Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Wikipedia VS Kiwix

Compare Wikipedia VS Kiwix and see what are their differences

Wikipedia logo Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

Kiwix logo Kiwix

Kiwix enables you to have the whole Wikipedia at hand wherever you go!
  • Wikipedia Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-24
  • Kiwix Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-01-31

Wikipedia features and specs

  • Comprehensive Coverage
    Wikipedia provides information on an enormous range of topics, often in great detail. This makes it an invaluable resource for quick fact-checking, general research, and gaining a surface-level understanding of a subject.
  • Free Access
    Wikipedia is free to use for anyone with internet access, reducing barriers to information and supporting educational equality.
  • Collaborative Editing
    Articles on Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, allowing for a collaborative and dynamic creation and updating process. This can lead to quick corrections and diverse perspectives.
  • Citations and Sources
    Many articles on Wikipedia include citations and references to external sources, which can be useful for further research and verification of the information provided.
  • Multilingual
    Wikipedia is available in numerous languages, which helps make information accessible to a global audience.

Possible disadvantages of Wikipedia

  • Potential for Vandalism
    Because Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, there's a potential for vandalism or the introduction of incorrect information, which can affect the reliability of some articles.
  • Citation Quality
    The quality and reliability of cited sources in Wikipedia articles can vary, and some articles may cite unreliable or biased sources.
  • Subjectivity and Bias
    Despite efforts to maintain neutrality, some articles may contain subjective viewpoints or bias, reflecting the opinions of their contributors.
  • Incomplete Information
    Not all topics are covered equally well on Wikipedia. Lesser-known or more recent topics may have sparse or poorly developed entries.
  • Misleading Editing Practices
    There can be instances where experienced editors dominate the editing process, potentially leading to gatekeeping and exclusion of alternative perspectives or newer editors.

Kiwix features and specs

  • Offline Access
    Kiwix allows users to access and save entire websites, including Wikipedia, for offline viewing, making it an invaluable resource in areas with limited or no internet connectivity.
  • Cost-effective
    The software is open-source and free to use, which makes it a cost-effective alternative to traditional digital libraries and educational resources.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Kiwix is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. This wide compatibility ensures that users can access content on practically any device.
  • Wide Range of Content
    Kiwix offers a broad array of content packages like Wikipedia, Gutenberg Library, WikiVoyage, and others, catering to various informational needs.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The application features an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, making it accessible for users of all technical levels.

Possible disadvantages of Kiwix

  • Storage Requirements
    Downloading large datasets, like the entirety of Wikipedia, requires substantial storage space, which might be a limitation for devices with low storage capacity.
  • Lack of Real-time Updates
    Since Kiwix relies on offline content packages, users do not receive real-time updates. The information may become outdated, especially for frequently updated sources like news articles.
  • Initial Setup Complexity
    While the interface is user-friendly, setting up Kiwix initially and downloading the desired content packages can be time-consuming and complex for non-technical users.
  • Limited Interactivity
    Interactive elements that require an internet connection, like live maps or embedded videos, do not function within Kiwix, which limits the overall user experience.
  • Dependency on Content Packages
    The usefulness of Kiwix is heavily dependent on the availability and relevance of its content packages. While extensive, the selection may not cover every user’s needs comprehensively.

Wikipedia videos

Wikipedia The Game | Beer and Board Games

More videos:

  • Review - Using Wikipedia on an iPod Mini
  • Review - I Don't Use or Trust Wikipedia Anymore.

Kiwix videos

How to Access Wikipedia Offline using Kiwix (Knowledge Prep)

More videos:

  • Review - Offline Wikipedia on iPad using Kiwix
  • Review - Offline Wikipedia using Kiwix Reader for Windows 10

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Wikipedia and Kiwix)
Content Collaboration
75 75%
25% 25
Note Taking
71 71%
29% 29
Wikis And Discussion Spaces
Education
69 69%
31% 31

User comments

Share your experience with using Wikipedia and Kiwix. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Wikipedia and Kiwix

Wikipedia Reviews

17 open source wiki engine/software
MediaWiki is a free and open source server based wiki engine written in PHP developed by Wikipedia. MediaWiki is an extremely powerful, scalable software and a feature-rich wiki implementation, that uses PHP to process and display data stored in its MySQL database. Pages use MediaWiki’s wiki-text format, so that users without knowledge of XHTML or CSS can edit pages easily...

Kiwix Reviews

We have no reviews of Kiwix yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Wikipedia should be more popular than Kiwix. It has been mentiond 127 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Wikipedia mentions (127)

View more

Kiwix mentions (16)

  • Self-Hosting Wikipedia (and other sites ...) with Kiwix
    In this article we'll be deploying Kiwix using docker and docker compose. You can look at the github repositories and contribute to its many projects (server, mobile, browser and desktop apps). - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Patterns for Personal Web Sites (2003)
    Yeah, I keep thinking that CHM was the peak format for offline docs. Today we have Kiwix [0] and Dash/Zeal [1] – both amazing projects, but somehow they feel more complex, and the formats they use aren’t as ubiquitous. [0]: https://kiwix.org/en/ [1]: https://kapeli.com/dash for macOS, https://zealdocs.org/ for others. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Why I Bought an Encyclopedia
    Try Kiwix. It's an offline reader, you can download the complete English-language Wikipedia, complete with media, in about 100GB. They also have a bunch of other collections like Project Gutenberg. https://kiwix.org/en/. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • An Introduction to the WARC File
    Very helpful to know that! Zimit[1] also uses warc files as an intermediate step to producing Zim files. You can use these Zim files to read and search websites offline with the excellent app Kiwix[2]. I think 'Kiwix for Android' and the Kiwix PWA support Zim files made with Zimit, with the support with the desktop Kiwix application currently work-in-progress. Other information about archiving websites is... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Wikipedia exec salaries are sparking a debate on tech sector wages
    For the locally hosted part of it, you’re looking at Kiwix[1]. [1] https://kiwix.org/en/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Wikipedia and Kiwix, you can also consider the following products

Miraheze - Miraheze is a wiki farm (hosts wikis) for free and with no ads, it also provides custom domains...

Fandom - The entertainment site where fans come first.

Encyclopædia Britannica - Explore the fact-checked online encyclopedia from Encyclopaedia Britannica with hundreds of thousands of objective articles, biographies, videos, and images from experts.

MyWikis - A premium wiki host with top-class quality, excellent support, and VisualEditor (a WYSIWYG...

Oppia - Oppia is a free, open-source learning platform.

Wikiful - Wikiful is an online platform that makes it easy to build and share a wiki.