Sustainable Substitutes for Confluence

A wiki software with mandatory cloud hosting.

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Reasons to avoid Confluence

Avoid confluence due to dubious privacy settings related to its AI features.

Atlassian has laid off 10% of its staff to fund AI initiatives. There are more ethical alternatives to Confluence. Give them a try.

Ethical and Sustainable Confluence Alternatives

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  • Feasibility: How easily can the average user switch to this substitute? Higher feasibility results in a higher ranking.
  • Editor's Rating: How sustainable is the substitute? The more sustainability attributes it fulfils, the higher it is ranked.

XWiki

A FOSS wiki software with commitment to sustainability.

XWiki is developed by XWiki SAS, a company based in France.
XWiki is designed for self-hosting.
XWiki supports a modular architecture with extensions and macros.
The open-source version is free to use, though enterprise support and cloud hosting may incur costs.
XWiki does not include advertisements.
As a self-hostable solution, users control their data and privacy.
XWiki is released under the LGPL (Lesser General Public Licence).
Website

Bookstack

A free and open source wiki software from the UK.

The software is free to use, though hosting may incur costs.
BookStack's core architecture is lightweight and efficient. It supports plugins and themes for customisation.
As a self-hostable solution, users control their data and privacy.
BookStack was created by a developer based in the UK.
BookStack does not include advertisements.
BookStack is designed for self-hosting.
BookStack is released under the MIT licence.
Website

Nuclino

Nuclino relies on Big Tech infrastructure such as AWS.Source:Hosting Checker: Nuclino

Nuclino is a fast and efficient wiki tool hosted in Europe.

Nuclino is based near Munich, Germany.
Nuclino does not display advertisements in its interface.
Nuclino offers a free tier with limited features.
Website

The 4 main issues with Confluence

Privacy Concerns - User data is likely to be stored and used against users' best interest.

Atlassian has announced that, beginning in August 2026, it will collect metadata and in-app data from Confluence and other cloud products to train its AI models. Most customers cannot opt out unless they purchase the most expensive enterprise license or are prohibited by law.Source:The Register: Atlassian’s new data collection policy protects rich customers while AI eats the rest (2026)

Exploitative Labour Practices - Poor working conditions and low wages for workers involved in production or services.

In March 2026, Atlassian announced it would lay off 10 percent of its staff, cutting about 1,600 jobs, explicitly to fund AI initiatives. This move prioritises automation and AI development over job security, which can be seen as exploitative labour practices.Source:The Register: Atlassian gussies up Confluence for the AI era (2026)

Big Tech - Big Tech companies do not nourish people and planet. This is especially true in times of political tension.

Confluence is developed by Atlassian, a major enterprise software company with significant market influence and a global customer base. Atlassian’s scale, product ecosystem and recent AI integrations place it firmly within the Big Tech landscape.

AI Bloat - Service has unnecessary or harmful AI features.

Atlassian is aggressively integrating AI tools and agents into Confluence, such as Remix and Rovo, to transform data into visual assets and applications. This push towards AI-driven features, often at the expense of core functionality and user experience, exemplifies AI bloat—adding unnecessary or intrusive AI capabilities that may not align with user needs or sustainability goals.Source:TechCrunch: Atlassian launches visual AI tools and third-party agents in Confluence (2026)

Suggestions and Feedback

If you have suggestions for more alternatives or general feedback, please contact me via email or create an issue over on Codeberg. Suggest Substitute on Codeberg Write an Email