10 best knowledge base software in 2025
Compare 2025’s top knowledge base platforms to organize information, streamline access, and enable customer self-service. From internal docs to self-service, find the right tool by features, pricing, pros, and cons. Need a customer support-focused KB solution? Try Freshdesk, an AI-powered knowledge base built for fast, consistent service.
Aug 18, 202515 MIN READ
If you’re a customer support leader, content manager, or operations lead, chances are you’re dealing with scattered documentation, hard-to-find content, and self-service resources your users simply can’t navigate. These challenges slow down support, frustrate customers, and overwhelm internal teams with repetitive questions. That’s where knowledge base software comes in. Whether you're building a help center for customers or an internal resource for teams, a knowledge base helps centralize information and ensure consistent, accurate answers. In fact, a CXM Today report reveals that 81% of customers prefer self-service, highlighting the growing need for smarter knowledge management. But with so many knowledge base tools available, how do you choose the right one? Which platform offers the right balance between ease of use, AI capabilities, customization, and long-term scalability? And how much should you pay for such tools? In this blog, we compare the 10 best knowledge base software platforms of 2025, evaluating their features, pricing, pros, and cons, so you can make an informed decision.
Our process for selecting the 10 best knowledge base solutions
To bring you the most reliable and relevant list of knowledge base solutions, we analyzed over 35 Knowledge Base (KB) platforms using the following criteria:
Ease of use: We prioritized tools with intuitive interfaces that make it easy for support teams, content creators, and even non-technical users to create and manage articles.
Feature set: We looked for platforms that cover the core must-haves for both customer-facing and internal knowledge bases. Some features we prioritized were version control, article categorization, feedback capture, and publishing workflows.
AI and automation: We picked tools with AI-powered search, intent-based article suggestions, and content generation capabilities to reduce manual effort.
Scalability: We selected tools that offer flexibility in team size, language support, and integrations. This helped us ensure your KB software scales with your business.
Use cases: We picked knowledge base tools suitable for external and internal use cases across different industries and business scales.
Community popularity: We also factored in platform popularity on discussion forums, Reddit threads, and user communities.
This exercise helped us narrow down our list to the 10 best knowledge base software solutions, excelling in ease of use, ROI, automation capabilities, core knowledge base features, and overall value.
Quick overview: 10 best knowledge base solutions at a glance
Here’s a head-to-head comparison of the best knowledge base platforms based on their base pricing and best use case:
Platforms | Starting Price (USD) | Best For |
|---|---|---|
Freshdesk | $15/agent/month | Support teams needing AI-driven self-service at scale |
Confluence | $650/10 users/year | Internal documentation and team knowledge sharing |
Helpjuice | $249/30 users/month | Customizable external knowledge base |
Zoho Desk | $7/user/month | Zoho ecosystem-integrated knowledge base |
Document360 | Custom pricing | Standalone knowledge base with advanced customization |
Zendesk | $19/agent/month | Enterprise-level help center and self-service management |
Guru | $15/user/month | Real-time internal knowledge sharing for teams |
Notion | $10/member/month | Collaborative internal wikis and flexible content |
Yext | Custom pricing | AI-powered self-service with search-optimized content |
Knowmax | Custom pricing | Guided external support for contact centers |
Turn common queries into instant answers with Freshdesk
Freshdesk’s AI-powered knowledge base helps you convert repetitive support tickets into easily searchable articles. Enable customers to get resolutions instantly, without waiting on an agent.
In-depth comparison of the 10 best knowledge base software
Every business has unique support needs. Here’s a closer look at what each of these top 10 tools brings to the table, along with their core features, pros and cons, and ideal use cases.
1. Freshdesk
Best for: Businesses of all scales needing AI-driven, multichannel support with powerful self-service tools
Freshdesk is a leading AI customer service platform built to help businesses deliver faster, more efficient support across every channel. Designed for SMBs, growing teams, and enterprises alike, it brings together ticketing, automation, collaboration, and self-service tools in one easy-to-use solution. With Freshdesk, you can improve agent productivity by 60%.
One of its most powerful features is the Freshdesk Knowledge Base, a centralized and customizable self-service center where businesses can publish solution articles, FAQs, and guides. It allows you to create a structured, multilingual knowledge hub that customers can rely on for quick answers. This reduces ticket volume, saves agent time, and improves customer satisfaction.
