Picking the right knowledge base software can feel like a huge commitment. This tool becomes the central spot for your team's know-how and the first place customers look for answers. KnowledgeOwl is a popular name in the space, but figuring out its pricing is key to knowing if it’s a good fit for the long haul. The monthly fee is just the starting point; you also have to think about the limits on authors, articles, and how they handle AI features.
In this guide, we're going to pull back the curtain on the complete KnowledgeOwl pricing model. We’ll look at what you actually get with each plan, point out some potential extra costs, and talk about the limitations you should know about before you sign on the dotted line.
What is KnowledgeOwl?
At its core, KnowledgeOwl is a tool that helps you create, manage, and share information. You can use it to build an internal knowledge base just for your employees or a public-facing help center for your customers. People tend to like its straightforward editor and how much you can customize the look and feel. It also has features built for documentation teams, like version control and specific user permissions.
You’ll typically see it used by customer support teams, technical writers, and HR departments to create one reliable place for procedures, product guides, and company policies. The whole idea is to cut down on repetitive questions, make onboarding smoother, and let people find answers on their own. Just keep in mind that it's a standalone system, which means your content lives inside KnowledgeOwl, separate from other places where your team's knowledge might already be, like Google Docs or Slack.
A detailed breakdown of KnowledgeOwl pricing plans
KnowledgeOwl has four main pricing tiers, each aimed at different company sizes and needs. One thing to catch right away is that every plan includes only one author license, so adding more people costs extra. They do offer a 30-day free trial on the first three plans, and you can get a discount if you pay for a year or more upfront.
Here’s a quick look at how the plans stack up.
| Feature | Basic | Pro | Business | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price/month | $100 | $250 | $500 | $1,125+ |
| Best For | Simple, internal knowledge bases | Companies needing custom branding | Teams requiring advanced security & SSO | Large organizations with custom needs |
| Authors Included | 1 | 1 | 1 | Custom |
| Knowledge Bases | 1 | 1 | 1 | Custom |
| Article Limit | Up to 1,000 | Up to 2,500 | Up to 5,000 | Custom |
| AI Credits/month | 25 | 100 | 250 | 1,000+ |
| Custom Domain | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Developer API | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSO | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Uptime SLA | None | None | 99.5% | 99.9% |
Basic plan: $100/month
Think of the Basic plan as the starter pack. It's best for individuals or small teams putting together a simple knowledge base. You get one knowledge base for one author and can publish up to 1,000 articles. You get all the essential editing tools, but you can't use your own domain name, connect to the API, or use security features like single sign-on (SSO).
Pro plan: $250/month
The Pro plan is their most popular for a reason. It includes everything from the Basic plan but bumps the article limit to 2,500 and gives you 100 AI credits. The real upgrades here are the ability to use your own custom domain, full access to the HTML/CSS/JavaScript for making it look exactly like your brand, and API access for developers. This plan is a solid choice for businesses that want their help center to be a seamless part of their website.
Business plan: $500/month
The Business plan is built for larger teams that have to worry more about security and compliance. The article limit goes up to 5,000, and you get 250 AI credits. The main additions are Single Sign-On (SSO) for secure logins, priority support, custom user roles, and compliance agreements for things like HIPAA and GDPR. This is where KnowledgeOwl starts to feel ready for bigger companies.
Enterprise plan: $1,125+/month
The Enterprise plan is for large corporations that need a custom-built solution. The pricing is tailored to your needs, and you get custom limits on authors and knowledge bases, a dedicated account manager, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. This is for organizations that need a fully managed, high-availability service and have the budget for it.
What key features are included in the KnowledgeOwl pricing?
Beyond the different limits, KnowledgeOwl packs in a lot of features to make writing and managing docs a bit easier. Knowing what these are helps you figure out if the price is right.
Content creation and management
All plans come with an easy-to-use editor that doesn’t require you to be a coding wizard. You can drop in images and videos, create reusable snippets of text, and mark articles with statuses like "Draft" or "Needs Review." That "Needs Review" feature is pretty handy for automatically flagging articles that haven't been updated in a while, so your content doesn't get stale.
Search and discoverability
KnowledgeOwl provides a "Google-like" search experience right out of the box that scans everything, including text inside PDFs. This is a must-have for any knowledge base, because what’s the point of writing great articles if no one can find them? They also have tools like a synonym library and a glossary to make the search results more accurate.
Integrations and customization
The Basic plan is pretty locked down, but the higher-tier plans give you a lot of freedom. Pro and Business users can get into the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to customize the branding completely. The platform has built-in integrations with tools like Slack and Zendesk, and a Zapier integration opens the door to connecting with hundreds of other apps.
