Confluence review (2026): features, pros and cons, and what to check before you buy
Atlassian's per-user wiki and team documentation tool, tightly linked to Jira and sold in Free, Standard, Premium and Enterprise tiers.
Our take for buyers
Confluence is Atlassian's wiki and team documentation tool, with real-time collaborative editing, page history, labels and hierarchy, and permissions at page and space level. Shortlist it if your teams already use Jira or Jira Service Management, which reviewers call best in class for integration. It also suits internal wikis and project documentation at any size. Confluence also has a Data Center edition, so confirm which deployment your vendor quote and your security team are discussing.
G2 shows 4.1 across 4,233 reviews. Reviewers like the easy shared knowledge base but report that navigation and layout can be confusing and that search is hard to use. It is not the best choice if your main goal is a public customer-facing help center. Confirm during the trial that your teams can find content quickly, because search is the point where reviewers struggle most.
Pros
- Best-in-class integration with Jira and Atlassian tools.
- Easy to use shared knowledge base.
Cons
- Navigation and layout can be confusing.
- Search is hard to use.
- Best for
- Teams already on Jira or Jira Service Management.
- Starting price
- Free up to 10 users; Standard about $5.42 per user per month billed annually
- G2 rating
- 4.1 (4,233 reviews)
What is Confluence?
Atlassian's per-user wiki and team documentation tool, tightly linked to Jira and sold in Free, Standard, Premium and Enterprise tiers. Organisations already running Jira or Jira Service Management get the tightest fit, with internal documentation at any size. A Free tier covers 10 users and page history with compare and revert is included there. Plan for an extra Atlassian Guard subscription if SSO is required. Confluence was founded in 2002 and is based in Sydney, Australia (Atlassian global HQ); secondary US hub in San Francisco.
Category: Knowledge Base Software
Confluence key features
| Criterion | What we found |
|---|---|
| Authoring and editing experience | Real-time collaborative editing with inline and page comments. |
| Search and AI answers | Advanced search, labels and hierarchy; Rovo AI summarizes and explains jargon (Standard and up per third party) |
| Internal vs public access control | Page and space permissions for users, groups and anonymous from Standard. |
| Versioning and review workflows | Page history, compare and revert on Free. |
| Analytics and content gaps | Page insights on Standard; site, space and page analytics on Premium. |
| Help desk and chat integrations | Jira, Jira Service Management, Trello and Marketplace apps; Slack not named on features page. |
| Pricing model | Per user per month, annual, tiered by user count. |
| Target company size | Teams of all sizes; Free to 10 users, Enterprise for large deployments (up to 150 sites) |
Confluence plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | up to 10 users | 2 GB storage, community support |
| Standard | $5.42 (third-party figure) | user/month, annual | 250 GB, 9/5 support, advanced permissions, page insights |
| Premium | $10.44 (third-party figure) | user/month, annual | Unlimited storage, 24/7 support, 99.9% SLA, analytics reports |
| Enterprise | Custom | quote | 99.95% SLA, advanced identity controls |
Per-user figures are third-party figures from Featurebase (updated 2026-03-06, featurebase.app/blog/confluence-pricing) and match several aggregators; they are not taken from Atlassian's pricing page. Atlassian priced Premium and Enterprise up again on 2026-10-13 PT per its FAQ, so current prices may differ.
Who should shortlist Confluence
A strong fit for
- Teams already on Jira or Jira Service Management.
- Internal wikis and project documentation at any size.
A weak fit for
- Public customer-facing help centers as the main goal.
- Buyers who need SSO without buying an extra Atlassian Guard subscription.
Confluence alternatives
NotionStartups and small teams combining wiki and project tracking.
Document360Product and SaaS documentation teams needing public and private KBs.
SliteSmall and mid-size teams wanting an AI search wiki at a published price.
NuclinoSmall teams wanting a simple, fast wiki with a free plan.
