# Outline — Knowledge Base & Wiki

Outline by General Outline, Inc. holds a panel rating of 2.5/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 3/5), as of 2026-11-01. Provenance: Rest of world; sovereignty: 1 of 6 dimensions proven.

- Vendor: General Outline, Inc. (https://www.getoutline.com)
- Category: [Knowledge Base & Wiki](https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): Rest of world
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base/outline
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base/outline/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base/outline/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-11-06 · evaluated 2026-11-01 · oldest source captured 2026-11-01

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: General Outline, Inc.
- Headquarters: Incorporated in United States [S10]
- Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026

## The panel's verdict

Outline is a team knowledge base from General Outline, Inc., a Delaware corporation. The strongest marks go to portability and hosting, authoring and search and publishing and integrations (a flat 6). The pages document a Markdown editor with real-time co-editing and a broad embed catalogue, workspace search with AI answers, an API with client libraries, signed webhooks, Zapier, Make and a built-in MCP server. Self-hosting on Docker or from source is documented, with importers for Confluence, Notion and Slab and export that stays open through the read-only period after the 30-day trial. The weakest area is knowledge governance: beyond revision history and an audit log, we found no public information on page owners, review dates, approval workflows or read confirmations. Access control scores 5–6, with no public information on SCIM or enforced two-factor authentication. Sovereignty scores 4–5 — primary processing takes place in the United States, all thirteen published subprocessors are US or Canadian, and we found no public information on an EU hosting option. Score spreads never exceed one point.

**Speaks for it:**
- Authoring and search scored 6–7 on a Markdown editor with real-time co-editing, comments and threads, templates, backlinks and a broad embed catalogue for diagrams and code services.
- Publishing and integrations holds a uniform 6 for an API with an OpenAPI specification, client libraries, signed webhooks, Zapier, Make, Slack search and a built-in MCP server.
- Portability and hosting scored 6–7, with importers for Confluence, Notion and Slab, export open through the read-only period after the 30-day trial, and documented self-hosting on Docker or from source.
- A published data processing agreement carries EU and UK standard contractual clauses, names thirteen subprocessors, and states deletion at the customer's choice.
- Single sign-on through Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID and OpenID Connect providers is documented, alongside read and write permissions, user groups and guest users.

**Held against it:**
- Knowledge governance scored 3–4 — the bench's lowest range — with no public information on page owners, review dates with reminders, approval workflows or read confirmations.
- Access control scored 5–6, with no public information on SCIM, LDAP directory sync, enforced two-factor authentication or IP and domain restrictions.
- Sovereignty scored 4–5: primary processing takes place in the United States, all thirteen published subprocessors are US or Canadian, and we found no public information on an EU hosting option.
- We found no public information on help-center SEO controls, an in-product widget, multilingual publishing or help-desk ticket deflection.
- Self-hosting requires dev-ops experience, some features are marked Business and Enterprise only, and the export format and whether history travels with it are not stated on the pages.

**Best for:**
- Your engineering or product team writes in Markdown and wants live embeds for diagrams, whiteboards and code services with workspace search and AI answers.
- You build automation on the knowledge base through the API, webhooks, Zapier, Make or the built-in MCP server for AI assistants.
- You want a documented exit and hosting choice: Confluence, Notion and Slab importers, export after the trial, and self-hosting on Docker or from source.
- Your team works from Slack, where the /outline command searches the knowledge base and notifications can route by collection.

**Avoid if:**
- Your quality or certification regime requires named page owners, review schedules, approvals and read confirmations — knowledge governance scored 3–4, the bench's lowest range.
- You require an EU hosting option for the cloud service; the captured pages state primary processing takes place in the United States and we found no public information on an EU option.
- Your identity requirements include SCIM, LDAP directory sync or enforced two-factor authentication — we found no public information on these, and the integration pages mark OpenID Connect sign-on as self-hosted availability.
- You are buying primarily as a customer-facing help center — publishing and integrations scored 6 and we found no public information on SEO controls, an in-product widget, multilingual publishing or ticket deflection.

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price, or the judge found no public information on that criterion.

| Criterion | The Operations Lead | The IT Administrator | The Support Knowledge Manager | The Engineering Lead | The Quality Manager | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Editor, structure & search | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Verification, ownership & freshness | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 |
| Permissions, SSO & administration | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 |
| Help-center publishing & integrations | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Import, export & self-hosting | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 |
| European sovereignty | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Pricing transparency | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r |
| **Weighted verdict** | **3/5** | **2.5/5** | **2.5/5** | **3/5** | **2.5/5** | **2.5/5** |

