Free knowledge base software in 2025: top 10 picks

Need a smarter way to manage your product guides, customer support material, SOPs, and FAQs without burning budgets? Whether you are a fast-growing startup, a SaaS business scaling support, or a remote team juggling internal knowledge, scattered information can slow down your support and impact agent productivity.

The solution? A knowledge base software. Whether you’re empowering customers to self-serve, enabling internal teams to store and access critical information, or documenting complex workflows, a well-organized knowledge base reduces confusion, cuts down on repetitive queries, and improves overall efficiency.

But with so many tools available, choosing the right one, especially a free option that doesn’t compromise on features, can be tricky. For startups and mid-sized businesses, free knowledge base software offers an easy way to get started with knowledge sharing.

In this blog, we’ve shortlisted 10 of the best free knowledge base tools, built for diverse use cases such as support, internal knowledge management, and team enablement. Analyze the features, pros, cons, and USPs of top solutions to find the platform that fits your needs.

Our methodology for selecting the top 10 free knowledge base platforms

To find the best free knowledge base software solutions, we analyzed over 35 platforms available on the market. This included evaluating each platform for:

• True free plan with long-term usability, not limited-time free trials

• Core knowledge base features like article versioning, formatting tools, and search

• AI capabilities for knowledge base automation (generate, search, and manage articles)

• Ease of use for both teams and end-users, ensuring quick setup and adoption

• Scalability and upgrade paths to support growing support operations

This exercise helped us narrow down our list to the 10 best knowledge base software that offer free knowledge management capabilities. Now, let’s quickly explore these 10 platforms through a head-to-head comparison table.

10 best free knowledge base software at a glance

In-depth comparison of the 10 best free knowledge base software

All the platforms listed above offer free knowledge base capabilities, but which one truly fits your business needs? Let’s take a closer look at each solution in detail, starting with our own platform: Freshdesk.

1. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a modern, AI-powered customer service solution that comes with powerful, built-in knowledge base capabilities to help support teams scale with self-service. Designed to reduce ticket volumes and enhance customer experience, the Freshdesk Knowledge Base serves as a centralized, multilingual information repository. Teams can use it to publish help articles, FAQs, how-tos, and other resources tailored to common customer issues.

Freshdesk makes it easy to organize content into categories, manage article versions, and maintain a consistent brand voice across every touchpoint. With built-in workflows and review mechanisms, teams can keep content relevant and up-to-date as products evolve.

Whether you're building a customer help center from scratch or scaling your support operations globally, Freshdesk’s Help Desk Knowledge Base offers a self-service solution that’s intuitive, flexible, and ready to grow with your business.

Key features of Freshdesk

• AI-powered content creation: Generates article drafts instantly to speed up content creation and maintain consistency in tone and structure.

• AI-powered solution article suggestor: Surfaces relevant articles automatically based on customer queries in the support widget, reducing the need for manual responses.

• Content categorization: Organizes articles into folders, categories, and sections to help customers navigate information quickly and logically.

• Collaborative editing: Enables multiple team members to create, review, and update content with role-based access and approval workflows.

• Search: Delivers faster answers with a powerful, intent-based search engine that supports keyword relevance, filters, and multilingual queries.

Pros and cons of Freshdesk

User reviews and opinions on Freshdesk

2. Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk is a cloud-based customer service platform that includes a free knowledge base module to help businesses deliver efficient self-service experiences. Its knowledge base allows support agents to create, manage, and publish articles, FAQs, and step-by-step guides tailored to common customer queries.

One of Zoho Desk’s key strengths is its integration across the broader Zoho ecosystem, allowing teams to connect knowledge articles with tickets, chats, and CRM data for more contextual support. For businesses already using Zoho apps, the Desk knowledge base offers a seamless, centralized solution for scaling self-service.

Looking for other options? Compare Zoho Desk with Freshdesk to see which platform serves better knowledge base management capabilities.

Key features of Zoho Desk

• Advanced search: Helps deliver faster answers with an intelligent search that indexes titles, content, and keywords for better relevance.

• Detailed history view: Tracks every change made to an article with a full edit history for better content control and accountability.

• Article versioning: Enables teams to manage and revert to previous versions of content to ensure accuracy and consistency over time.

• SEO enhancement: Optimize articles with custom URLs, meta tags, and keywords to improve search engine visibility.

Pros and cons of Zoho Desk

3. Confluence

Confluence by Atlassian is a flexible, team-friendly workspace that doubles as a knowledge base platform. It is designed to help support, product, and operations teams capture and share knowledge in a centralized hub.

Confluence’s knowledge base functionalities are suited for both internal and external knowledge base use cases. With integrations into the Atlassian ecosystem, including Jira and Trello, Confluence enables teams to document processes, create help content, and collaborate in real time, all in one place.

Key features of Confluence

• Collaborative content creation: Helps create and edit articles in real time with teammates using intuitive editing tools and inline comments.

• Content organization: Structures content into spaces, pages, and hierarchies for easy navigation and scalable knowledge management.

• Smart article search: Helps users find what they need quickly with an intelligent search that ranks pages based on relevance and keywords.