FreshdeskSMB support teams wanting low entry price and SAML SSO on every plan.
BloomfireMid-size and enterprise teams that want a company-wide Q&A and knowledge library with search as the main feature.
Security, admin and compliance
Published: 99.9% SLA on Premium, 99.95% on Enterprise, support tiers (community, 9/5, 24/7) and a pointer to the Atlassian Trust Portal for security detail. SAML SSO and SCIM require a separate Atlassian Guard subscription, with SSO set up first, and third-party sources disagree on the tier. Audit logs and a DPA are not listed here, and data residency is described only through a third-party Enterprise example. Contracts are mostly annual upfront. Ask about Guard pricing and residency in writing.
- SAML SSO
- Via Atlassian Guard subscription (separate); tier disputed by sources.
- SCIM provisioning
- Via Atlassian Guard; SSO must be configured first.
- Data residency
- Enterprise example in third-party source; Atlassian lists expanded residency coverage (Valiantys)
- Certifications
- See Atlassian Trust Portal.
Contract and buying terms
- Contract
- Mostly annual upfront.
- Support
- Community on Free; 9/5 Standard; 24/7 Premium and Enterprise.
- Starting price
- Free up to 10 users; Standard about $5.42 per user per month billed annually.
- Pricing model
- Per user.
- Free plan or trial
- Free plan.
What to test in a Confluence demo or trial
Test search and navigation first, since both draw complaints: load a realistic set of pages and ask new users to find answers. Try the page and space permission model with your real groups, including anonymous access, which starts on Standard. If you use Jira, check linking between issues and pages. Review the page analytics you need, because Standard has page insights while Premium adds site, space and page analytics. Try Rovo AI summaries if they matter, and confirm which tier includes them.
Questions to ask Confluence before you sign
These are the points Confluence's public pages leave open. Get the answers in writing before procurement signs off.
- Which plan includes audit logs, and how long are they kept?
- Can we sign your standard DPA without changes?
- What will the price be at renewal, and is the increase capped?
Things to know before a demo
- Free plan caps at 10 users; Standard 1 to 10 users listed at $680 per year.
- Atlassian raised cloud list prices on 2025-10-15 (Standard +5%, Premium +7.5%, Enterprise +7.5% to 10% per Valiantys) and again for Premium and Enterprise on 2026-10-13.
- SAML SSO and SCIM need an Atlassian Guard subscription billed per managed user across the org (third-party sources conflict on tier)
- Premium adds 24/7 support and a 99.9% SLA; Enterprise 99.95%.
- Data Center about $27,000 per year for 500 users (Featurebase)
Head-to-head comparisons
Confluence FAQ
What is Confluence used for?
Organisations already running Jira or Jira Service Management get the tightest fit, with internal documentation at any size. A Free tier covers 10 users and page history with compare and revert is included there. Plan for an extra Atlassian Guard subscription if SSO is required. It suits teams already on Jira or Jira Service Management.
Does Confluence support SAML SSO and SCIM?
Both come through an Atlassian Guard subscription, which is separate from Confluence. SSO must be configured before SCIM, and sources conflict on which Confluence tier is required.
Who is Confluence best for?
Teams already on Jira or Jira Service Management, and anyone building internal wikis and project documentation. It is a weak fit for public help centers as the main goal.
What support does Confluence include?
Free has community support, Standard has 9/5 support, and Premium and Enterprise have 24/7 support. Premium lists a 99.9% SLA and Enterprise 99.95%.
Vendor profile
- Founded
- 2002.
- Headquarters
- Sydney, Australia (Atlassian global HQ); secondary US hub in San Francisco.
- Employees
- 13,813 (Atlassian, 2025, per Wikipedia citing 10-K)
- Funding or owner
- Public company (Nasdaq: TEAM)
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from Confluence's own pricing, product or documentation pages, G2 and company records, checked on October 24, 2026. Unknown values are left out instead of estimated.