The 7 top Confluence apps to build a smarter knowledge base in 2025

Confluence is supposed to be your team’s single source of truth, but let’s be real, it often feels more like a digital junk drawer. Important information gets buried under layers of outdated pages and disorganized spaces, making it a nightmare to find what you need, when you need it. You know the answer is in there somewhere, but digging it out is a whole other mission.

That’s where Confluence apps come in. These plugins add new powers to the platform, helping you create, manage, and, most importantly, find knowledge without the usual headache. This guide will walk you through seven of the best Confluence apps that can turn your wiki from a cluttered mess into a knowledge engine that actually works. We’ll cover everything from tools that make your pages look great to AI that brings answers directly to you.

What are Confluence apps?

Confluence apps, sometimes called add-ons or plugins, are tools you can grab from the Atlassian Marketplace. They’re built to tack on new features or improve the ones you already have, right inside your Confluence setup. Think of them as power-ups for your knowledge base.

They do all sorts of things, like improving page design, automating workflows, creating diagrams, managing documents, and connecting with other software your team uses every day. The right mix of apps can fix your team’s specific frustrations and make Confluence fit your workflow like a glove.

How we chose the top Confluence apps for this list

To cut through the noise of the thousands of apps on the Marketplace, we used a few simple criteria to find the ones that are actually worth your time. Here’s what we looked for:

• Real-world impact: Does the app genuinely improve a core part of Confluence? We focused on tools that make a noticeable difference in your day-to-day.

• User ratings & popularity: We leaned on apps with high ratings and a ton of active users. If thousands of teams love it, they’re probably onto something.

• Ease of use: You shouldn’t need a user manual to figure out a plugin. We prioritized tools that are intuitive and don’t have a steep learning curve.

• AI & automation: The best tools help you work smarter, not just harder. We looked for apps that cut down on manual work and make knowledge easy to find.

• Good support & updates: An app is only as good as the team behind it. We chose vendors known for keeping their tools updated and being responsive when you need help.

A quick comparison of the top Confluence apps in 2025

This table gives you a quick overview to help you compare the apps at a glance based on what they do best and who they’re for.

App	Primary Function	Best For	Starting Price (Cloud)
eesel AI	AI-Powered Knowledge Access	Teams wanting instant answers from Confluence via Slack or Teams.	$239/month (annual)
draw.io Diagrams	Diagramming & Flowcharts	Technical and non-technical teams needing to visualize processes.	Free
ScriptRunner	Automation & Administration	Confluence administrators and technical users needing to automate tasks.	$165/year (10 users)
AURA Macros	Content Formatting & Design	Teams looking to create engaging, professionally designed Confluence pages.	$13.75/month (10 users)
Table Filter & Charts	Data Organization & Visualization	Teams working with data-heavy tables who need filtering and charting.	$13.75/month (10 users)
Comala Document Mgt.	Document Review & Approval	Regulated industries or teams needing formal approval workflows.	$13.75/month (10 users)
Scroll PDF Exporter	Content Exporting & Sharing	Teams that need to share Confluence content externally as PDFs.	$13.75/month (10 users)

The definitive list of top Confluence apps

Now, let’s get into the details of what makes each of these apps a solid addition for boosting your team’s productivity and making your knowledge base genuinely useful.

1. eesel AI: One of the top Confluence apps to turn your knowledge into instant answers

While most apps on this list help you create better content, eesel AI helps your team actually use it. It connects to your Confluence spaces and acts as an AI assistant that can answer questions right in Slack or Microsoft Teams. Instead of your team digging through pages or bugging colleagues, they can just ask a question and get an immediate, accurate answer pulled from your documentation.

Why it’s on the list: It solves the biggest problem with knowledge bases: getting people to find and use the information. A perfect wiki is useless if no one can find anything. eesel AI makes your Confluence content way more valuable by making it available where your team already works. It brings all your knowledge together withoutmaking you switch tools.