AI features and limitations in KnowledgeOwl pricing
KnowledgeOwl is getting into AI with features like a chatbot and writing assistance. The catch is that you pay for these features with "AI credits." For instance, the Basic plan gives you 25 credits a month. If you have a chatbot on your site, those credits could be gone in a day or two. This system can make your costs hard to predict and might hold you back from really using AI to its full potential.
This is a big departure from how modern AI platforms like eesel AI work. Instead of a confusing credit system, eesel offers clear pricing based on usage. It’s built to connect to your knowledge where it already exists (like in Google Docs or Confluence) and puts an AI agent right inside your helpdesk. You don't have to move all your content over or worry about running out of credits just to answer a customer's question.
What the sticker price doesn't tell you: Understanding KnowledgeOwl pricing limitations
On the surface, KnowledgeOwl's pricing seems pretty clear. But there are a few things that can make your total cost climb, especially as your team gets bigger.
1. The per-author model in KnowledgeOwl pricing
Every single KnowledgeOwl plan starts with just one author. If you have a team of writers, support agents, or product managers who all need to create or edit articles, you’ll have to buy a license for each of them. This can make the platform a lot more expensive than that initial monthly price, and it kind of punishes you for having a team that works together on content.
Pro Tip: Before you commit, figure out how many people will actually need to edit content. Multiply that number by the cost of an extra author seat to see what your real monthly bill will look like.
2. The siloed knowledge problem
KnowledgeOwl is a destination. You have to write, import, and manage all your documentation inside its walls. This creates a knowledge silo. The reality is that most companies already have tons of useful information spread out across tools like Google Docs, Notion, old support tickets, and Slack conversations. A traditional knowledge base like KnowledgeOwl can't tap into any of that, forcing you to either copy everything over or just ignore a lot of valuable context.
This is where a tool like eesel AI takes a totally different path. Instead of forcing a big move, it just plugs into the systems you already use. It can learn from your past Zendesk tickets, your team's Confluence pages, and your shared drives to give complete answers without a massive migration project. You can be up and running in minutes, not months.
3. Strict article and AI credit limits in KnowledgeOwl pricing
Each plan has a hard ceiling on the number of articles you can have. As your product line expands or your company grows, you'll eventually hit that limit and be forced to upgrade to a more expensive plan. In the same way, the AI credit system makes you hesitant to use AI. You might find yourself rationing credits instead of using AI to make your support team more efficient.
This video provides a quick official walkthrough of how to get started with your KnowledgeOwl knowledge base.
Is KnowledgeOwl pricing right for you?
KnowledgeOwl is a solid, traditional knowledge base. Its pricing can work really well for teams with just one or two content creators who need deep control over branding. The plans come with plenty of features, and the editor is simple enough for anyone to pick up.
However, the per-author pricing, the fact that it silos your content, and the restrictive AI credit system are real downsides for growing, collaborative teams. These things can lead to surprise costs and stop you from using all the knowledge your company already has.
If your main goal is to build a smart, automated support system, you might get more out of an AI-native platform that works with your current tools. Solutions like eesel AI are designed to bring all your scattered knowledge together, automate answers right in your helpdesk, and offer clear, predictable pricing that grows with your business, not your author count.
Ready to see how an integrated AI agent can upgrade your support without the headache of a traditional KB? Try eesel AI for free.
Frequently asked questions
The main potential extra cost comes from the per-author model, as every plan only includes one author. You'll need to purchase additional licenses for each team member who needs to create or edit content. Running out of your monthly AI credits could also lead to unexpected costs if you rely heavily on those features.
Once you reach the article limit for your plan, you'll be required to upgrade to the next pricing tier to add more content. This is a key factor to consider for growing companies, as your monthly cost will increase as your knowledge base expands.
For one author, yes, but it has significant limitations. The Basic plan does not allow you to use a custom domain, access the API for integrations, or use security features like SSO. It's best suited for a very simple, internal knowledge base managed by a single person.
Each plan comes with a fixed number of monthly AI credits, which are used for features like the AI-powered chatbot and writing assistance. This can make costs unpredictable, as heavy usage can deplete your credits quickly, potentially limiting your ability to use these tools or forcing you to upgrade.
Yes, KnowledgeOwl offers a discount if you choose to pay for your plan annually or for a longer term upfront. This can be a good way to lower the overall cost if you are confident that the platform is the right long-term fit for your team.
The significant price increase from Pro ($250/mo) to Business ($500/mo) is primarily due to advanced security and compliance features. The Business plan adds Single Sign-On (SSO), custom user roles, priority support, and compliance agreements for regulations like HIPAA, which are essential for larger, security-conscious organizations.