With built-in AI capabilities (powered by Freddy AI), customers receive smart article suggestions even before they raise a ticket. Meanwhile, agents can turn their responses into reusable help articles in just a few clicks. This helps create a self-service experience that’s fast, consistent, and scalable.
Key features of Freshdesk
Multilingual self-service portal: Enables support teams to deliver consistent support in multiple languages through a fully customizable, branded help center.
AI article suggestions: Guides customers to the right answers instantly with AI-powered article recommendations during ticket submission.
Article generator: Uses Freddy AI Copilot to draft new help articles instantly based on customer queries and ticket replies. This helps create accurate, ready-to-publish self-service content faster.
Ticket-to-article conversion: Turns agent replies into searchable knowledge base articles with a single click to build content over time.
Custom categories and folder structure: Organizes articles into intuitive folders and categories to make content discovery easy for users.
Custom branding: Helps design a fully branded knowledge base with brand logo, colors, and fonts to provide a consistent brand experience for users.
Help content performance tracking: Tracks article views, ratings, and feedback to improve content quality and close knowledge gaps.
Pros and cons of Freshdesk
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
AI and human agents can link knowledge base content in ticket for better self-service | The auto-correct, copy-paste, and formatting features sometimes need a manual review |
Multilingual self-service content with in-built translations | Limited user analytics and insights available for knowledge base sessions |
Easy to use with a clean, intuitive interface | Specific to customer service, not suitable for internal knowledge management |
The support team is prompt and helpful for onboarding and usage assistance |
Freshdesk pricing
Freshdesk’s pricing plans start at $15/agent/month. This includes a knowledge base, automation, SLA management, and app integrations. The base plan is excellent for small teams getting started with a customer-facing knowledge base.
User reviews and opinions on Freshdesk
“Freddy Copilot assists agents by automatically generating replies and taking actions based on contextual suggestions and responses. It creates accurate knowledge base articles reflecting real-world scenarios, thereby saving time and enhancing agent productivity.” Surendra Nayak Administrator, Manipal Education |
“I've implemented several key settings for the customer portal on the Freshworks platform, including customizing user access, enhancing security, and optimizing the Knowledge Base. This setup allows users to easily find information while ensuring sensitive documents remain confidential. The result is a seamless and secure experience tailored to client needs.” Mukesh Yadav IT Support Manager, Pharmarck |
2. Confluence
Best for: Internal documentation and knowledge sharing across cross-functional teams
Confluence is a knowledge management tool from Atlassian that helps teams create, share, and manage knowledge in one place. This platform is primarily used for managing internal documentation such as project notes, process guides, and onboarding materials.
As a knowledge base, Confluence makes it easy to organize content using spaces and pages. You can control who sees what, collaborate in real time, and use templates to speed up content creation. If your team already uses Jira or other Atlassian tools, Confluence fits right in.
Key features of Confluence
Customizable templates: Enables teams to create new pages faster with built-in templates for meeting notes, project plans, and how-to articles.
Flexible permissions: Helps admins control who can view, edit, or comment on content with detailed space and page-level access settings.
Document management: Organizes knowledge using pages and categories to keep the information easily accessible and manageable.
Page and file versioning: Tracks changes over time and restores previous versions of pages or attachments whenever needed.
Pros and cons of Confluence
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Built-in version control and traceable audit trails help easily trace back changes | Editing and tagging can feel unintuitive for new users |
A wiki-style content editor that encourages collaboration | Compatible with only a limited number of browsers |
Easy integrations for quick access to linked tools and pages | Lacks features for effectively managing access permissions at a large scale |
Confluence pricing
Confluence’s pricing starts at $650 per year for up to 10 users. This includes unlimited spaces and pages, basic collaboration features, and page version history. Best for small teams testing the platform.
3. Helpjuice
Best for: Creating a standalone, customizable knowledge base for external customers
Helpjuice is a dedicated knowledge base software for companies to scale self-service and centralize internal knowledge. This platform prioritizes UI simplicity, enabling users to easily create, organize, and publish helpful content without relying on developers or designers.