Pros:

• Go live in minutes: The setup is truly self-serve. A one-click integration gets you started without needing to talk to a sales rep or sit through a mandatory demo.

• Answers where you work: By hooking into Slack and MS Teams, it brings knowledge to your team, cutting down on the constant app-switching that kills focus.

• Unifies all your knowledge: It can learn from more than just Confluence. Connect it to Google Docs, past help desk tickets, and over 100 other sources to create a single brain for your company.

• Scoped and accurate: You have full control over which Confluence spaces the AI learns from, so you can be sure its answers are always relevant.

Cons:

• It’s a premium tool focused on giving you access to knowledge, not creating it.

• You get the most out of it when you integrate it with chat platforms like Slack or Teams.

Pricing: The Team plan starts at $239/month when billed annually.

2. draw.io Diagrams: One of the top Confluence apps for powerful and free visualizations

draw.io is a must-have for creating any kind of diagram, from simple flowcharts to complex network maps. It’s so well-integrated into the Confluence editor that it feels like a native feature, letting you create and embed visuals without ever leaving your page.

Why it’s on the list: Visuals make complex ideas so much easier to understand, especially in technical docs or process guides. draw.io is powerful, flexible, and pretty much the standard for diagramming in Confluence. It’s an essential tool for any team that needs to explain things visually.

Pros:

• It’s completely free for everyone, which is amazing for how much it can do.

• It has a massive library of shapes and templates for pretty much any scenario you can imagine.

• The drag-and-drop interface is easy enough for anyone on the team to use.

Cons:

• The interface looks a little dated compared to newer, standalone diagramming tools.

• It doesn’t have the fancy AI-generation features that are starting to appear in other dedicated tools.

Pricing: Free.

3. ScriptRunner for Confluence: One of the top Confluence apps for the ultimate automation toolkit

Often called the "Swiss army knife" for Atlassian products, ScriptRunner lets administrators automate tasks and tweak Confluence using Groovy scripts. With it, you can automate content management, manage spaces in bulk, add labels to pages automatically, and create custom macros to streamline just about any process.

Why it’s on the list: For anyone managing a large or complicated Confluence instance, ScriptRunner is a lifesaver. It automates the kind of repetitive, manual jobs that can eat up an admin’s entire day, helping keep the knowledge base clean, organized, and in line with company standards.

Pros:

• Incredibly powerful and flexible, letting you automate almost anything you can think of.

• It comes with a library of pre-built scripts for common tasks, so you don’t have to be a coding wizard to get started.

• Great for enforcing content rules and doing bulk actions, like archiving old pages.

Cons:

• It’s really built for technical users or admins; there’s a serious learning curve for everyone else.

• To unlock its best features, you need at least some basic knowledge of Groovy scripting.

Pricing: Starts at $165/year for up to 10 users.

4. AURA Content Formatting Macros: One of the top Confluence apps to design beautiful pages with no code

AURA gives you a bunch of easy-to-use macros that can turn a standard, text-heavy Confluence page into something that’s actually nice to look at. You can add tabs, cards, buttons, backgrounds, and expandable sections to structure information in a way that’s visually appealing and easy to follow.

Why it’s on the list: Nobody wants to read a giant wall of text. People just tune out when information isn’t presented clearly. AURA makes it simple for anyone on your team to create well-structured, professional-looking pages that people actually want to read, which is a huge step toward getting your knowledge adopted.

Pros:

• Very intuitive and requires zero coding skills.

• Offers a wide range of macros for different formatting needs.

• Helps you maintain a consistent and professional look across your entire knowledge base.

Cons:

• It’s possible to go a little wild with the macros, and using too many on one page could slow down load times.

Pricing: Starts at $13.75/month for up to 10 users.

5. Table Filter, Charts & Spreadsheets: One of the top Confluence apps to bring your data to life

This app gives Confluence’s basic tables a serious upgrade, adding dynamic filtering, sorting, and the ability to create charts and pivot tables directly from your data. Table Filter, Charts & Spreadsheets for Confluence is like having a mini-Excel built right into your pages, making your data interactive and much easier to understand.

