Documize is a governed, self-hosted knowledge-base platform built around draft-review-approve-publish workflows, granular space-level permissions, and…
Best for Documize: Organizations that need a formal content lifecycle (draft, review, approve, publish), granular space/document permissions, and LDAP/AD/Keycloak/CAS authentication for an internal knowledge base, and can pay $900-$1,800/year past 5 users.
Best for HedgeDoc: Small teams or individuals who want free, open-source, real-time collaborative Markdown editing and reveal.js-powered presentations, self-hosted on lightweight hardware like a Raspberry Pi, without needing formal approval workflows.
At a Glance
Documize
HedgeDoc
Primary category
Knowledge Base
Knowledge Base
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium / Open Source
Open Source (free, self-hosted)
Starting price
Free
Free (self-hosted)
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web, Mac, Windows
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Not documented
Not documented
Key Differences
Real-Time Collaborative Editing
Documize: Documize does not document simultaneous multi-user editing; it centers on lifecycle-based review and approval stages instead.
HedgeDoc: HedgeDoc's core feature is real-time collaboration, letting multiple users edit the same Markdown document simultaneously.
Teams that co-write documents live in the same session need built-in real-time sync, not a review queue.
Content Approval Workflow
Documize: Documize offers draft, review, approve, and publish stages as a defined content workflow, plus reusable templates and content blocks.
HedgeDoc: HedgeDoc has permission management and revision history but no formal multi-stage approval workflow.
Regulated or governance-conscious teams need sign-off trails before content goes live.
Pricing Structure
Documize: Documize is freemium: free for up to 5 users, then Essential at $900/year (up to 100 users) or Enterprise at $1,800/year (unlimited users), billed annually.
HedgeDoc: HedgeDoc has no paid tier at all; it is entirely free and open source under AGPL-3.0.
Budget determines whether scaling past a handful of users triggers a recurring annual cost.
Enterprise Authentication
Documize: Documize supports LDAP, Active Directory, Keycloak, and CAS authentication alongside granular space/document/action-level permissions.
HedgeDoc: HedgeDoc documents per-note view/edit permission management but does not list enterprise SSO, LDAP, or AD integration.
Organizations with centralized identity systems need documentation tools to plug into existing auth infrastructure.
Presentation and Diagram Support
Documize: Documize does not document a presentation mode or diagram embedding; it is built for structured written documents.
HedgeDoc: HedgeDoc includes a built-in presentation mode powered by reveal.js and supports embedding diagrams and graphs directly in notes.
Teams that need to turn notes into slide decks or visual diagrams benefit from native support rather than exporting to another tool.
Feature-by-Feature
Collaboration & Editing
Feature
Documize
HedgeDoc
Real-time simultaneous editing
Not documented
Available
Presentation/slide mode
Unavailable
Available
Revision history
Not documented
Available
Diagram and graph embedding
Not documented
Available
Content Governance & Access
Feature
Documize
HedgeDoc
Draft/review/approve/publish workflow
Available
Unavailable
Reusable templates and content blocks
Available
Not documented
Granular space/document/action permissions
Available
Limited
Enterprise auth (LDAP/AD/Keycloak/CAS)
Available
Not documented
Built-in usage analytics
Available
Not documented
Deployment & Licensing
Feature
Documize
HedgeDoc
Self-hosted deployment
Available
Available
Free tier
Available
Available
Paid/enterprise plan
Available
Unavailable
Open-source license (AGPL-3.0)
Available
Available
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Documize
Community+ (Free) — $0 n/a
Up to 100 Users — $900/year annual
Unlimited Users — $1,800/year annual
HedgeDoc
Self-hosted — Free N/A
Pros & Cons
Documize
Pros
Free for up to 5 users with the full feature set, not a stripped-down trial version
Flat annual pricing ($900/100 users, $1,800/unlimited) is highly predictable and often cheaper than per-seat SaaS wikis at scale
Deploys as a single Go binary, making self-hosting simpler than heavier Java-based enterprise wiki platforms
Keeps all organizational knowledge on infrastructure the organization controls, useful for compliance and data sovereignty