Helpjuice offers portal customization with HTML/CSS, multiple language versions, and a smart search feature that helps users find answers instantly. For building a public help center or a private internal wiki, Helpjuice gives you control over how your knowledge is shared.
Key features of Helpjuice
Content management: Helps admins manage content with ease using a structured editor that supports categories, formatting, and article collaboration.
AI-powered search: Delivers instant answers with an AI-powered search that understands context and highlights the most relevant results.
AI assistance: Speeds up article creation with AI suggestions that help draft, edit, and improve knowledge base content.
Advanced analytics: Tracks performance in depth using advanced analytics that show views, engagement, search terms, and content gaps.
Pros and cons of Helpjuice
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Highly responsive support team | Limited onboarding support for technical teams |
Intuitive, beginner-friendly content editor | Search functionality lacks depth and context knowledge |
Strong article translation and localization features | Customizing CSS requires advanced technical knowledge |
Helpjuice pricing
Helpjuice’s pricing starts at $249 per month for up to 30 users. This plan includes access to essential knowledge base features, customizations, live collaboration tools, workflows, and AI-powered article translations.
4. Zoho Desk
Best for: Building a connected knowledge base within a multichannel help desk system
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based help desk platform that helps businesses manage customer support across email, chat, phone, social media, and more. It comes with a built-in knowledge base that allows teams to create structured, easy-to-navigate self-service portals that reduce support workload and improve resolution speed.
With Zoho Desk, you can organize content into categories, subcategories, and articles, making it easy for customers to find answers. For teams that already use other Zoho products, the knowledge base integrates with CRM, chat, and automation tools, offering a unified customer experience.
If you are looking for alternative knowledge base solutions for customer service, consider exploring other options like Freshdesk. A head-to-head Zoho Desk vs Freshdesk comparison can help you decide which one is better.
Key features of Zoho Desk
Review articles: Enables collaborators to review articles using internal feedback tools to improve content accuracy before publishing.
Publishing: Publishes content to a branded help center and organizes it into categories for easy navigation.
Version control: Tracks changes with version control to monitor updates and revert to earlier drafts when needed.
SEO enhancements: Helps optimize articles for search engines with SEO-friendly URLs, meta titles, and descriptions.
Pros and cons of Zoho Desk
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Intuitive interface helps teams stay organized and respond faster | The chatbot has limited effectiveness in retrieving context from the knowledge base |
Consolidated knowledge base within the ticketing platform for ease of use | Setting up the self-service knowledge base can be tricky in initial phases |
Seamless integration with the broader Zoho ecosystem | Limited migration and content bulk-upload features for adding content |
Zoho Desk pricing
Zoho Desk’s pricing starts at $7 per user per month. This base plan includes email ticketing, a private knowledge base, SLAs, and basic automation. Best for small teams starting with customer support.
5. Document360
Best for: Standalone knowledge base management with advanced customization
Document360 is a dedicated knowledge base platform. This tool is designed to help businesses create, manage, and publish self-service content with precision. It supports both internal and external documentation through an intuitive interface.
With Document360, you can structure articles into categories and subcategories, manage access with granular permissions, and collaborate using advanced editing and review workflows. Whether you're building product guides, internal SOPs, or customer-facing FAQs, Document360 helps do all of this in one place.
Key features of Document360
AI search: Delivers faster answers with an AI-powered search that auto-suggests the most relevant articles as users type.
Category manager: Organizes content efficiently using a powerful category manager with support for multiple levels of nesting.
Analytics: Tracks content performance through detailed analytics on views, searches, feedback, and engagement.
Customization: Helps customize your knowledge base with full control over branding, layout, domain, and CSS.
Pros and cons of Document360
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Intuitive interface with minimal learning curve | New features roll out slowly due to complex vendor workflows |
Flexible UI customization with HTML and CSS | Limited built-in integrations that restrict knowledge sharing across teams |
Responsive support team that accelerates setup | Some essential features require additional payment, thus limiting scalability |
Document360 pricing
Document360’s pricing is available on request. The base plan includes core knowledge base features like category manager, markdown editor, version history, and up to five team accounts. Best for small teams starting with structured documentation.
