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Confluence

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Read the Docs

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Confluence vs Read the Docs: What are the differences?

Introduction

Confluence and Read the Docs are both popular documentation platforms used by organizations to create and manage their documentation. While they serve the same purpose, there are key differences that set them apart.

  1. Hosting: Confluence is a self-hosted application that needs to be installed and managed on a server, whereas Read the Docs is a cloud-based platform that does not require any installation or server management. This makes Read the Docs more accessible and convenient for organizations without dedicated IT resources.

  2. Collaboration: Confluence provides extensive collaboration features such as inline comments, threaded discussions, and editing permissions, making it a suitable choice for large teams working on documentation. Read the Docs, on the other hand, is more focused on version-controlled documentation and lacks advanced collaboration features.

  3. Documentation Types: Confluence supports a wide range of document types including pages, blogs, and spaces. It offers flexibility in structuring and organizing documentation. Read the Docs, on the other hand, is primarily designed for technical documentation and provides features specifically tailored for software projects.

  4. Customization: Confluence offers a high level of customization with options to design templates, add visual elements, and integrate third-party plugins. Read the Docs, on the other hand, has limited customization options and focuses more on providing a consistent and user-friendly experience for technical documentation.

  5. Pricing: Confluence is a commercial product and requires a license subscription, making it a significant investment for organizations. Read the Docs, on the other hand, is an open-source platform and is free to use. This makes Read the Docs an attractive choice for small organizations or those with budget limitations.

  6. Extensibility: Confluence has a rich marketplace with numerous plugins and integrations available, allowing organizations to extend the functionality of the platform. Read the Docs, while lacking in extensive plugin options, provides API access for developers to integrate with their existing tools and automate documentation processes.

In summary, Confluence is a self-hosted, feature-rich documentation platform with extensive collaboration options, customization capabilities, and support for various document types. Read the Docs, on the other hand, is a cloud-based, free platform that focuses on version-controlled documentation with limited customization and collaboration features. The choice between the two depends on the specific needs and requirements of the organization.

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Pros of Confluence
Pros of Read the Docs
  • 94
    Wiki search power
  • 62
    WYSIWYG editor
  • 43
    Full featured, works well with embedded docs
  • 3
    Expensive licenses
  • 13
    GitHub integration
  • 7
    Free for public repos
  • 2
    Automated Builds

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Cons of Confluence
Cons of Read the Docs
  • 3
    Expensive license
    Be the first to leave a con

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    What is Confluence?

    Capture the knowledge that's too often lost in email inboxes and shared network drives in Confluence instead – where it's easy to find, use, and update.

    What is Read the Docs?

    It hosts documentation, making it fully searchable and easy to find. You can import your docs using any major version control system, including Mercurial, Git, Subversion, and Bazaar.

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    What companies use Confluence?
    What companies use Read the Docs?
    See which teams inside your own company are using Confluence or Read the Docs.
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    What tools integrate with Confluence?
    What tools integrate with Read the Docs?

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    What are some alternatives to Confluence and Read the Docs?
    GitLab
    GitLab offers git repository management, code reviews, issue tracking, activity feeds and wikis. Enterprises install GitLab on-premise and connect it with LDAP and Active Directory servers for secure authentication and authorization. A single GitLab server can handle more than 25,000 users but it is also possible to create a high availability setup with multiple active servers.
    Jira
    Jira's secret sauce is the way it simplifies the complexities of software development into manageable units of work. Jira comes out-of-the-box with everything agile teams need to ship value to customers faster.
    Microsoft SharePoint
    It empowers teamwork with dynamic and productive team sites for every project team, department, and division. Share and manage content, knowledge, and applications to empower teamwork, quickly find information, and seamlessly collaborate across the organization.
    Basecamp
    Basecamp is a project management and group collaboration tool. The tool includes features for schedules, tasks, files, and messages.
    Slack
    Imagine all your team communication in one place, instantly searchable, available wherever you go. That’s Slack. All your messages. All your files. And everything from Twitter, Dropbox, Google Docs, Asana, Trello, GitHub and dozens of other services. All together.
    See all alternatives