CompassDocsA Notion alternative that lives on your servers
Love Notion's writing feel but need self-hosting, SSO, approvals, and data you fully control? CompassDocs pairs a rich block editor with the governance a growing company needs — open-source, self-hosted, and grounded-AI search included.
A rich block editor — callouts, tables, diagrams, embeds — backed by approvals and versioning.
Where CompassDocs fits better than Notion
- Self-hosted on your infrastructure — not a multi-tenant SaaS holding your data
- Rich blocks: callouts, tabs, accordions, diagrams, embeds, and interactive checklists
- Governance Notion lacks out of the box: approval workflow and policy acknowledgements
- SSO (SAML 2.0 & OIDC), SCIM, and Microsoft 365 directory sync on Enterprise
- Cited AI answers restricted to your content, so answers stay on-topic
Data on your terms
Run it yourself with SSO and private spaces. For regulated or security-conscious teams, self-hosting is the difference between ‘maybe’ and ‘yes’.
Governance built in
Approvals, version history, and acknowledgements come standard — the controls documentation teams need as they scale.
Own your content
Front-matter Markdown import and export means your knowledge base is portable and yours, with no proprietary lock-in.
Frequently asked
Can I self-host CompassDocs like an on-prem Notion?
Yes. It installs with one Docker command on your own servers, so your documents stay on infrastructure you control — something Notion's hosted-only model can't offer.
Does it have a block editor like Notion?
Yes. The editor supports rich blocks — callouts, tabs, accordions, Mermaid/PlantUML diagrams, embeds, and interactive checklists — plus a Markdown mode.
What do I gain over Notion for a company knowledge base?
Approval workflows, policy acknowledgements, version history with restore, SSO, and self-hosting — governance and control aimed at company documentation rather than personal notes.
Is it free?
The open-source core is free to self-host with unlimited users. Enterprise (SSO, compliance, training) is a flat $599/year — approvals are included free in Community.
Related: Confluence alternative · Rich editor · Roles & approvals · Self-hosting
Free & open source to self-host
One Docker command installs CompassDocs with unlimited users and documents. Enterprise adds SSO, Microsoft 365 sync, compliance, and training for a flat $599/year.
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