Confluence VS Google Docs : A Detailed Review

Companies interested in document collaboration tools are likely to have a few contenders on their list. No business can afford to skimp on document collaboration, or employees won’t be able to share ideas, move projects forward, standardize processes and comply with regulations.

You’ll need a tool that is powerful enough for multiple users to create documentation in tandem, format docs to their heart’s content, and apply granular permissions to restrict content access.

That’s why many businesses will consider two top tools: Confluence by Atlassian and Google Docs. Both have some similarities regarding document collaboration, but there are some important differences too. It’s worth noting that both come with a free plan, but Google Docs is less restrictive and only limits your account based on storage space.

So, why would you choose Confluence over Google Docs or vice versa? In this article, we’re going to take a look at both tools, and discuss their different use cases.

Overview of Confluence

Confluence is a wiki-style collaboration platform for remote-friendly team workspace. It offers a collaborative editing documents feature, the user experience is aimed at helping teams share knowledge. Confluence makes it easy to view which content you have access to, and you can drag and drop pages around quite simply.

Confluence comes in-built with dozens of templates that you can use to create documentation based on best practices. Content is well-organized and systematically placed into what Confluence calls pages and spaces, while individual access can be configured down to the granular level.

Teams can use Confluence to collaborate quickly on meeting notes, project documentation, and a private wiki so that knowledge never gets lost. Although Confluence is more aimed at technical teams, it’s a good tool to consider if you want to create software documentation or similar.

Confluence Pros

• Team collaboration tools such as real-time co-editing, commenting, tagging, and assigning tasks to help teams work together
• You can have a dashboard view of the documents and organizing them in corporate wiki-style is possible.
• Enterprise-grade security means you never have to worry about your data getting hacked
• Confluence has been designed with many integrations including other Atlassian products such as Jira and Trello

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Overview of Google Docs

Google Docs is a document collaboration tool used by millions of individuals and companies to create, manage, and share documents. Although more limited in scope, Google Docs is comparable with Microsoft Word as a word processor, although it is solely accessible through the browser or app.

What stands out about Google Docs is its highly intuitive user interface, keeping it in line with other products in Google Workspace. Creating a new document is as simple as clicking a button, and all the formatting options are readily available in the toolbar. It has to be said that Google Docs is not aimed at creating an internal knowledge base, so pages cannot be customized to suit the company’s brand.

You can link documents together quite easily and create public or private links to the documentation with different levels of editing permissions. You can add specific people using their email addresses or simply share the link via some other method. Files are typically organized in folders but lack built-in wiki features.

While Confluence is aimed at teams of users being able to work collaboratively together, each Google Docs account is specific to that individual user. There is no centralized repository of information unless you create an organization-specific Google account and ask users to log in.

Google Docs Pros

• Incredibly simple to use, increasing the likelihood of adoption, best for individuals or small documentation.
• The free version of Google Docs is feature-rich, making it an attractive option for companies operating on smaller budgets
• Provides offline access to documents for when you don’t have an internet connection
• Integrates with the rest of Google Workspace’s suite of apps, including Gmail, Keep and Meet to improve document creation

What is the Common Space they Share?

The reason we are considering both these tools together is their capabilities for document management and collaboration. Although there are big differences, both Google Docs and Confluence can be used to create and co-edit documents in real time, making it easy to share knowledge within a team and move projects forward.

Knowledge management is a real possibility for teams using Confluence or Google Docs because you have the ability to create folders and pages, which are subsequently shared with particular team members.

Both tools are also suitable for individuals who want to create a personal repository of information, and both come with a free plan. If you simply want to create notes for yourself and document things to remember for later, Confluence and Google Docs both offer this capability.

Other Alternatives to Consider

Document360

While Confluence and Google Docs are both document collaboration tools and can be used for simple or complex documentation, you might want to consider Document360 which caters to all organization sizes. It is an AI-powered Knowledge base platform for creating internal and public knowledge bases with real-time collaboration and advanced customization features.

