KINDA — worth it if… - **Protocol:** v1 (2GB reference env, Docker preinstalled, AI assistant: claude-code) ## Why no compose file - This verdict is decided by economics/capability, not setup effort — the rubric doesn't require a timed install to conclude the subscription should stay (or that the replacement's cost lives elsewhere, e.g. GPUs, egress, or an installer script). ## The call Per-seat wiki pricing adds up fast, and BookStack/Docmost/XWiki are all credible team wikis. It's KINDA because wiki migrations are where good intentions die — the software moves in an evening, the content and habits take a quarter.
Verdict history
- 2026-08-10: unscored → KINDA — Initial verdict: Per-seat wiki pricing adds up fast, and BookStack/Docmost/XWiki are all credible team wikis.