Here's a list of the best knowledge management software that will help you create a comprehensive knowledge base for your employees and customers in 2024.
Did you know employees spend an average of 3.6 hours daily searching for relevant information? Coveo’s 2022 Workplace Relevant Report also found that 88 percent of employees feel demoralized from the lack of information at their work.
Okay... but how does that affect your customers?
According to NICE, 81 percent of customers want more self-service options from businesses. One of the ways to give your customers what they want is to provide easy access to critical information, from navigating the buying process to troubleshooting.
The good news is you can make it possible with one method — effective knowledge management.
Let’s see how you can use knowledge management tools to improve employee productivity and customer experience.
TL;DR: Top knowledge management software for 2024
Stop spending hours documenting the company's knowledge. Scribe is an AI-powered knowledge management solution that will turn any process into a visual guide in seconds.
Knowledge management is the practice of organizing and distributing information within an organization. The type of information varies from company policies to customer training content.
Knowledge management takes the information that lives in peoples' heads and makes it accessible to employees, vendors and customers.
The knowledge management process involves:
Collecting information from departments and people.
Creating knowledge-sharing material like webinars, blogs and how-to guides.
Storing this information in an organized system for easy retrieval.
Sharing the information internally and/or externally.
💡 Scribe tip: Your employees and customers have different knowledge requirements. Make sure to separate how you document your company’s knowledge by its audience. This might mean using different platforms, languages and distro measures.
Scribe pricing: Free basic version. Premium plans start at $23/user/month when billed annually.
Scribe overview
Scribe is a cloud-based process documentation and knowledge management tool that helps you create knowledge-sharing articles in seconds.
It automatically captures your online workflows and turns them into step-by-step guides, which you can then share or embed into your website or other platforms.
Scribe features:
Scribe’s process recorder works on Chrome, Edge and your desktop to capture any process.
Scribe converts your recordings into step-by-step guides with screenshots and descriptions.
It allows extensive customization so you can brand your knowledge-sharing material.
Scribe AI will add context to your guides for you. You can ask it to generate titles and descriptions or redact sensitive info.
You can store, share or export your Scribe within your team or to your customers.
Here’s an example that will help you get started with Scribe.
Scribe Pages is another part of the tool that empowers you to create extensive knowledge base articles by embedding multiple Scribes, along with images and videos. Use Pages to build user manuals, templates and so much more.
Customers love Scribe for its versatile features and simplicity.
Claire Mai C., a product manager, says, “I use Scribe often as a way to share knowledge with different teams across my company. It’s very easy to use the tool and it’s saved our teams a lot of time.”
Drawbacks: It doesn't have functionality for automating non-computerized processes.
Best for: Documenting any kind of digital process.
Check it out — for free!
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2. Guru
Guru: Internal Knowledge Management Software
Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars.
Guru pricing: Free with limited features for up to three users ($5/user/month when billed annually for each additional user). Premium plans start at $10/user/month when billed annually.
Guru overview
Guru is often used for internal knowledge management within teams. The tool can serve as a comprehensive company wiki or intranet.
Guru features:
A simple but powerful editor.
AI-powered content recommendations.
Integrates with Slack.
Syncs with tools like Google Docs or Confluence.
Offers various features for knowledge organization.
"Guru has made our resources more accessible with the various ways you can look for content." — G2 Reviewer in Sales & Support
Drawbacks: It isn’t designed to create self-help knowledge bases for customers.
Best for: Onboarding, keeping support and sales teams up to date and distributing internal communications.
Zendesk pricing: Starts at $49/agent/month when billed annually.
Zendesk overview
Zendesk is mainly a service and sales communication platform, but it also has knowledge management capabilities.
Zendesk has customer support and relationship management systems, which can help you combine your organizational knowledge into the same platform.
Zendesk features:
Team publishing for turning the support team’s expertise into articles.
User-friendly analytics and reporting.
Customizable help center options.
"The user-friendly interface allows our agents to manage problems, interact with consumers via live chat, and even produce useful knowledge base articles." —G2 Reviewer in Customer Support
Drawbacks: Zendesk can be a bit costly, especially for small businesses and startups that don’t need a wide range of features.
Best for: Customer service teams.
4. Notion
Notion: Knowledge Management Tool and Knowledge Base
Capterra rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Notion pricing: Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $8/user/month when billed annually.
Notion overview
Notion is a highly flexible tool that you can use to create workspaces, pages and databases. Some companies also use it as an internal or external knowledge base.
Notion features:
Pre-built templates for asset, task, calendar and project management.
Rich-media elements.
AI-powered content creation.
Project management.
Advanced permissions.
Mobile & desktop app.
Content engagement analytics.