### The judges

- **The Operations Lead** (v1.0): Head of operations at a 180-person machine builder in Baden-Württemberg, where onboarding, travel rules and the service hotline's answers live in a shared drive, three OneNote books and two colleagues' heads. Wants one place the whole company actually uses: an editor office staff manage without training, a search that finds the answer rather than the file, pages that name who keeps them current, and a price that does not double when the workshop gets read access.
- **The IT Administrator** (v1.0): Runs IT for a public utility with 900 staff whose Confluence Server held twelve years of pages until Atlassian ended its support. Was offered the cloud, read the subprocessor list and went looking instead. Needs a migration that keeps page trees, permissions and attachments, single sign-on against Entra ID with groups synced, an audit log the auditor accepts, and an edition they can run in the utility's own data centre if the works council or the regulator asks.
- **The Support Knowledge Manager** (v1.0): Owns the knowledge base of a Dutch SaaS company with customers in six languages and a support team of twenty-five. Writes once for agents and customers, publishes the public part as a help center on the company's own domain, and watches which searches find nothing. Wants review dates that nag the right expert, translations kept in step with the source, a widget inside the product, and articles that show up in the help desk next to the ticket.
- **The Engineering Lead** (v1.0): Leads a forty-person engineering team at a Berlin fintech that writes runbooks, architecture decisions and on-call guides. Writes in Markdown, links pages to Jira tickets and Slack threads, and has moved the team's docs twice. Wants fast search, code blocks and diagrams that render, an API and webhooks to generate pages from the pipeline, AI answers that cite their pages, and a full export the next tool can read.
- **The Quality Manager** (v1.0): Quality manager at a medical device supplier certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485, where every work instruction must be approved, versioned and read by the people it applies to. Today that means Word files, a sign-off sheet and an audit every spring. Wants approval workflows with named reviewers, read confirmations, review dates that expire pages, an audit trail they can export for the certifier, and permissions that keep drafts out of sight.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has migrated a wiki whose "export" turned out to be one PDF per page, watched a self-hosted edition announced as retired with two years' notice, and read "your data is never used for training" above a subprocessor list naming two AI providers. Asks what a full export contains, which model reads the pages and where, whether readers are billed like editors — and what leaving would cost.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: 1 of 6 dimensions proven.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Incorporated in US | 0/2 | [S10] |
| Hosting location | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting options | Not determined | — | — |
| Open source | Not determined | — | — |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | — |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- Audit log: yes [S3]
- Audit rights: no more than once per calendar year · yes · yes [S10]
- Breach notification: breach notification without undue delay [S10]
- Controller role: Outline is independent controller of Customer Account Data and Customer Usage Data [S10]
- DPA exists: DPA supplements the Terms of Service [S10]
- EU scc version: 2021/914 dated 4 June 2021 [S10]
- GDPR documented: GDPR · Security [S5]
- Laws covered: CCPA · EU GDPR · Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection · UK GDPR · UK Data Protection Act 2018 · Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 [S10]
- Order of precedence: Standard Contractual Clauses · DPA · Agreement · other written agreement [S10]
- Record retention: compliance records retained 3 years after termination [S10]
- Sccs: EU SCCs · UK SCCs [S10]
- Security measures: appropriate technical and organizational measures committed [S10]
- Subprocessor list on request: yes [S10]

**Data**
- Business transfer: yes [S8]
- Cookies: browser setting to refuse cookies · yes [S8]
- Data subjects: Customer end-users/customers · Customer employees [S10]
- Deletion: deletion at Customer's choice after completion of Services unless required by law [S10]
- Disclosure legal: yes [S8]
- Disclosure policy: no [S8]
- Export available: yes [S5]
- Import confluence: yes [S5]
- International transfer: use of websites · yes [S8]
- Ip collection: collected for logged in users [S8]
- Non pii collection: browser type · language preference · referring site · date and time of each visitor request [S8]
- Personal data categories: name · location · email address · physical address · unique identifiers such as passwords [S10]
- Pii collection: email address or via authentication partner [S8]

**Hosting**
- Cloud hosted: Outline [S3]
- Cloud specific features: yes [S5]
- On premises: yes [S3]
- Primary processing region: United States [S10]
- Self hosted: yes [S7]

