Quick Verdict
Docmost is a team wiki — real-time collaboration, workspaces, and a Confluence/Notion-like experience. Trilium is a personal knowledge base — hierarchical notes, relation maps, cloning, and deep linking for one person's brain. If you need a shared team documentation platform, Docmost. If you need a powerful personal second-brain tool, Trilium.
Overview
Docmost is an open-source collaborative wiki built with TypeScript. It has a block-based editor with slash commands, real-time multi-user collaboration, nested page hierarchies, workspaces, and spaces for organization. It requires PostgreSQL and Redis.
TriliumNext Notes is a personal knowledge base with a hierarchical note tree, relation maps between notes, note cloning (same note in multiple locations), rich text and Markdown editing, code notes, and embedded SQLite storage. It's the community fork of the original Trilium (now unmaintained).
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Docmost | Trilium |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Team wiki / documentation | Personal knowledge base |
| Editor | Block-based (slash commands) | Rich text + Markdown + code |
| Real-time collaboration | Yes (multiple users) | No (single-user designed) |
| Note hierarchy | Nested pages within spaces | Deep hierarchical tree |
| Note cloning | No | Yes (same note in multiple places) |
| Relation maps | No | Yes (visual links between notes) |
| Workspaces | Yes (multi-workspace) | No (single instance) |
| Search | Full-text | Full-text with advanced filters |
| API | REST API | REST API + scripting engine |
| Scripting / automation | No | Yes (custom scripts in notes) |
| Encryption | No | Optional end-to-end encryption for sync |
| Mobile access | Web (responsive) | Web + desktop app (Electron) |
| Database | PostgreSQL + Redis | Embedded SQLite |
| Docker complexity | 3 services | 1 service |
| Resource usage | 1-2 GB RAM | 200-500 MB RAM |
| Multi-user | Yes (built-in) | Limited (server mode for sync only) |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
Installation Complexity
Trilium is simpler to deploy. One Docker container with an embedded SQLite database. No external services needed. Map a volume for data persistence and you're running. The desktop app connects to the server for sync.
Docmost requires three services: the app server, PostgreSQL, and Redis. Configuration involves database connection strings, an APP_SECRET, and URL settings. Not complex, but more moving parts than Trilium.
Performance and Resource Usage
Trilium is lightweight — 200-500 MB RAM for the single container. It stores everything in SQLite, which is fast for single-user workloads and keeps operational complexity minimal.
Docmost uses 1-2 GB RAM for the full stack (app + PostgreSQL + Redis). Real-time collaboration adds overhead, and PostgreSQL is heavier than SQLite. But it scales better for multi-user scenarios.
Community and Support
Docmost is newer but growing fast. It's actively developed with frequent releases and responsive maintainers. Documentation covers Docker setup well. Being newer, the community is smaller.
TriliumNext has inherited the original Trilium's user base. The community fork is actively maintained. Documentation is thorough, and the scripting engine has a dedicated user community sharing automation recipes. GitHub activity is steady.
Use Cases
Choose Docmost If...
- Multiple people need to collaborate on documentation
- You need a team wiki similar to Confluence or Notion
- Real-time co-editing is a requirement
- You want workspace-level organization for different teams or projects
- A web-based, no-install experience is preferred
Choose Trilium If...
- You're building a personal knowledge base for one person
- You need relation maps to visualize connections between ideas
- Note cloning (same note in multiple hierarchies) is important
- You want to write custom scripts to automate note management
- You want the lightest possible deployment (one container, no database server)
- End-to-end encrypted sync between desktop and server matters
Final Verdict
These tools serve fundamentally different purposes. Docmost is a team tool — use it when multiple people need to read, write, and collaborate on shared documentation. Trilium is a personal tool — use it when one person needs a powerful, deeply-linked knowledge base. Don't try to use Trilium as a team wiki (it lacks real-time collaboration), and don't use Docmost as a personal brain tool (it lacks relation maps, cloning, and scripting).
FAQ
Can Trilium be used by a small team?
Technically, yes — multiple desktop clients can sync to the same Trilium server. But there's no real-time collaboration, no concurrent editing protection, and limited user management. For 2-3 people sharing notes asynchronously, it works. For a proper team wiki, use Docmost, Outline, or BookStack.
Does Docmost support Markdown?
Docmost uses a block-based editor with slash commands, similar to Notion. Content is stored in its own format, not raw Markdown. You can import/export Markdown, but the editing experience is WYSIWYG block-based.
Which is better for Zettelkasten or interconnected notes?
Trilium. Its relation maps, note cloning, and deep hierarchy are designed for interconnected knowledge graphs. Docmost is page-oriented — better for documentation than knowledge linking.
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