On average, employees spend 3.6 hours a day — around 18 hours a week — searching for information. Digging for resources like this is frustrating and slows productivity. 

Say a call center agent doesn’t know shipping costs offhand and takes several minutes to find the answer. Adding extra time to the call frustrates the customer and prevents the agent from helping more people. 

To improve workflows, you can centralize essential company details in a knowledge base software that contains tutorials, SOPs and frequently asked customer questions. This database gives employees access to information in real time, helping them understand processes and solve issues faster.

Explore the top 16 knowledge base management software programs and find the best tool for your company.

Best Knowledge Base Software Takeaways

• There are two primary types of knowledge bases: tools for employees and customer-facing databases.

• The top 16 knowledge base features, ratings and use cases. 

• The main benefits of using knowledge base software, including improved customer satisfaction and better team consistency.

• Primary features to look for in an online knowledge base, such as an easy-to-use interface and advanced AI functionality.
• The difference between paid and free knowledge base programs.

• Knowledge base tools’ security, compliance and accessibility features.

What’s Knowledge Base Software?

Knowledge base software centralizes and stores company information, making it easy to access. These platforms are also called external or internal wikis, depending on whether non-employees can access them. 

If it’s an external knowledge base, you’ll likely store information like:

• Product descriptions and specifications.
• Service offerings and features.
• Pricing information.
• Troubleshooting guides.
• How-to articles and tutorials. 
• Frequently asked questions.
• Error code explanations and solutions.
• Community guidelines and moderation policies.

And if it’s internal, your knowledge base might contain information like:

• Employee handbooks and HR policies.
• Product specifications and features.
• Standard operating procedures.
• Workflow diagrams and process maps. 
• Training videos and tutorials. 
• Skill development resources.
• Org charts.
• User guides for internal software. 

Knowledge base solutions make adding, editing and accessing this information simple — it’s all in one place, and great solutions organize it for you. This promotes a knowledge base’s core purpose: to enable employees and customers to solve issues independently. Encouraging this autonomy reduces support tickets, improves productivity and enhances employee satisfaction, since they can quickly find answers to their queries and move on with their work.

💡 Knowledge base software example: Say your company provides project management software and your customer support team is overwhelmed with tickets regarding how to use time tracking features.

Instead of responding to each ticket with the same answer, you can point customers in the direction of your knowledge base. You might even integrate a chatbot into the support process so AI can direct customers to the knowledge base when questions regard information that’s stored there. That way, your support team isn’t overwhelmed with questions a quick redirect to your knowledge base could solve.

Internally, say employees keep pinging the wrong managers with questions about a time off policy. You can alleviate wasted time and frustration among your team by storing your time off policy and information about communication best practices in a centralized knowledge base.

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Types of Knowledge Base Software

There are different types of knowledge bases for different needs, divided into two major categories: the external and internal knowledge base.

Internal Knowledge Base

An internal knowledge base is a resource built for employees to access information about the company and how to do their jobs.

An enterprise-grade solution might be limited to an on-premise intranet, or an SSO-based software as-a-service (SaaS) solution (often called a cloud-base knowledge base).

An internal knowledge base or wiki software will usually include the following documentation:

Company Policies

An enterprise company will make sure to capture all relevant business value documentation in its knowledge base. This includes:

• Employee handbooks and benefits information.
• Industry regulations.
• Corporate policies.
• Company values.

This point here is to provide proactive support for your teams, answering common questions, introducing them to internal policies, and collating vital information by category.

Standard Operating Procedures

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are step-by-step instructions on how to complete internal processes accurately and efficiently.

Create a folder for each department, then categorize processes based on their importance and difficulty.

Process documentation will likely make up the majority of the content in your internal knowledge base.

Project Documentation

A knowledge base is also an excellent internal collaboration tool.

Create content in a templatized knowledge base article in order to capture your project stakeholders, milestones and KPIs.

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Link your knowledge base to your project management software to quickly launch and manage workflows.

External Knowledge Base

An external knowledge base type, also called a help center, is a customer-facing open source site.

The purpose here is to create an excellent software user experience through a self-service portal.

You might also pair this with a community forum or web widget chatbot to support an omnichannel customer experience.

Here are the most common knowledge base articles in an external help center.

User Manual

A user manual is a customer-facing document designed to walk users through how to set up and use a product or answer common questions.

