What is Confluence?
Confluence is a wiki-style workspace where teams create and organize pages. Content lives in spaces, typically one per team, project or department, and pages can be nested into a tree so that a product specification, its meeting notes and its retrospective sit together. The editor supports tables, images, code blocks, diagrams and embedded content from other tools, and several people can edit the same page at once.
Much of Confluence’s value comes from its connection to Jira. Teams embed live lists of Jira issues in requirement documents, link release notes to the work that shipped and create Jira issues directly from highlighted text. Templates for product requirements, how-to articles, incident postmortems and decision logs give new pages a consistent structure.
Newer additions have pushed Confluence beyond classic documentation. Whiteboards support visual brainstorming, databases let teams track structured information, and Loom videos can be recorded and embedded inline. Atlassian’s Rovo AI can summarize long pages, answer questions using a company’s own knowledge and draft new content from existing material.
Key features of Confluence
- 01
Spaces and page trees
Content is organized into spaces for teams or projects, with pages nested in a hierarchy so related documents stay grouped together and easy to browse.
- 02
Real-time collaborative editing
Several people can edit the same page at once, leave inline comments on specific passages and react to updates, cutting down the back-and-forth of emailed documents.
- 03
Templates
Ready-made templates for requirements, meeting notes, how-to guides, retrospectives and incident reports help teams start documents quickly and keep them consistent.
- 04
Jira integration
Pages can embed dynamic Jira issue lists, charts and roadmaps, and users can turn highlighted text into new Jira issues without leaving the document.
- 05
Whiteboards and databases
Whiteboards provide an open canvas for brainstorming and planning, while databases store structured records that can be filtered, sorted and linked to pages.
- 06
Permissions and search
Space- and page-level permissions control who can view or edit content, and full-text search helps employees find answers across the entire knowledge base.
- 07
AI with Rovo
Rovo AI features can summarize pages, answer questions based on company content, suggest edits and generate first drafts from notes or linked work items.
Who uses Confluence?
- Engineering and product teams write technical specifications, architecture decisions and release notes linked to the Jira work they describe.
- HR and operations teams publish policies, onboarding guides and internal announcements in a searchable company knowledge base.
- IT and support teams maintain runbooks, troubleshooting articles and incident postmortems, and can share help articles with customers through Jira Service Management.
- Distributed teams record meeting notes, decisions and project status updates in writing so colleagues in other time zones can catch up later.
History of Confluence
Atlassian released Confluence on March 25, 2004, as an enterprise wiki at a time when most wiki software consisted of open-source projects aimed at technical users. Confluence focused on ease of use and business features such as permissions, which helped it spread from engineering teams to entire companies.
The product later gained a rebuilt editor, real-time co-editing and mobile apps as Atlassian shifted customers to the cloud. Atlassian ended support for Confluence Server in 2024 and has scheduled the end of life of Confluence Data Center for 2029, so new development is concentrated on Confluence Cloud, including whiteboards, databases and AI features.
Confluence pricing
Pricing modelFreemium
Free plan for up to 10 users; paid Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans are billed per user.
Prices change often. Check the official Confluence website for current plans.
Confluence alternatives
Profiled on SoftwareLore:
Also considerMicrosoft SharePoint, Google Sites, Coda, Slab and Guru
Confluence: frequently asked questions
Who makes Confluence?
Confluence is made by Atlassian, the Australian software company that also develops Jira, Trello, Loom and Bitbucket. Atlassian launched Confluence in 2004 as its second major product, and the two tools are designed to work closely together.
What is Confluence used for?
Confluence is used to create, organize and share team knowledge. Common uses include product requirements, technical documentation, meeting notes, onboarding guides, company policies, project plans and incident postmortems, all stored in searchable spaces with page-level permissions.
Is Confluence free?
Confluence offers a free plan for up to 10 users that includes core pages and spaces. Paid Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans, billed per user, support larger teams and add advanced permissions, analytics, more storage and administrative controls.
When was Confluence released?
Atlassian released Confluence on March 25, 2004. It launched as an enterprise wiki and has since grown into a broader team workspace with real-time editing, whiteboards, databases and AI features.
What is the difference between Confluence and Jira?
Jira tracks work as individual issues that move through workflows, while Confluence stores long-form documents and team knowledge. Teams typically plan and track tasks in Jira and use Confluence for the specifications, decisions and documentation around that work, with each tool linking to the other.
Sources
- Confluence product page, Atlassian atlassian.com
- Confluence pricing, Atlassian atlassian.com
- Confluence (software), Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
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