**Integrations**
- Analytics: Google Analytics, Matomo, Umami [S11]
- Analytics providers: Google Analytics · Matomo · Umami [S13]
- API client libraries: Shell · Ruby · Node.js · PHP · Python [S4]
- API endpoint https only: https://app.getoutline.com/api/:method · yes · yes [S4]
- API key auth header: bearer_token_in_authorization_header [S4]
- API key format: ol_api_ · 38 [S4]
- API key management: Settings => API & Apps · yes · yes [S4]
- API policies: yes [S4]
- API rate limits: yes · yes · 429 [S4]
- API rpc style: RPC · yes · yes [S4]
- API scopes: global · namespaced · endpoint · wildcard · yes [S4]
- API webhooks: yes [S3]
- Auth providers: Google · Microsoft · Discord · OpenID Connect [S12]
- Authentication options: Google, Microsoft, Discord, OpenID Connect [S11]
- Authentication providers: Google · Microsoft · Discord · OpenID Connect [S13]
- Categories: Authentication · Collaboration · Developers · Analytics · Import · Utilities · Embeds [S12]
- Collaboration: Slack, Figma [S11]
- Collaboration providers: Slack · Figma [S13]
- Developer providers: GitHub · GitLab · Linear · Webhooks · Zapier · Make [S13]
- Developer tools: GitHub, GitLab, Linear, Webhooks, Zapier, Make [S11]
- Diagramsnet: Diagrams.net embedding, including self-hosted draw.io [S11]
- Diagramsnet no setup: no [S11]
- Embed counts: 5 · 5 · 4 · 10 · 3 · 13 · 12 [S11]
- Embed counts: 5 · 5 · 4 · 10 · 3 · 13 · 12 [S12]
- Google analytics: GA4 analytics integration [S2]
- Import providers: Notion · Slab [S13]
- Import sources: Notion, Slab [S11]
- Import sources: Notion · Slab [S12]
- List: AI assistants · API · Gitea · GitHub · GitLab · Google Analytics · Linear · Webhooks [S5]
- Make: Make integration with 850+ apps [S2]
- Matomo: Self-hosted · yes [S2]
- Oauth2: yes · Settings => Applications [S4]
- Openapi spec: generate clients · yes [S4]
- Umami: Self-hosted · yes [S2]
- Utilities: Alfred [S11]
- Utilities providers: Alfred [S13]
- Webhooks: Webhooks with real-time JSON POSTs [S2]
- Webhooks API combo: Webhooks can combine with API for two-way integrations; Zapier and Make available as no-code options [S12]
- Webhooks auto disable: settings page · yes [S12]
- Webhooks delivery: JSON POST to configurable URL · yes [S12]
- Webhooks setup: Settings → Webhooks · documents · collections · comments · users · groups · shares [S12]
- Webhooks signing: event name plus full model payload · yes [S12]
- Zapier: Cloud · yes [S2]

**Legal**
- Entity: getoutline.com · General Outline, Inc. [S8]
- Entity: General Outline, Inc. · Delaware corporation · 228 Park Ave S, PMB 377005, New York, New York 10003-1502 [S10]
- Founded: 2020 [S7]
- Funding: yes · yes [S7]
- Governing law: Governing law of San Francisco County, California with exclusive jurisdiction of courts in that state [S9]
- Importer contact: General Outline, Inc. · hello@getoutline.com [S10]
- Liability limitation: Disclaimer of liability for damages including loss of data or profit [S9]
- License: forked from Automattic Privacy Policy · CC BY-SA 2.5 [S8]
- Policy change: yes [S8]
- Terms modifications: Terms may be revised at any time without notice; notable changes added to a changelog on the page [S9]
- Terms scope: Terms apply to accessing the website at https://www.getoutline.com [S9]
- Warranty disclaimer: Materials provided 'as is' with no express or implied warranties [S9]

**Pricing**
- Annual available: yes [S3]
- Discount nonprofit education: 30 · non-profit · education [S3]
- Large teams: yes · yes [S3]
- Nonprofit discounts: yes [S7]
- Plan auto tiering: yes [S3]
- Tiers: 10 · 79 · 249 · 1 - 10 · 11 - 100 · 101 - 200 [S3]
- Trial: 30 · yes · yes [S3]