The contents of the user manual might vary depending on the software, product or service. But you can expect to see step-by-step instructions with a visual element, product information, and support team contact information.

Troubleshooting Guide

A troubleshooting guide (or troubleshoot guide) is a vital part of any self-service knowledge base.

Create a solution article as proactive support for any frequent issue or customer query. Internally monitor engagement with these pages so that you can create content to meet ongoing needs.

An example of a troubleshoot tip could be on how to undo an action, or reset your account.

FAQ Pages

This is the place to list answers to each customer query by relevance and regularity. It's one of the best ways to save time for knowledge base self-service.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) should be easy to access from your homepage. Add your content as questions evolve to keep up with proactive support.

We recommend responding to the same questions in simple, easy-to-understand language. Use bullet points and make sure to link relevant knowledge.

Product Education

Product education is one of the best ways to showcase business value. It should include everything you want a user to know about your tool or service. For example:

• An instruction manual or installation guide.
• Product documentation like feature or new product release notes.
• Billing information, like if you have a free plan, subscription pay plan or free trial.
• A video tutorial or product demo.

Self-service content with a powerful navigation menu offers proactive support, improving the customer experience and enabling faster ticket response times.

Top 16 Best Knowledge Base Software Solutions for 2024

1.‎ Scribe 

G2 rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

Capterra rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars

Best for: Using AI to build, organize and maintain a knowledge base

Overview:

Scribe is an AI process documentation and knowledge-sharing tool that accurately captures your processes in minutes and centralizes documentation to form a single source of truth for your team.

Turn on our browser extension or desktop app and perform your process as usual — Scribe captures each step, building a visual guide with text, links and annotated screenshots. This lets you easily fill your knowledge base with accurate SOPs and manuals, encouraging knowledge sharing, increasing org-wide task consistency and helping new hires ramp up quickly.

And with Scribe Pages, you can combine multiple Scribes into one comprehensive guide. For instance, you could have a complete employee onboarding guide that contains additional, smaller Scribes for Pre-Boarding, Day One Orientation and Setting Up Computer Access.

Scribe features:

• Captures any process on Chrome, Edge or desktop. 
• 100+ easy-to-customize SOP templates.
• Scribe Sidekick, which lets you view any guide in a side-by-side window with your current process.
• Creates step-by-step guides with descriptions and visual elements instantly.
• Enables you to set role permissions and access authorization for team members and external stakeholders.
• Lets you share links and embed or export guides in seconds.

Scribe offers four subscription tiers: Basic, Pro Team, Pro Personal and Enterprise. See our pricing page for more details.

2.‎ Help Scout

G2 Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Capterra Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

Best for: Unified Customer support, help widget and help desk software

Overview:

Help Scout is a popular help desk software that improves customer service by helping teams quickly construct an internal wiki and external knowledge base.

The customer service platform also provides Beacon, a chatbot web widget that quickly responds to tickets, sorts responses by category and links users with the support team.

‍Helpscout features:

• A shared inbox so you can easily crowdsource and offer quick customer support.
• Automated workflows.
• The web widget chatbot.
• Customized reporting.

The solution is great for an enterprise company or small business looking to support employee and customer needs. It offers a 15-day free trial if you're interested in learning more.

3.‎ Document360

G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Capterra rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Best for: Self-host knowledge bases and content categorization

Overview:

Document360 is an AI-powered knowledge management solution that offers a public-facing self-service knowledge base and wiki software.

Customize your plan with extensive add-ons to create a unique experience for your software users.

Document360 features

These online knowledge bases include:

• A powerful search engine and navigation menu.
• Top-level category sorting.
• Folder management and wikis.
• An included workspace.

4.‎ Helpjuice

G2 Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Capterra Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

Best for: Content discoverability and format options

Overview:

Helpjuice streamlines knowledge management, making it easier for team members and customers alike.

Helpjuice is focused on creating a positive user experience, so you can build folders and add your content based on your unique information architecture.

Helpjuice features:

• Advanced customizations with source code access.
• Internal collaboration tools and comments.
• Role permissions and assignments.
• Version tracking.
• Reporting analytics dashboard.

Use this knowledge management system to manage projects and share relevant information. Helpjuice offers feature flexibility across pricing tiers for easy scalability as your company grows.

5.‎ Zendesk

G2 rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars.

Capterra rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars.

Best for: Sales and customer support

Overview:

Zendesk is a service and sales communication platform that centralizes organizational knowledge.

