Softwr

Documentation · head to head

BookStack vs Hasura

BookStack logo

BookStack

Documentation

Self-hosted documentation wiki with a fixed shelf, book, chapter and page structure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hasura logo

Hasura

APIs

GraphQL engine that instantly creates production-ready GraphQL API from databases

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: BookStack there is no vendor-hosted option at all, so you own the server, TLS certificates, database backups and upgrades, or you pay a third-party host that has no support relationship with the project and no ability to fix a bug.; Hasura active model definition: model/command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly
  • They diverge on capability: BookStack covers Shelves, books, chapters, pages, Hasura covers GraphQL API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BookStack and Hasura actually diverge.

Attributes where BookStack and Hasura differ
AttributeBookStackHasura
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, DockerWeb
CategoryDocumentationAPIs
FoundedUnknown2017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in BookStack

  • Shelves, books, chapters, pages
  • Dual editors
  • Granular permissions
  • Full text search
  • Page revisions
  • REST API
  • External authentication
  • Export

Only in Hasura

  • GraphQL API
  • Real-time subscriptions
  • Access control
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • Webhooks
  • REST APIs
  • Cloud support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BookStack

  • Running an internal knowledge base on infrastructure inside a network that cannot reach external SaaSnot Hasura
  • Documenting procedures and runbooks where a fixed structure prevents the tree sprawl a free-form wiki producesnot Hasura
  • Replacing a Confluence licence for a team that needs pages, permissions and search but none of the surrounding suitenot Hasura
  • Publishing customer-facing manuals from the same instance as internal documentation using per-book permissionsnot Hasura

Hasura

  • Automatic GraphQL API generation from existing databasesnot BookStack
  • Real-time data subscriptions for modern applicationsnot BookStack
  • Backend infrastructure for web and mobile applicationsnot BookStack
  • Event-triggered webhooks for database changesnot BookStack

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

BookStack

  • There is no vendor-hosted option at all, so you own the server, TLS certificates, database backups and upgrades, or you pay a third-party host that has no support relationship with the project and no ability to fix a bug.
  • The shelf, book, chapter, page hierarchy is fixed at four levels and cannot be reshaped, so migrating a deeply nested Confluence or MediaWiki space means flattening content by hand and losing the original structure.
  • It requires PHP and MySQL or MariaDB, which is a stack many engineering teams no longer run, so adopting it usually means introducing a database and runtime nobody else in the organisation maintains.
  • Development is concentrated on a single maintainer, which makes the bus factor a legitimate procurement question for anything the organisation intends to depend on for a decade.
  • Content lives in the database rather than in files under version control, so there is no docs-as-code workflow, no review by pull request and no branch per release.
  • Export is per page, chapter or book, so moving a large instance to another platform means writing a script against the REST API rather than copying a directory of Markdown.

Hasura

  • Active model definition: model/command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly
  • Private DDN requires Base or Advanced plan

Pricing, plan by plan

BookStack

Free
  • BookStackFree
    • MIT licence with no paid edition
    • All features included, no seat limits
    • Self-hosted on your own infrastructure

Hasura

Free
  • DDN FreeFree
    • Unlimited models
    • 1 supergraph developer
    • 15-minute observability retention
  • DDN Base$5/month
    • Per active model billing
    • Unlimited developers
    • 30-day observability retention
  • DDN Advanced$30/month
    • Per active model billing
    • Federated collaboration
    • Multi-repo CI/CD

Which should you pick?

Choose BookStack if

  • You need shelves, books, chapters, pages.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want dual editors.
BookStack review

Choose Hasura if

  • You need graphql api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want real-time subscriptions.
Hasura review

Questions people ask

Is BookStack or Hasura better?
Neither clearly leads. BookStack starts at Free and Hasura at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BookStack or Hasura?
BookStack starts at Free and Hasura at Free.
Does BookStack or Hasura run on more platforms?
BookStack runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker. Hasura runs on Web.
Can I use BookStack for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is BookStack best used for?
BookStack is most often used for running an internal knowledge base on infrastructure inside a network that cannot reach external saas, documenting procedures and runbooks where a fixed structure prevents the tree sprawl a free-form wiki produces, replacing a confluence licence for a team that needs pages, permissions and search but none of the surrounding suite, publishing customer-facing manuals from the same instance as internal documentation using per-book permissions. Of those, running an internal knowledge base on infrastructure inside a network that cannot reach external saas and documenting procedures and runbooks where a fixed structure prevents the tree sprawl a free-form wiki produces are not what Hasura is typically brought in for.
What can BookStack do that Hasura cannot?
BookStack covers Shelves, books, chapters, pages, Dual editors, Granular permissions, Full text search. Hasura covers GraphQL API, Real-time subscriptions, Access control, PostgreSQL.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BookStack: Is there a paid or hosted version?

No. BookStack is MIT-licensed with no commercial edition and no official hosted service. Third-party hosts exist but are unaffiliated with the project.

Hasura: How much does Hasura cost?

Hasura DDN Free is free. DDN Base starts at $5/active model/month, and DDN Advanced starts at $30/active model/month.

Source
BookStack: Can I nest pages more deeply?

No. Four levels is the design, not a limitation waiting to be fixed, and content that needs deeper nesting has to be restructured.

Hasura: What is an active model in Hasura pricing?

An active model is defined as any model or command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly.

Source
BookStack: Does it support single sign-on?

Yes, through LDAP, SAML2 or OpenID Connect, with group to role mapping, and none of it is gated behind a paid tier because there is no paid tier.

Hasura: Is there a free version of Hasura?

Yes, Hasura DDN Free is always free and includes unlimited models, 1 supergraph developer, and 15-minute observability retention.

Source
BookStack: How hard is it to migrate content in?

Straightforward for flat content through the REST API, awkward for deeply nested wikis, because the structure has to be collapsed to fit.

Share

Related pages

More on BookStack

More on Hasura

Keep looking

Other head to heads