• Page comments: Enables content creators to gather feedback, suggest edits, or ask questions directly on any page to improve content quality and clarity.

Pros and cons of Confluence

4. Notion

Notion is an all-in-one workspace that also works as a collaborative knowledge base platform for teams of all sizes. Known for its highly customizable interface, Notion enables teams to build dynamic documentation spaces with drag-and-drop simplicity.

With Notion, teams can create structured databases, categorize content by tags or filters, and use search to surface relevant information quickly. This tool is especially popular for internal knowledge base management to document SOPs, workflows, and internal processes.

Key features of Notion

• Knowledge base customizations: Enables teams to design their workspace with flexible layouts, custom views, and toggles to fit their documentation style.

• Powerful search: Quickly surfaces relevant pages, updates, and databases with fast, full-text search across all content.

• Internal linking: Connects related pages and documents effortlessly to build context-rich, navigable knowledge flows.

• Access controls: Manages visibility and content access permissions with granular sharing settings for teams, guests, or public audiences.

Pros and cons of Notion

5. HubSpot Service Hub

HubSpot’s Knowledge Base is part of its Service Hub and is designed to help businesses create a scalable self-service experience. It allows support teams to build a branded, SEO-friendly help center where customers can easily find answers to common questions without contacting customer support, thus reducing repetitive tickets and improving resolution times.

HubSpot’s knowledge base offers deep integration with the broader HubSpot ecosystem, including CRM, tickets, live chat, and analytics. This enables businesses to track which articles drive ticket deflection, understand gaps in their support content, and continuously optimize their help center.

Key features of HubSpot Service Hub

• Custom branding: Matches your knowledge base to your company’s look and feel with logos, colors, and domain customization.

• Text editor: Enables teams to create and update content with a rich text editor that supports images, videos, and formatting without code.

• AI content gap recommendations: Optimizes existing knowledge base articles based on customer tickets and interactions.

• Content performance analytics: Tracks article views, search terms, and ticket deflection rates to improve content performance over time.

Pros and cons of HubSpot Service Hub

6. Help Scout

Help Scout Docs is a lightweight knowledge base tool that’s part of Help Scout’s broader customer support platform. It’s designed to help teams publish helpful content, reduce ticket volume, and improve self-service for customers.

Docs integrates with Help Scout’s shared inbox and live chat, allowing support teams to suggest relevant articles during conversations and deflect common questions in real time. While this tool may not offer advanced customizations like other popular knowledge base software solutions, it is great for businesses already using Help Scout.

If you are looking for a more AI-centric customer knowledge base solution, consider exploring other options like Freshdesk. Comparing Help Scout with Freshdesk will help you identify which tool is best for your business.

Key features of Help Scout

• No-code builder: Helps create and update articles easily using a drag-and-drop editor; no technical skills required.

• AI content polishing: Uses built-in AI to rewrite, shorten, or improve article content for clarity and tone consistency.

• Access control: Manages visibility with options for public articles, restricted access, or internal-only documentation.

• Analytics and insights: Tracks article views, customer feedback, and search performance to identify what’s working and what needs improvement.

Pros and cons of Help Scout

7. XWiki

XWiki is an open-source knowledge management platform built to help organizations centralize, retain, and share knowledge efficiently. XWiki supports a wide range of use cases, from internal team wikis and organizational knowledge docs to technical documentation and customer-facing knowledge bases.

Its open architecture allows businesses to tailor the platform to their unique needs, whether they require a lightweight help center or a complex, multi-space documentation portal. With its growing ecosystem of extensions, XWiki enables businesses to continuously evolve their knowledge base as operations scale.

Key features of XWiki

• Collaborative editing: Enables multiple users to contribute, edit, and comment on pages in real time to streamline knowledge sharing.

• Structured knowledge: Organizes content using a page hierarchy, metadata, and dynamic navigation for easy access and scalability.

• Version history: Tracks every change made to a page, compares past versions, and restores content when needed.

• Custom branding: Personalizes your knowledge base with your organization’s logo, color scheme, and layout preferences.

Pros and cons of XWiki

8. Nuclino

Nuclino is a unified workspace that combines documentation, knowledge sharing, and lightweight project management. It allows teams to create and organize content collaboratively in real-time, using a clean, minimal interface that prioritizes speed and ease of use.

The platform is designed to work as a central knowledge base, enabling teams to document internal processes, product specs, onboarding guides, and shared notes in one place. It also includes basic task management features such as checklists and Kanban boards, making it suitable for lightweight planning and team coordination.

Key features of Nuclino

• Real-time editing: Helps collaborate live with teammates and see updates instantly as content is created or edited.

• Markdown comments: Enables contributors to leave lightweight feedback and suggestions directly in the content using simple Markdown syntax.

• Media embeds: Enriches documentation by embedding videos, images, files, and other media directly into pages.

• Version history: Views and restores previous versions of any page to maintain accuracy and accountability.

Pros and cons of Nuclino

9. BookStack

BookStack is an open-source, self-hosted knowledge management platform designed to provide a simple and structured way to store and organize documentation. Its book-like hierarchy (books, chapters, and pages) makes it an intuitive, complexity-free solution.