The comprehensive tool manages your entire sales funnel, ensuring a seamless transition through the customer lifecycle.

While not a new product, Zendesk is a modern solution that's adaptable to your team and information architecture.

Zendesk features:

• Full-fledged ticketing system and customizable help center.
• Call-tracking and reporting.
• Standard chatbots.
• Pre-built dashboard.
• User-friendly statistics.

Zendesk is a popular solution with robust features. However, it may be expensive for small businesses and startups with basic requirements.

6.‎ Notion

G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Capterra rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Best for: Content management and knowledge base articles

Overview:

Notion is a highly adaptable application that can serve as a database, notepad, project management system or collaborative technical writer environment.

Its versatility makes it a feasible alternative for developing an internal knowledge base, although it lacks several functionalities required for customer-facing knowledge base systems.

‍Notion features:

• Various internal collaboration tools and team space.
• Easy-to-use templates and format options.
• Easily share documents and article drafts.

Despite its flexibility, using Notion efficiently can have a longer learning curve. However, when learned effectively, your knowledge base's arrangement and labeling will be fully in your hands, allowing you to personalize it to your exact needs.

7.‎ Guru

G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Best for: Customer-facing teams

Overview:

Guru is a popular application for internal knowledge management across teams. This AI-driven platform offers advanced customizations and integrations with any of your favorite tools.

Guru features:

• Enterprise AI search bar and powerful search engine.
• Easy-integration for tools with internal information.
• Personalized company intranet and wiki.
• Customized user interface.

Note: While Guru excels at organization use cases like onboarding, keeping support and sales employees informed, and ongoing communications, it is not meant to support a self-service portal for customers.

Take advantage of Guru's 30-day free trial to learn more.

8.‎ Confluence

G2 rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars.

Capterra rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars.

Best for: Private knowledge base and team workspace

Overview:

Atlassian's Confluence is a flexible solution for team collaboration and knowledge management.

While it is primarily used for internal information management, it can also be utilized as a platform for customer knowledge bases.

Confluence features

• Collaborative editing and real-time comments.
• Interfaces with project management software like Jira and Trello.
• Unlimited workspace and pages.
• Whiteboard capability for mind maps and more.

Confluence is a dynamic tool that best serves internal use cases. It's worth noting that Confluence's search function isn't as powerful as some other platforms that offer AI-powered and context-based searches.

9.‎ Zoho Desk

G2 Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Capterra Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Best for: Self-service portal and support experience

Overview:

Zoho Desk provides a ticketing system and help desk solutions along with a strong knowledge base.

The site is easy to use for content creators, with specific sections for how-to article drafts, FAQs and more.

Zoho features:

• Advanced web forms and rich text editor.
• Live help widget chatbots and self-host options.
• Omnichannel messaging.
• Guided conversations.

The knowledge base in Zoho Desk is very customizable, allowing customers to construct multiple homepage portals for different user groups, both internal and external, and change the branding as needed.

10‎. Bloomfire

G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Capterra rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars.

Best for: Internal information-sharing and crowdsource

Overview:

Bloomfire, a knowledge base software, aims to reduce organizational silos by centralizing knowledge.

Its comprehensive search scans all types of data, including video tutorials, ensuring employees always have easy access to relevant information. 

Bloomfire features:

• Unlimited data storage.
• Access to the Bloomfire community forum.
• AI-powered search and content discovery tools.
• Powerful reactive support experience.

Bloomfire builds a feeling of community around knowledge, driving high engagement by allowing employees to ask and answer questions within the platform.

11‎. Intellum

G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars.

Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Best for: Content management for large audiences

Overview:

Intellum combines knowledge base capabilities with a learning management system.

It's designed for educating huge audiences of 10,000 or more, catering to a wide range of businesses.

Intellum features:

• Content categorization.
• Technical writer and content text editor.
• Real-time collaboration functionality.
• Customizable user interface.
• Full-text search bar.

You need to contact a sales representative for a personalized quote to get price information.

12‎. Nuclino

G2 Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

Capterra Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

Best for: Collaborative knowledge base articles and brainstorming

‍Overview:

Nuclino aims to improve your team's information management by creating a uniform workspace for optimal collaboration and knowledge sharing. This is particularly useful for hybrid and remote teams.

Nuclino offers a different way to share relevant information across teams.

The tool is extremely interactive, incorporating real-time collaboration that extends beyond storing and retrieving data.

