Folio vs. Outline
Choose Folio when the wiki should be Markdown files in your own Git repository, under an MIT license. Outline is the stronger product on sign-in, hosting options and ecosystem: a hosted cloud, SAML and OIDC, groups, an audit log, a documented API, desktop apps and a long integration list. Outline keeps documents in PostgreSQL, and its code is under the Business Source License 1.1, which its own license file says is not an open-source license.
The workflow difference
In Outline, a document is a record in PostgreSQL, and attachments go to S3-compatible storage or local disk. It saves a revision at least every five minutes of editing and exports a collection or the whole workspace as Markdown, HTML or JSON. Its GitHub and GitLab integrations preview issues, pull requests and merge requests inside documents; its documentation describes no Git-backed storage and no two-way Git sync.
In Folio, a page is a Markdown file in your Git repository. A browser edit becomes a commit after about 90 seconds of quiet, a push from an IDE returns to the wiki, and agents reach the same files through 21 MCP tools. Outline also ships an MCP server that can search, read, create and edit documents, so the difference is where the documents live, not whether agents can write.
Side by side
| Area | Folio | Outline |
|---|---|---|
| Source of truth | Markdown, table and board files in your Git repository | Documents in PostgreSQL; attachments in S3-compatible storage or on local disk |
| License | MIT | Business Source License 1.1: source-available, no use as a document service for third parties; becomes Apache 2.0 on the Change Date, 2030-09-09 |
| Hosting | Self-hosted with Docker: the app, PostgreSQL and Redis. No hosted version | Hosted cloud, or self-hosted with Docker, PostgreSQL 14+ and Redis 4+ |
| Price | Free software; you pay for your server and any AI subscription you connect | Cloud: $10, $79 or $249 a month for 1-10, 11-100 or 101-200 members, 30-day trial. Community edition is free to self-host; licensed editions are bought from Outline |
| Edition limits | One MIT edition | Self-hosted community edition has no SAML, audit log, Confluence importer, PDF export, AI answers or guest role; the licensed edition adds them |
| Editing | Reading, live edit and source modes over plain Markdown | Rich-text editor that converts typed or pasted Markdown; slash commands, templates, comments |
| Git workflow | Git is the live content history; IDE edits sync back | No Git-backed storage; GitHub and GitLab integrations preview issues, pull requests and merge requests |
| History | Git commits with the editor as author | Revisions at least every five minutes, with diff and restore |
| Collaboration | Real-time documents, tables and whiteboards | Real-time editing with cursors and observer mode, comments and threads |
| Structured data and diagrams | Typed data tables and forms as Markdown files; Mermaid and Excalidraw boards | Tables in documents with CSV export; Mermaid and diagrams.net; document properties in licensed editions (preview) |
| Agents | Built-in Folio AI (Ask and Agent) on your own Cursor key; 21 MCP tools with read or write scope over pages, boards and tables | MCP server with OAuth or API key to search, read, create and edit documents; AI answers through OpenAI in cloud and licensed editions |
| API and integrations | REST API and MCP with personal access tokens | Documented API with scoped keys, OAuth provider, webhooks; integrations include Slack, GitHub, GitLab, Linear, Figma and Jira |
| Sign-in | Email and password, optionally Google. No SSO, SCIM or groups | Google, Microsoft Entra, Slack, Discord, GitLab, OIDC, passkeys and email magic link; SAML in licensed editions; groups |
| Permissions | Roles per space, rights per page (not inherited by child pages) | Collection permissions, sharing with users and groups, public links; audit log in licensed editions |
| Migration in | Confluence importer; no Outline importer | Imports Confluence (cloud and licensed editions), Notion, Word, Markdown, HTML and text files |
| Migration out | The repository already holds the files; export md, pdf, docx, yaml or a zip of a space | Markdown, HTML or JSON per collection or workspace; PDF only in cloud and licensed editions |
| Apps | Responsive web interface; no native app | Desktop apps for macOS and Windows; no native mobile apps, installable as a PWA |
| Try it | Public demo at demo.foliowiki.online (shared login, resets every 24 hours); or run it yourself with docker compose | 30-day free trial in the cloud |
What Folio changes
- Pages, data tables, forms and Excalidraw boards are ordinary files you can review, branch and revert with Git.
- Leaving Folio leaves Markdown and assets in your repository. Leaving Outline means an export, in Markdown, HTML or JSON.
- The whole product is MIT. Outline's license forbids offering it as a document service to third parties, and some features exist only in its licensed editions.
- The cost: you operate Folio, PostgreSQL and Redis yourself, and there is no hosted version, SSO or groups today.
Where Folio is the better choice
Choose Folio when documentation should live as Markdown files in a Git repository you control. Browser edits, IDE edits and agents work on the same files, tables and Excalidraw boards are files too, and the built-in assistant runs on your own Cursor key. Choose Outline when you need SAML or OIDC sign-in, groups, a hosted cloud, desktop apps or its integrations, and a database-backed wiki is acceptable.
Try it with one real workflow
- Export one real collection from Outline as Markdown.
- Put the files in a folder of a Git repository and create a Folio space by cloning it. Folio has no Outline importer.
- Check file names (Folio file names are lowercase Latin letters, digits and hyphens), links and attachments.
- Edit one page in the browser and one in an IDE, and confirm both reach Git.
- Give one agent read-only MCP access and ask it a question the wiki can answer.
Sources
Checked against these pages on October 5, 2026.
- Outline LICENSE (BSL 1.1)
- Outline license restrictions
- Outline hosting requirements
- Outline file storage
- Outline Business and Enterprise editions
- Outline cloud pricing
- Outline authentication providers (OIDC)
- Outline SAML
- Outline users and roles
- Outline groups
- Outline collections and permissions
- Outline audit log
- Outline formatting and Markdown
- Outline collaborative editing
- Outline revision history
- Outline tables
- Outline diagramming
- Outline data attributes
- Outline GitHub integration
- Outline GitLab integration
- Outline MCP
- Outline AI answers
- Outline API
- Outline OAuth provider
- Outline webhooks
- Outline self-hosted integrations
- Outline import
- Outline Confluence importer
- Outline export
- Outline document export (PDF)
- Outline mobile
- Outline macOS app
- Outline Windows app
- Folio features
- Folio limitations
- Folio MCP and REST
Other comparisons
Try Folio with one real team wiki.
Clone it, run it, and test the workflow with your own files.