6. Zendesk
Best for: Enterprise-grade self-service and help center management
Zendesk is a customer service platform that combines ticketing, live chat, automation, and self-service into one system. Its integrated help center allows businesses to build a scalable knowledge base that works seamlessly with support workflows.
The Zendesk knowledge base makes it easy to create and organize articles, FAQs, and guides across multiple languages and brands. For large teams managing high volumes of support requests, Zendesk can help deliver consistent and efficient self-service.
If you are looking for a customer service knowledge base with better automation features, consider exploring other options like Freshdesk. Check out this Freshdesk vs Zendesk comparison to know which platform is better for your business.
Key features of Zendesk
Generative and semantic search: Surfaces relevant articles and helps content faster with generative and semantic search that understands query context and intent.
Custom branding: Helps customize the help center with branding options for logos, themes, layouts, and domain settings.
Zendesk AI content generator: Speeds up article creation using Zendesk AI to draft and enhance knowledge base content automatically.
Analytics: Measures content performance through built-in analytics that track views, search trends, and article feedback.
Pros and cons of Zendesk
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Integrated knowledge base and reporting for a holistic view of brand CX | Lacks internal knowledge base capabilities to train agents based on common queries |
Easy-to-build self-service platform with Zendesk Guide | 24/7 vendor support comes at an additional cost |
KB articles can easily be shared with customers for seamless self-guided support | Visual customizations in help articles require CSS codes and technical assistance |
Zendesk pricing
Zendesk’s pricing starts from $19 per agent per month. This plan includes basic ticketing features, email and social support, and access to the standard help center.
7. Guru
Best for: Real-time internal knowledge sharing for support, sales, and onboarding teams
Guru is an internal knowledge management platform designed to help teams find the right information regarding internal SOPs, workflows, and technical documentation. Instead of relying on static documents or complex wikis, Guru delivers knowledge directly inside your team's workflows through browser extensions, integrations, and smart suggestions.
Guru centralizes internal knowledge, verifies content for accuracy, and makes answers instantly accessible across tools like Slack, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Teams. With its AI features, real-time syncing, and detailed usage analytics, Guru helps reduce shoulder taps, increase productivity, and keep team knowledge fresh and actionable.
Key features of Guru
Suggested answers: Surfaces suggested answers directly inside Slack to reduce response time and context switching.
Trending topics: Identifies trending topics by tracking frequently searched terms and content engagement.
Semantic search: Helps users find information faster through semantic search. This feature understands the search term’s intent and context to retrieve relevant content for users.
Manageable permissions: Controls access easily by setting role-based permissions to manage who can view, edit, or verify content.
Pros and cons of Guru
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Clean interface with great team collaboration capabilities | Search can be rigid unless exact terms are used |
AI assistant shows answers along with source references | No offline access for viewing or searching knowledge |
Great onboarding and ongoing support from the Guru team | Key features like analytics and workflows are locked behind paid tiers |
Guru pricing
Guru’s base pricing starts at $15 per user per month. This plan comes with core knowledge features like verification, browser extension, Slack integration, AI search, analytics, and suggested answers.
8. Notion
Best for: Flexible internal knowledge bases and team wikis with rich content and collaboration
Notion is a workspace app that lets teams create, manage, and organize content using a customizable interface. While it’s known for project management and personal productivity, Notion also doubles as a knowledge base, especially for internal teams that need flexibility and visual structure.
With Notion, you can build pages, link content, embed multimedia, and organize information using drag-and-drop blocks. It helps create internal wikis, SOPs, and onboarding guides that evolve with your team’s needs.
Key features of Notion
Templates: Offers pre-built templates to quickly create help articles, team wikis, onboarding guides, and more.
Categorization: Organizes content easily with nested pages, tags, and databases for flexible categorization.
Collaborative editing: Helps teams edit together in real time with collaborative tools that let multiple users update content simultaneously.
Access control: Controls visibility and access by setting granular permissions at the page or workspace level.
Pros and cons of Notion
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Customizable structure that fits a wide range of knowledge base needs | Mobile experience can be clunky, especially with image-heavy content |
Clean interface with drag-and-drop editing and linked pages | Basic permission controls can get complicated with large teams |
Templates make it easy to standardize and scale documentation | Search lacks semantic understanding and requires exact-match queries |
Notion pricing
Notion’s base plan is priced at $10/member/month. This plan includes basic free features plus unlimited file uploads, 30-day version history, and team sharing controls.