Why it’s on the list: Lots of teams use Confluence to track project data, report on metrics, or manage lists. This app makes that data immediately useful without having to export it somewhere else. It keeps your data and the analysis of that data all in one spot.

Pros:

• The filtering capabilities are extremely powerful, which is a must-have for large tables.

• Supports a bunch of different chart types (pie, bar, line, etc.) generated right from your table data.

• Lets you do calculations and summaries with pivot tables.

Cons:

• It can get a bit complicated to set up if you’re trying to build really advanced reports.

Pricing: Starts at $13.75/month for up to 10 users.

6. Comala Document Management: One of the top Confluence apps for controlled approval workflows

Comala Document Management adds a full document lifecycle system to Confluence. It lets you create custom review and approval workflows, making sure that content is checked by the right people before it goes live. It supports features like page states (Draft, In Review, Approved), scheduled reviews, and e-signatures for official sign-offs.

Why it’s on the list: For teams in regulated fields like finance or healthcare, or any group that needs a formal content approval process, this app is essential. It adds a critical layer of governance and quality control that’s missing from Confluence out of the box.

Pros:

• Highly customizable workflows that you can tailor to match just about any business process.

• Provides a clear audit trail of all reviews and approvals, so you always know who signed off on what.

• Works well with other apps for versioning and publishing.

Cons:

• It might be overkill for small teams with simpler documentation needs.

Pricing: Starts at $13.75/month for up to 10 users.

7. Scroll PDF Exporter: One of the top Confluence apps to share your knowledge professionally

This app is the go-to for exporting Confluence pages or entire spaces into slick, professionally branded PDF documents. Scroll PDF Exporter gives you a ton of control over the final look, with customizable templates that let you match your company’s branding perfectly.

Why it’s on the list: Sometimes, knowledge needs to leave Confluence, whether you’re sharing it with clients, partners, or just need an offline copy. Scroll PDF Exporter makes sure that when it does, it looks polished and professional, reflecting the quality of the information inside.

Pros:

• Detailed control over styling and layout with a what-you-see-is-what-you-get template editor.

• Handles complex pages with tables, images, and macros without breaking a sweat.

• It’s reliable, easy to use, and has been a trusted tool in the community for years.

Cons:

• The template editor can take a bit of time to get the hang of for really complex designs.

Pricing: Starts at $13.75/month for up to 10 users.

Tips for choosing the right top Confluence apps

• Figure out what’s broken first: Before you go app shopping, get clear on the actual problem you’re trying to solve. Is it page design? Finding information? Managing data? Knowing your goal makes it much easier to pick the right tool.

• Try before you buy: Almost every paid app on the Atlassian Marketplace offers a free 30-day trial. Use it. Have your team test the app in a real-world scenario to see if it actually works for you.

• Look for "Cloud Fortified" apps: This badge from Atlassian means an app meets higher standards for security, reliability, and support. It’s a good sign that you’re getting a quality, business-ready tool.

• Think about value, not just price: Don’t just look at the monthly cost. A paid app that saves each person on your team a few hours of frustrating work every week is a great investment.

• Don’t overdo it: Installing too many apps can slow down your Confluence instance and make things confusing. Be selective and focus on the apps that give you the most bang for your buck.

On the top Confluence apps: Build your knowledge base, then make it accessible

Confluence is a solid platform on its own, but the top Confluence apps are what really unlock its potential. They help you build a knowledge base that’s organized, engaging, and trustworthy.

Use tools like AURA and draw.io to create clear, good-looking content. Use ScriptRunner and Comala to keep it organized and compliant. But remember, creating great documentation is only half the job. To get the most value out of it, you have to make it easy for people to find. eesel AI closes that final gap, delivering answers from your carefully curated Confluence knowledge base directly to your team, right where they’re already working.

Ready to make your Confluence knowledge 10x more useful? Try eesel AI for free or book a demo today.