"What I like best about Notion is its flexibility and versatility. It's a tool that adapts to my needs rather than the other way around. I can use it for note-taking, project management, task tracking, and even as a knowledge base." — G2 Reviewer in Design
Drawbacks:Users say its extensive feature feels confusing and it takes time to get used to the platform.
Best for: Project documentation.
5. ProProfs Knowledge Base
ProProfs: Internal Documentation and User Manuals
Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars.
ProProfs Knowledge Base pricing: Free up to 25 articles. The Business plan starts at $19.99/month billed annually for up to 100 articles/month (min. 200 articles).
ProProfs Knowledge Base overview
ProProfs offers online knowledge base software to help you create both internal documentation and user manuals. It offers a simple, Microsoft Word-like editing interface with templates.
ProProfs features:
Pre-made templates.
Customization with HTML and CSS.
Integrations with CRM systems, help desks and chats.
Access control.
SEO settings to improve content visibility.
Knowledge base usage reporting.
"ProProfs Knowledge Base integrates beautifully with our ticketing system - Freshdesk. This integration helps us manage our tickets better, as every request raised by customers on the knowledge base, comes directly to our Freshdesk account." — G2 Reviewer in Search Engine Optimization
Drawbacks: The platform lacks advanced features and AI-powered functionality for creating documentation on autopilot.
Best for: Paired with Freshdesk or Zendesk, ProProfs Knowledge Base makes an excellent customer service solution.
6. Document360
Document360: Knowledge Base Software
Capterra rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Document360 pricing: Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $99/project/month when billed annually.
Document360 overview
Document360 is useful for creating, distributing and maintaining content. You can create private or public knowledge bases with this software.
Document360 features:
Special dashboard with an advanced editor, categorization and metrics.
API keys to allow integration with your own tools.
Markdown support.
Version control.
SEO settings.
Rich-media elements.
Customization with CSS and Javascript.
AI-powered functionality.
"Very feature-rich but easy to learn, and with useful and up-to-date documentation." — G2 Reviewer in Technical and Creative Communications
Drawbacks: Only one person can edit a document at a time. Also, if you run a medium-sized business and need more than five team accounts, Document360 might be out of your budget.
Best for: Internal and external knowledge management.
7. Bloomfire
Capterra rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars.
Bloomfire pricing: Quotes upon request
Bloomfire overview
Bloomfire is a useful tool for internal and external knowledge management.
Bloomfire features:
Q&A engine that generates answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) using the company's collective intelligence.
AI-generated search tags.
AI-powered authoring tools.
Robust analytics to see top-viewed posts.
Document visibility controls.
"I've been impressed by the wide range of content categories that can be leveraged with Bloomfire, making it an exceptional content management tool." — G2 Reviewer in Sales Training & Development
Drawbacks: Limited search functionality. Also, Bloomfire doesn’t have a freemium version or free trial, so there isn’t a risk-free period to try it out.
Best for: Mid-market and enterprise-sized companies looking to build an advanced knowledge management system.
8. Confluence
Confluence: Collaboration and Knowledge Management Tool
Capterra rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars.
Confluence pricing: Free with limited features for up to 10 users. Paid plans start at $600/year.
Confluence overview
Confluence from Atlassian is a versatile tool for team collaboration and knowledge management. And while it’s mainly used as an internal knowledge management tool, you can use it for customer knowledge bases, too.
Confluence features:
Collaborative editing, real-time comments and notifications.
Integrations with apps like Jira and Trello.
Templates to get started with documentation.
Permission management (only in paid plans)
Analytics (only in the Premium and Enterprise plans).
"What I like from confluence is their easy-to-create-wiki features. By having this feature, it will make it easier for newcomers who just joined a company to learn about the necessary knowledge needed, to fully onboard on their respective companies." — G2 Reviewer in Computer Software
Drawbacks: Users often complain about complicated permission management in Confluence.
Best for: Confluence is designed around a team structure, so it’s best suited for internal knowledge management.
9. Trainual
Trainual: Employee Training and Onboarding Knowledge Management
Capterra rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars.
Trainual pricing: Starts at $250/month when billed annually.
Trainual overview
As its name suggests, Trainual is mainly for employee training and onboarding.
Trainual features:
A large number of templates.
Built-in AI-powered content writing capabilities.
Connects with tools like Slack and QuickBooks.
"Not only does it serve as a training platform for new hires, but is an accessible resource for refreshers and procedure records." — G2 Reviewer in Marketing
Drawbacks:Trainual isn’t designed for creating an external customer knowledge base.
Best for: Creating a comprehensive internal training program.
10. Intellum
Intellum: Customer Education and Knowledge Management Platform
Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars.