9. Yext
Best for: AI-powered self-service experiences built on structured, search-optimized content
Yext is an AI-driven platform that helps businesses deliver accurate answers across websites, help centers, chatbots, and search engines. Its knowledge base solution is built around structured content and natural language search, allowing users to find precise information without needing to dig through static pages.
With Yext, teams can build a centralized content hub using a no-code editor, manage data in a structured format, and connect articles across multiple channels. Its AI search understands user intent and context, making self-service intuitive.
Key features of Yext
Document search: Searches across documents using natural language processing and retrieves accurate answers from unstructured content.
Dynamic reranking: Improves result relevance with dynamic content reranking that adjusts search results based on user behavior and engagement.
Advanced analytics: Tracks search performance through advanced analytics that reveal queries, click-through rates, and content gaps.
SEO enhancements: Optimizes visibility with built-in SEO tools that help your knowledge base rank better on Google and other search engines.
Pros and cons of Yext
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Centralized dashboard offers visibility into listings, reviews, and analytics from one place | Users report that pricing can be expensive for small businesses with limited budgets |
Real-time content syncing ensures updates reflect across all connected platforms | Customer support can be slow to respond and lacks direct contact channels |
Simple, intuitive interface that’s easy to navigate without training | Reporting tools can feel complex and require onboarding to use effectively |
Yext pricing
Yext’s pricing is not publicly disclosed and is available upon request. The base plan includes core content management features and AI-powered site search.
10. Knowmax
Best for: External knowledge management and guided workflows for contact centers
Knowmax is a knowledge management platform designed for complex customer support processes. It combines knowledge base content with decision trees, visual guides, and AI-powered search to help customers self-resolve their basic queries.
The platform allows you to create bite-sized articles, step-by-step guides, and how-to visuals, all housed in a centralized, searchable library. Knowmax also supports content segmentation, multilingual support, and performance tracking. This platform is useful for teams that handle high volumes of customer interactions and need structured support knowledge.
Key features of Knowmax
Decision trees: Guides agents and customers through structured, step-by-step flows that simplify complex troubleshooting and reduce resolution time.
Visual guides: Creates interactive, image-based instructions to visually walk users through processes.
Content authoring: Helps build, review, and organize articles using a user-friendly editor with built-in approval workflows, content hierarchy, and multilingual support.
Analytics: Tracks article views, search trends, user feedback, and resolution rates to identify knowledge gaps and continuously optimize your content.
Pros and cons of Knowmax
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
AI-powered search helps agents quickly find answers and handle queries confidently | Limited customization options make article workflows and content setup less flexible |
A user-friendly interface for creating and managing knowledge content | Some advanced features and add-ons are not yet available on the cloud version |
Integrates with CRMs and support tools like Freshdesk, Zendesk, and Salesforce | Pricing lacks transparency and may feel expensive for smaller teams |
Knowmax pricing
Knowmax does not list its pricing publicly. Businesses interested in the platform can contact the Knowmax team directly to request a custom quote based on their specific needs and team size.
How to choose the right knowledge base platform
Wondering how to choose the right knowledge base software that aligns with your business needs and solves your specific knowledge management challenges? Here are the key factors to consider:
1. Ease of use
Choose a tool with a clean, intuitive interface that’s easy for both authors and readers to navigate.
Make sure your team can create, edit, and publish articles without needing technical support.
Test the front-end experience to ensure users can find answers quickly and easily.
2. Customizability and branding options
Look for platforms that allow you to customize the layout, colors, fonts, and domain to match your brand.
Prefer tools that offer CSS or HTML control for deeper design flexibility.
If you support multiple products or regions, ensure the platform allows multi-brand help centers.
3. Connectivity with customer service ecosystem
Select a knowledge base solution that connects natively with your broader customer service solution.
Ensure that your service agents can directly link the knowledge base content in customer interactions and ticket answers without switching tools.
Use integrations to improve self-service, such as converting ticket answers into help articles and auto-suggesting articles based on ticket’s intent.