With a rating of 4.7 stars based on 295 reviews on G2.com, Document360 is a solid choice for teams that want the flexibility to create, publish, manage, and share documents in a knowledge base without worrying about hosting knowledge base sites on another web server. It is simple and modest software for sharing knowledge bases and documents.

Document360’s revolutionary AI features make it an ideal choice for organizations in this digital era. With AI assistance you can quickly summarize the article, add tags, link relevant articles, and understand user preferences. You are making it more user-friendly and highly productive for your teams and clients.

With Document360, you can quickly create product help docs, technical documentation, online user guides, employee handbooks, and more. It’s suitable for any-sized team that wants a feature-rich tool to enable them to develop professional-looking documentation. We think Document360 has a better end-user experience than Confluence and Google Docs because every knowledge base has been configured with users in mind.

If you want to present your content beautifully and effectively, Document360 is a great choice. It’s reliable and simple without requiring development resources to implement, meaning that even non-technical users can get the most out of Document360.

Document360 features

• WYSIWYG or Markdown editor for creating documentation with robust formatting features that include headlines, emphasis, italics, lists, images, and links
• Category Manager allows you to create a visible hierarchy for your documentation with the ability to reorganize content through drag-and-drop
• Customize landing pages with your brand colors, fonts, header images, logos, and domain, with the option to customize CSS for your unique knowledge base
• Roles and permissions keep your knowledge base secure by controlling who has access to content down to the individual article level
• Versioning enables you to easily revert to previous versions of your work and compare the changes that have been made
• Integrations with top third-party apps that include Intercom, Live chat, Zendesk, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Chrome, Zapier, Heap, and Olark
• Analytics and reporting tell you about the performance of your articles and user behavior

Document360 Pros

• Offers AI features and AI suggestions. It helps users to find information and reduce search time quickly.
• Allows extensive customization and branding and injects custom CSS into your knowledge base.
• Offers role-based access and user segmentation.
• Provides SEO tools with built-in features for optimizing documentation for search engines, including metadata and URL structuring.
•  Has version control for managing different versions, rollback, and publishing articles
• It has custom language support for translating articles to native language and supports more than 40+ languages.
• You can use Document360’s API for technical teams to integrate custom workflow and sync the content updates.
• You can create either an internal or external knowledge base with up to six layers of categories for your information
• Document360 requires absolutely no learning curve with an interface that’s as easy to use as Google Docs or Microsoft Word
• It’s very easy to configure access privileges to enable teams with various roles to access different parts of your knowledge base
• You can host more than one knowledge base on your Document360 account which allows you to cater to different audiences
• Document360 supports even large enterprise teams to write and edit content in the same workspace
• Editorial workflows enable writers to keep track of content in different stages, which can be a new article that needs review, draft, and published

Compared to Confluence, Document360 has some clear benefits, such as custom domains, article lifecycle management, and the ability to create a public knowledge base. Document360 gives you granular control over user access management and allows you to easily import your existing documentation from platforms like Confluence.

And with Google Docs, there is really no comparison to the functionality you get with Document360 as a professional knowledge base software. Google Docs is suitable for a certain level of documentation, but if you want to scale, then you need to think about Document360 or similar solutions.

Also Read: A Detailed Comparison: Confluence vs SharePoint

Wrapping Up

Companies that are in the market for document collaboration tools may be seriously considering Confluence or Google Docs. Both tools offer some powerful functionality for creating documents and, most importantly, collaborative editing in real-time.

However, if you want to take your documentation further and create something like an internal knowledge base, you need to consider an alternative such as Document360. Adopting a specialized knowledge base tool becomes more urgent as you start scaling your documentation.

Document360 is particularly suitable for centralized teams who want to build a repository of information, either for their teams or customers. It’s easy to perform bulk actions and manage high volumes of documentation simply.