BookStack is known for its customizability and use cases in creating internal documentation or team wikis. Being open-source, BookStack offers full control over data, configuration, and deployment. It’s ideal for technical teams or businesses with specific privacy, compliance, or customization requirements.

Key features of BookStack

• Markdown editor: Helps create and format content using a clean, distraction-free Markdown editor that supports inline previews.

• Multi-factor authentication: Adds an extra layer of security to user logins with built-in multi-factor authentication options.

• Content categorization: Organizes information using a nested hierarchy of books, chapters, and pages for clear navigation.

• Access control: Helps manage user roles and permissions to control who can view, edit, or manage different parts of your knowledge base.

Pros and cons of BookStack

10. ProProfs

ProProfs Knowledge Base is a cloud-based solution built to help businesses create self-service help centers, documentation, and internal wikis with minimal effort. Its no-code interface allows teams to build and maintain knowledge base content without technical expertise.

ProProfs offers AI-powered writing assistance, an extensive template library, and built-in reports to help teams measure and optimize content performance. It also integrates with tools like Freshdesk, Zendesk, and Salesforce, making it a flexible option for teams looking to extend self-service across their existing support ecosystem.

Key features of ProProfs

• AI writer: Generates, rewrites, or polishes help content using built-in AI to save time and maintain consistency.

• Content authoring: Enables teams to create and format articles easily with a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, pre-built templates, and customization options.

• Reporting and analytics: Tracks article views, search performance, and user feedback to identify content gaps and improve effectiveness.

• Role-based permissions: Helps assign roles like writer, editor, or admin to control access and maintain content governance across teams.

Pros and cons of ProProfs

Tips for choosing the right knowledge base software

Choosing the right knowledge base software goes beyond simply opting for a free plan. It’s important to find a solution that aligns with your business goals, support needs, and long-term growth. Here are some key factors to consider:

1. Ease of use

Your knowledge base is only as effective as its usability, for both your team and your customers. Look for a platform with a clean, intuitive interface that allows non-technical team members to create, organize, and publish content without extensive training.

A simple setup process, drag-and-drop editors, and real-time previews are key features to prioritize. From the customer’s side, ensure the layout is easy to navigate and mobile-friendly.

2. Customizability and branding options

Your knowledge base should feel like a natural extension of your brand. Choose a tool that allows you to customize the appearance (logos, colors, fonts, domain, and layout) so that it aligns with your website and customer experience.

If you’re supporting multiple products or brands, check for support for multi-brand knowledge bases or theme variations per brand. While this option may not be available in free plans, the returns are worthwhile in the long run.

3. AI and automation

Modern knowledge bases benefit from AI features that reduce manual effort and improve customer experience. Look for tools that offer AI-assisted content creation or summarization, automated article suggestions during ticket creation or chat, and insights on trending topics or content gaps.

These capabilities help deflect tickets and keep your content relevant with minimal manual upkeep. Platforms like Freshdesk, which include built-in AI capabilities, can enable teams to create smarter, more efficient support experiences with reduced manual effort.

4. Scalability and growth readiness

As your business grows, your knowledge base should grow with it. Choose a platform that supports unlimited articles, categories, and users, or offers clear upgrade paths without disrupting your setup.

Look for features like bulk editing, role-based permissions, and APIs that allow you to manage large content libraries efficiently as your team or content volume scales. Features like role-based permissions, bulk editing, and API access, offered by platforms such as Freshdesk, make it easier to manage growing content needs without friction.

5. Essential knowledge base features

Focus on functionality that improves both content quality and customer self-service. Must-have features include:

• Rich text editor with media support

• Article version control

• Internal search with relevance ranking

• Feedback or rating system for articles

• Multilingual support (if you serve global audiences)

Make sure the platform supports these natively or through easy-to-enable add-ons.

6. Content lifecycle management

Keeping articles accurate is just as important as creating them. Evaluate whether the software supports content review workflows, draft/publish states, article ownership assignments, and update notifications. These features help teams maintain up-to-date content and ensure accountability over time.

7. Integrations and configurations

Your knowledge base shouldn’t exist in a silo. Check whether the tool integrates with your help desk, live chat, CRM, or product UI. Embedded widgets, contextual article suggestions, and unified agent interfaces can significantly improve both customer and agent experience.

Also, ensure the software supports single sign-on (SSO), APIs, and webhooks if you need advanced configurations.

Build a smarter knowledge base for self-service with Freshdesk

Choosing the right knowledge base software isn’t just about managing content. It’s about empowering customers to help themselves, reducing ticket volumes, and improving overall support efficiency.

That’s where Freshdesk stands out. With a centralized, multilingual knowledge base, an intuitive editor, AI-powered content assistance from Freddy AI, and deep integration across ticketing and chat, Freshdesk makes self-service faster and more effective.

With Freshdesk Knowledge Base, both your customers and your team can find answers faster, stay informed, and resolve issues with minimal effort. Whether you’re looking to deflect tickets, improve time-to-resolution, or simply offer a better support experience, Freshdesk gives you the tools to make it happen.

Ready to transform your knowledge base into a smart self-service engine? Book a free demo and see Freshdesk in action.