Nuclino features:

• Real-time collaboration in rich text editor
• List, board, table and graph views.
• Set permissions for public, small group and personal use.
• Attach files from mind meister for flowcharts and mind maps.

With active interaction through document creation, editing, and commenting, Nuclino is a dynamic hub for knowledge sharing.

13‎. MangoApps

G2 Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars

Capterra Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Best for: Internal information management and community forums

Overview:

The MangoApps knowledge base type best suits internal use cases.

This intranet is primarily focused on centralizing employee workspaces to provide consistent and accessible client information.

MangoApps features:

• Digitally organize and attach files, URLs and resources with "Libraries."
• Powerful information architecture.
• Collaborative social mediums to crowdsource, comment and share documents.

MangoApps' user-friendly interface is similar to social media apps, with threads, comments and group functions. It also provides a wide range of integrations and branding customization choices. 

14‎. Slite

G2 Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

‍Capterra Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

Best for: Employee workflows and personal knowledge base

Overview:

Slite's primary focus is to help teams create and maintain a cohesive and vast internal knowledge base.

Slite enables teams to quickly capture and document new knowledge, in any form.

Slite features:

• Capture meeting notes and customer interactions instantly.
• Document workflows with the project management tool.
• Create articles to manage procedural changes and best practices.
• Share internal information in real time.

Furthermore, Slite's internal knowledge base software is extremely adaptable and ideal for both less tech-savvy teams, who can easily use its basic content creation features, and advanced users, who can leverage its more technically strong features.

15‎. HappyFox

‎G2 Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars

Best for: Help desk and customer support

Overview:

HappyFox, a cloud-based CRM, provides knowledge management systems to a variety of businesses.

Their knowledge base includes user-friendly features such as multi-brand user portals, feedback collection, and unique internal and external knowledge management systems.

HappyFox features:

• Omnichannel tickets and tagging.
• Managed roles, permissions and schedules.
• Multilingual agent portal and reactive support.
• SSO and migration assistance.

While HappyFox shines in terms of feature offerings, it falls short in terms of pricing and integration choices. Unfortunately, no free trial or free plan is available, but they do have various pay plans worth exploring.

16‎. Softr

G2 Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Capterra Rating: 4.7 out of 5

Best for: Private knowledge base and team workspace

‍Overview 

Softr is a valuable tool for internal teams, offering a multipurpose internal knowledge base template. It provides dedicated pages for essential resources like community guides and video tutorials, which are crucial for team members to access information efficiently. 

Softr features:

• Build internal tools on top of your Airtable, SmartSuite or Google Sheets data AWS-powered and server-side authentication
• Customize layout and design to align with your brand
• Responsive design
• Advanced custom permissions and team collaboration features
• Custom code option available to premium users for technical teams
• Option to create mobile applications as PWAs

Each section is thoughtfully designed with unique layouts, such as videos that can be watched directly on the site and a directory of projects with relevant links. These features enhance collaboration, streamline onboarding processes, and ultimately contribute to the team's overall productivity and success.

Knowledge Base Software Benefits

Here are a few of the most important benefits of knowledge base software.

Improved Customer Satisfaction

Imagine you run an e-commerce store. You can use a knowledge base to create articles targeting frequent consumer inquiries on topics such as:

• Shipping, processing or credit card required.
• An installation guide.
• Product documentation and updates.
• Troubleshoot steps.
• Returns.

... and other relevant information.

Solution articles are a self-host option that saves your team time, reduces tickets and increases satisfaction with your organization.

Consistent Communication

Consider a software company that frequently updates its product.

Without a knowledge base, support agents might rely on different sources of information to address customer queries. This can result in inconsistent responses. 

With a knowledge base, all support agents have access to the same, relevant knowledge and product documentation.

This guarantees customers receive consistent and reliable information from your support team.

Optimized Office and Remote Work

When all of your company's documents, procedures, and rules are saved in a well-organized knowledge base, both in-office and remote employees can access the same resources. 

For example, your HR department can make an employee handbook available to everyone, regardless of location.

This adaptability not only promotes efficient cooperation but also ensures that employees have access to critical resources, whether they are in the office or working remotely.

Features of an Online Knowledge Base Software

Here are a few features shared by most comprehensive platforms. 

User Interface Features

This refers to the interface users interact with, and their purpose is to make information easy to find. The most important front-end features include:

• Hierarchy and organization: Defined categories and tags simplify navigation and help users quickly find information.