4. Long-term scalability
Choose a platform that can scale with your content volume, user base, and support structure.
Confirm it supports multiple teams, departments, or categories as your needs evolve.
Make sure performance remains stable even as your knowledge base grows.
5. Essential knowledge base features
Ensure the tool includes rich text editing, version control, and internal notes for collaboration.
Look for structured organization features like folders, subfolders, and tagging.
Prioritize platforms that offer article feedback, permissions, and search optimization tools.
6. AI and automation
Go for knowledge base platforms with AI-powered suggestions, smart search, and automated tagging.
Use AI to speed up article creation, detect content gaps, or recommend relevant help articles.
Consider automation features that reduce manual effort and improve discoverability.
7. Mobile accessibility
Choose a knowledge base system that offers a mobile-optimized help center experience.
Test how articles load and function on mobile devices to ensure usability.
Look for tools that also offer mobile content management for on-the-go teams.
8. Pricing and affordability
Review what’s included in each pricing tier and evaluate it against your requirements.
For SMBs and startups, prioritize free knowledge base solutions that offer basic capabilities at zero cost.
Make sure free plans offer enough features to start, and that upgrades are reasonably priced.
Watch out for hidden costs like user limits, feature restrictions, or add-on fees.
Scale support smartly with Freshdesk’s AI knowledge base
Leverage Freddy AI to auto-suggest articles, convert tickets into help content, and deliver instant answers, all while keeping your team focused on high-value conversations.
Build a knowledge base that customers actually use with Freshdesk
Choosing the right knowledge base software is key to delivering effortless, scalable support. It’s not just about storing articles. It’s about creating a self-service experience that reduces ticket volume and boosts customer satisfaction. That’s exactly what Freshdesk is built for.
Freshdesk combines intuitive knowledge management with AI, automation, and multilingual support across 40+ languages. You can convert tickets into articles in one click, customize your help center without coding, and streamline content with version control and publishing workflows.
With Freddy AI, you can auto-suggest relevant articles, automate recommendations, and even generate content using generative AI. All while scaling across teams, products, and geographies.
Want to see how Freshdesk can help you deliver smarter, faster support? Book a personalized demo today and explore how you can build a knowledge base that customers actually use.
Frequently asked questions on knowledge base solutions
Why should I invest in knowledge base software for my business?
Investing in knowledge base software helps you reduce support load, improve customer satisfaction, and scale service without scaling headcount. It empowers customers to find answers on their own while giving your support team instant access to internal resources. A well-maintained knowledge base leads to faster resolutions, better consistency, and fewer repetitive tickets.
What’s the difference between an internal and external knowledge base?
An external knowledge base is public-facing and designed to help customers find answers to common questions, troubleshoot issues, and navigate your product. On the other hand, an internal knowledge base is for employees, used to share SOPs, onboarding docs, product details, or support processes within the organization.
What features should I look for in a knowledge base tool?
Look for core capabilities like article versioning, categorization, rich text editing, and feedback tools. Strong search functionality, role-based access, mobile responsiveness, and analytics are also essential. If you want to future-proof your setup, prioritize tools with AI features like content suggestions, smart search, and automated workflows; all of which are available in platforms like Freshdesk, Zendesk, and Yext.
Which knowledge base tool is best for startups or small teams?
For small teams, simplicity, affordability, and ease of setup matter most. Tools like Notion and Guru offer flexible, low-maintenance solutions with collaborative editing and fast setup. If you're looking for a more support-focused platform, Freshdesk and Zoho Desk offer starter-friendly plans with built-in ticketing and self-service.
Which knowledge base software offers AI-powered search or automation?
Several tools are leading the way with AI capabilities. Freshdesk includes Freddy AI for article suggestions, content generation, and smart workflows. Yext uses semantic search and dynamic reranking to improve answer accuracy. Zendesk also integrates AI for article recommendations and content generation, while Guru offers AI-powered suggested answers within workflows.
Is there a knowledge base tool that works well with help desk software?
Yes, many top knowledge base platforms are either built into or integrate closely with help desk platforms. Freshdesk, Zoho Desk, and Zendesk offer native knowledge base modules as part of their support suite. They allow seamless ticket deflection, in-ticket article suggestions, and unified analytics between support and self-service content.