Cons
Requires self-hosting and database setup, unlike fully managed cloud competitors
Smaller ecosystem, plugin marketplace, and community size compared to Atlassian Confluence
No official large-scale managed cloud offering directly from Documize itself
As a small independent team's product, long-term roadmap pace may be slower than venture-backed competitors
HedgeDoc
Pros
Completely free and open source with no commercial tiers or paywalls
Genuinely lightweight and can run on minimal hardware like a Raspberry Pi
Real-time collaboration and revision history rival commercial collaborative editors
Built-in presentation mode turns notes into slides without a separate tool
Full data control for teams with self-hosting or compliance requirements
Cons
No officially operated hosted SaaS version, so self-hosting or finding a third-party host is required
No dedicated commercial support team or SLA, since it is a volunteer-maintained project
Interface and feature set are more minimal than fully featured commercial note-taking tools like Notion
Setup and maintenance require some server administration knowledge
History of multiple renamings (HackMD to CodiMD to HedgeDoc) can create confusion when searching for documentation or older resources
Use Cases
Choose Documize: Organizations that need a formal content lifecycle (draft, review, approve, publish), granular space/document permissions, and LDAP/AD/Keycloak/CAS authentication for an internal knowledge base, and can pay $900-$1,800/year past 5 users.
Choose HedgeDoc: Small teams or individuals who want free, open-source, real-time collaborative Markdown editing and reveal.js-powered presentations, self-hosted on lightweight hardware like a Raspberry Pi, without needing formal approval workflows.
Need both: An engineering team might use HedgeDoc for fast real-time meeting notes and brainstorming documents, then move finalized content into Documize's structured spaces for formal review, approval, and long-term knowledge-base publishing.
Documize
Self-Hosted Company Wiki — Organizations replace or avoid Confluence by self-hosting Documize as their internal wiki and documentation hub, keeping content on their own infrastructure.
Approval-Based Documentation Publishing — Teams that need content reviewed before publication use Documize's approval workflows to control what gets published to the broader organization.
Cost-Predictable Knowledge Base at Scale — Growing organizations use Documize's flat annual pricing to scale up to 100 or more users without incremental per-seat cost increases.
HedgeDoc
Collaborative meeting and workshop notes — Teams and conference attendees use HedgeDoc as a shared hackpad to take collaborative notes in real time during meetings or workshops.
Self-hosted technical documentation — Developer teams self-host HedgeDoc to write and collaboratively edit markdown documentation without relying on a third-party SaaS tool.
Markdown-based slide presentations — A presenter writes talk notes in markdown and uses HedgeDoc's built-in presentation mode to deliver a live slideshow directly from the note.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Documize or HedgeDoc free to use?
HedgeDoc is entirely free with no paid tier. Documize is freemium: free for up to 5 users, then $900/year (Essential, up to 100 users) or $1,800/year (Enterprise, unlimited users).
Does either tool support real-time collaborative editing?
HedgeDoc's core feature is real-time collaboration where multiple users edit the same document simultaneously. Documize does not document this capability, focusing instead on lifecycle-based review stages.
Which has approval workflows for publishing documents?
Documize has a defined draft, review, approve, and publish content workflow. HedgeDoc does not document a formal approval process, only permission management and revision history.
Can I self-host both tools?
Yes. Both are self-hosted and open source under AGPL-3.0 - Documize as a single binary for Windows, macOS, Linux, or FreeBSD, and HedgeDoc via Docker, lightweight enough to run on a Raspberry Pi.
Which supports enterprise authentication like LDAP or Active Directory?
Documize supports LDAP, Active Directory, Keycloak, and CAS authentication. HedgeDoc does not document enterprise SSO or directory integration.
Does HedgeDoc have a paid or enterprise version?
No. Per its FAQs, HedgeDoc is free and open source with no paid tier, unlike Documize which charges $900-$1,800/year once you exceed 5 users.