Intellum pricing: Not available.
Intellum overview
Intellum positions itself as a customer education platform in the first place. However, it also offers solutions for employee and partner training.
Intellum features:
On-demand content creation.
Certifications.
Live training features to host webinars, virtual training and user conferences.
"We have been leveraging these products to deploy a number of educational programs, ranging from various e-learning modalities to virtual conferences." — G2 Reviewer in LMS Program Management
Drawbacks: If all you need is to create on-demand documentation, Intellum isn't the best option.
How to choose the right one: essential features of knowledge management software
There are too many options. How do you select software that meets your needs?
When you choose a knowledge management solution for your company, look for the following features — they'll make your life easier:
Rich content creation
Powerful search
Auditing and editing
Privacy and data backup
Access control
Integrations
AI-powered content generation
Analytics
Rich content creation
Text-only content isn’t always the best way to convey quick information or step-by-step procedures. So your knowledge management software should support different content formats, like images and video. That will empower you to share knowledge in formats that work best.
Powerful search
Some businesses have comprehensive knowledge bases, but their customers still have trouble finding the information they need.
That’s why your knowledge management software should provide a powerful search function that offers the most relevant results to people’s queries.
Auditing & editing
Outdated information can put off customers and cause compliance issues. That’s why it’s crucial to keep your knowledge base’s information up to date.
Your knowledge management tool should provide easy editing options. For example, you should be able to edit an article from your smartphone on the go.
Sometimes you might want to go back and cross-check an older version of your knowledge base article. So your software should offer version control to allow you to access older versions of your articles.
Privacy & data backup
The last thing you want is to lose your valuable company knowledge because of a server failure.
Your knowledge management software should have robust data backup options. And since you’re relying on your content management platform to store confidential data, it should be secure.
Access control
Good knowledge management software will let you control access to your data. For example, you might not want people outside of your company to see a particular product roadmap.
Your knowledge management software should offer authentication methods to restrict access to sensitive information. You may also want to create different permission levels for partners and vendors.
Integrations
Your knowledge management software should easily integrate with other tools you use, such as your customer service tool, to allow sales reps to easily pull information.
It’s also a good idea to integrate your knowledge base with collaboration tools so team members can work together to create knowledge base articles.
AI-powered content generation
Too often, company documentation includes information that has already been covered extensively. To save your time on rewriting all that content, it's best to have your knowledge management system generate texts for you.
Luckily, every self-respecting product company integrates with Open AI to expand their offerings. All you need is to enter your request and watch the platform cover the topic in detail.
Analytics
Your software should provide insights into how your audience uses your knowledge base. That way, you can both improve it and cater to your customers.
Your software should be able to:
Identify the most popular articles.
Include product plugs in your most viewed articles.
Knowledge management software with good analytics tools will also help you understand how much time a customer spends on your website, which can help your marketing team target your most engaged customers.
Types of knowledge management
An organization might have valuable information for stakeholders, like:
Employees.
Customers.
Vendors and partners.
Investors and creditors.
You can divide knowledge management into two main categories, based on who it's for.
Internal knowledge management
Let’s say one of your teams has a great collection of troubleshooting tips that could help everyone in the company. This information might end up collecting dust in team members’ inboxes without a proper knowledge management system.
As with troubleshooting tips, every organization has confidential and proprietary information in different forms. That might include:
Internal knowledge management ensures everyone who needs this information has access to it.
External knowledge management
For example, your customers should know how to use and troubleshoot your products. And if you’ve partnered with a content marketing agency, they’ll need information about your company to create content. Plus, your investors likely want to know about your organization's financial performance.
External knowledge management ensures that those outside your company, like customers, vendors and investors, have easy access to the right knowledge.
Having an external knowledge management system offers plenty of benefits, such as:
Improving customer satisfaction by quickly answering their questions.
Getting vendors and contractors up to speed by sharing relevant knowledge.
Impressing investors by making financial information easily accessible to them.
Every organization needs a knowledge management system. And knowledge management software will help you capture, convert, store and share this information.
What is knowledge management software?
Knowledge management software is a platform or tool that lets you capture your internal and external company knowledge, organize it in a central location and share it easily.
Why do you need knowledge management software?
Knowledge management software organizes fragmented information and turns it into an easily accessible, self-service knowledge base.
A good knowledge management platform can help your company in many ways.
Final thoughts: Best knowledge management software for 2024
Knowledge management software helps companies ensure their employees and customers have access to the information they need. Having accurate information at their fingertips will boost employee productivity and make customers happy.
Knowledge management software like Scribe can create, organize and share your company knowledge. Want to build a comprehensive knowledge base for your customers and employees?