• Search functionality: Detailed search engines are a great addition to customer service knowledge bases as they help your audience find answers, reducing customer support tickets.

• Responsive design: Responsive designs adapt to any device so users can navigate this resource on phones, computers or tablets.

• Multilingual options: Multilingual support makes your platform accessible to a global audience, helping customers and employees find information regardless of location or primary language.

Operational Features

Operational (or back-end) features work behind the scenes to create and manage knowledge base software. These capabilities ensure your database is secure and reliable:

• User permissions: Controlled permissions protect sensitive information, allowing only the right team members access.

• Importing functions: Importing existing files (like Word documents, Google documents or PDFs) helps you quickly populate the database with your current documentation. 

• Data analytics and reporting: Analytics reveal data like top search topics, commonly read guides and frequent users. This information lets you know where to focus your attention during knowledge base updates.

• Single sign-on authentication: Single sign-on (SSO) gives employees access to all the tools they need with one password. This makes it easy to add integrations to your database. 

AI Features

AI knowledge base features help you build custom content and manage your database. Here are our favorite AI knowledge base functions:

• Content creation: Tools like Scribe record processes as you perform them, turning your actions into helpful guides with no extra effort. 

• Natural language processing: Unlike simple keyword searches, natural language processing comprehends the intent behind search queries, helping people find relevant results.

• AI chatbots: Chatbots and AI agents answer customer and employee questions, reducing the workload for customer service and HR teams.

• Updates and recommendations: AI uses your analytics to recommend which content to update, archive and replace.

Choosing the Best Knowledge Base Software for You

When you create an internal knowledge base, consider the following factors to ensure you choose the best program for your organization.

Security

Knowledge base tools often contain sensitive information, like SOPs outlining private company processes. Ensure your software has high-quality encryption, updated compliance and data retention and removal.

Scribe commits to future-forward security and privacy practices. The software successfully passed an SOC 2 Type II audit and regularly conducts vulnerability scanning, penetration testing and access control measures.

Usability

Choose a tool with a minimal learning curve to onboard employees quickly and leverage the platform to its full potential.

You can get started immediately with Scribe. Download the extension, click “Record” and do the process you want documented. Scribe automatically creates a detailed step-by-step guide stored in a centralized hub so your whole team gains access immediately.

Cost

When choosing knowledge base software, free options are widely available. The best free knowledge base software includes services like Scribe and Document360, enabling even small businesses to benefit from these tools without needing a large budget.

Companies with more complex information management needs might consider using paid plans with additional features and increased user access.

Get the Right Knowledge Base Software

Knowledge base software puts all essential company data into one place, improving efficiency and increasing company-wide alignment. With easy access to SOPs, guides and frequently asked questions, your team can complete their work smoothly.

Set up a robust knowledge base with Scribe, which automatically generates step-by-step instructions as you perform a task. If your team has questions about the guide, they can use Scribe’s accurate AI searches to find information quickly.

Sign up for Scribe today and build a knowledge base you can trust.

Knowledge Base Software FAQs

Who Uses a Knowledge Base?

Knowledge bases are great for personal use, and support businesses and organizations in:

• Onboarding and training.
• Troubleshooting issues.
• Documenting knowledge content and SOPs.

Customers and clients frequently use knowledge bases to provide self-service support. Knowledge bases are used by educational institutions to provide learning resources, and content creators can utilize them to share information with a larger audience.

Why Should I Use Knowledge Base Software?

Knowledge base software provides several critical functions. It centralizes information, making it easier to organize and retrieve. This simplifies data access, which is crucial to customer self-service support. It improves internal communication by providing a shared resource for team members. 

Another critical factor is consistency; knowledge base software ensures that users across the company have access to the same, up-to-date information. Overall, it improves efficiency by minimizing redundancy, promotes problem-solving and learning, and provides an organized approach to information management.

What’s a Knowledge Base Example?

Wikipedia is a well-known public knowledge base that allows people to contribute and retrieve information on a variety of subjects. Internal knowledge bases, which are private, employee-focused platforms used for training, company regulations, and documentation, are commonly maintained by businesses. 

Help centers are customer-facing knowledge bases that provide solutions to frequently asked questions on websites and software applications. Medical reference databases, technical documentation, and legal references are examples of specialized knowledge bases that cater to specific fields or industries.