**Product**
- Administration features: Authentication · Users & roles · Groups · Insights · Governance · Billing · Audit log [S5]
- AI features: AI · MCP · Search & answers [S5]
- AI qa: AI question answering over documents [S1]
- Alfred integration: Alfred Powerpack search workflow [S2]
- Auth discord: Discord sign-in [S2]
- Auth google: Google Workspace SSO [S2]
- Auth microsoft: Microsoft Entra ID sign-in [S2]
- Auth oidc: OpenID Connect SSO (Okta, Auth0, Keycloak, Authentik) [S2]
- Cloud selfhosted filtering: Integrations categorized by Cloud and Self-hosted availability [S2]
- Custom domain: yes [S1]
- Customers count: 2000 [S1]
- Diagramsnet embed method: Paste exported URL from Diagrams.net/draw.io to embed diagram in Outline document [S11]
- Document features: Templates · Collaborative editing · Commenting · Icons & emoji · Table of contents · Present mode · Backlinks · Revision history · Split view · Sharing [S5]
- Embed code services: CodePen · GitHub Gist · GitLab Snippet · JSFiddle · Val Town [S2]
- Embed counts: 5 · 5 · 4 · 10 · 3 · 13 · 12 [S2]
- Embed design services: Abstract · Canva · Framer · InVision · Marvel [S2]
- Embed diagram services: Diagrams.net · DBDiagram · Gliffy · Lucidchart · MindMeister · Miro · tldraw · Whimsical · Google Drawings · Camunda Modeler · Cawemo · PlantUML [S2]
- Embed document services: Airtable · Google Docs · Google Sheets · Google Drive · Google Forms · Google Calendar · Google Looker Studio · Grist · SmartSuite · Typeform · ClickUp · Trello · Mode [S2]
- Embed presentation services: Google Slides · Pitch · Prezi [S2]
- Embed social services: Instagram · LinkedIn · Pinterest · Google Maps [S2]
- Embed video services: YouTube · Vimeo · Loom · Berrycast · Bilibili · Descript · Spotify · Otter.ai · Scribe · Tella [S2]
- Embeds: Live embeds for supported services, no setup [S2]
- Extensibility: Outline is extensible and designed to integrate with existing workflows and tools [S2]
- Figma integration: Figma embeds and link unfurls [S2]
- Github integration: GitHub issue and PR previews [S2]
- Github stars: 40k [S1]
- Gitlab integration: GitLab issue and merge request previews [S2]
- Goal: software for the modern workplace, sharing knowledge, information, and workflows with teams [S7]
- Guide sections: Getting started · Documents · Integrations · AI · Administration · Import data · Export data · Cloud hosting [S5]
- Import notion: Notion · yes [S2]
- Import slab: Slab Markdown export · yes [S2]
- Installation methods: Docker · From source · Local development [S6]
- Integrations count: yes · 20+ [S1]
- Languages: yes · 20 [S1]
- Languages: 17 [S3]
- Linear integration: Linear issue previews [S2]
- Macos compatibility: Apple Silicon · Intel [S14]
- Markdown editor: markdown support, slash commands, interactive embeds [S1]
- Mcp server: yes [S1]
- Open source: yes [S1]
- Open source: yes [S7]
- Permissions: read & write permissions, user groups, guest users [S1]
- Platforms: macOS App · Windows App · Mobile [S5]
- Public sharing: public link sharing, custom branding and domain [S1]
- Purpose: Outline is a team knowledge base [S5]
- Realtime collaboration: realtime collaboration, comments & threads [S1]
- Search AI answers: Search & AI answers · Find & replace · Editing stats · Export documents [S5]
- Self hosted: yes [S1]
- Self hosted backups documented: yes [S6]

**Subprocessors**
- Change notice: 15 · email · 30 [S10]
- List: Amazon Web Services, Inc. · United States · Hosting · Cloudflare, Inc. · United States · Content delivery network · Datadog, Inc · United States · Service monitoring · Fly.io · United States · Hosting · Functional Software, Inc. (Sentry) ·… [S10]

**Support**
- Community channel: Community edition support via GitHub discussions [S6]
- Paid editions account manager: contact account manager [S6]
- Response time: 1 working day [S3]

15 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base/outline

## Questions

### Is Outline European?

No. whats-best.ai classifies Outline as Rest of world. Its vendor, General Outline, Inc., is incorporated in United States, per [the vendor’s page captured 1 Nov 2026](https://whats-best.ai/evidence/13637).

### Where does Outline store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

### Does Outline have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to Outline?

As of 1 Nov 2026, the panel rates [Document360 (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base/document360), [BookStack (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base/bookstack) and [XWiki (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base/xwiki) highest among the other 13 Knowledge Base & Wiki products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Document360](https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base/document360) (UK / wider Europe). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Outline alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base/outline/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 12 legal facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 6 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 5 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 4 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown.
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage: https://www.getoutline.com/ (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S2] Integrations page: https://www.getoutline.com/integrations (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S3] Pricing page: https://www.getoutline.com/pricing (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S4] API documentation: https://www.getoutline.com/developers (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S5] Documentation (product guide): https://docs.getoutline.com/s/guide (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S6] Documentation (self-hosting): https://docs.getoutline.com/s/hosting (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S7] About page: https://www.getoutline.com/about (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S8] Privacy policy: https://www.getoutline.com/privacy (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S9] Terms of service: https://www.getoutline.com/terms (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S10] Data processing agreement (dpa): https://docs.getoutline.com/s/dpa (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S11] Editor, structure & search — found from sitemap: https://www.getoutline.com/integrations/diagrams (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S12] Help-center publishing & integrations — found from sitemap: https://www.getoutline.com/integrations/webhooks (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S13] Help-center publishing & integrations — found from sitemap: https://www.getoutline.com/integrations/slack (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S14] Import, export & self-hosting — found from sitemap: https://www.getoutline.com/download (checked 2026-11-01)
- [S15] Code repository (open-source licence) — found from the homepage: https://github.com/outline (checked 2026-11-01)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Outline — Knowledge Base & Wiki", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-11-06. https://whats-best.ai/software/knowledge-base/outline

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/1235?target=page