# Fern vs ReadMe

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/fern-vs-readme/

Every value below is read from Fern's and ReadMe's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | Fern | ReadMe |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Kind of free offer | Free tier | Free tier |
| What the free plan includes | The Free docs plan: 10 team members, 1,000 pages, 250 AI credits and 2,000 page generations a month, a custom domain and subpath, API explorer and web editor, Ask Fern, Fern Agent, MCP server, and version and product switching. | The Starter plan, free for everyone: one project, one admin and one published version, with a custom domain, bi-directional Git sync, an interactive API reference, usage metrics, a Markdown editor, themes, AI Dropdown, LLMs.txt and an MCP server. Ask AI is a paid add-on. |
| Entry paid plan | No priced paid plan is listed for Fern Docs: Enterprise is quoted by sales (Custom, 'Tailored pricing terms'). The only priced plan is Free at $0. | $250/month for Pro, shown with 'Billed annually' and no monthly-billed price: teammates, multiplayer editing, branching and reviews, private docs, a landing page and custom MDX components, with 5 admins. Starter is free; Enterprise is contact-us, annual billing only. |
| Pricing model | Docs come in two plans: Free at $0 with caps (10 team members, 1,000 pages, 250 AI credits and 2,000 page generations a month) and a custom-priced Enterprise plan that lifts them. No self-serve paid tier is listed. AI features draw on a monthly credit allowance. | Per-project plans: Starter is free, Pro is $250/month billed annually, Enterprise is custom with annual billing only. Pro includes 5 admins and charges $20 for each additional admin. Add-ons are priced separately: Ask AI at $150/month and extended request history and logs at $100/month. |
| Sites or apps included | One docs site on the Free plan; Enterprise is custom and adds multiple repos and docs instances. The pricing page lists no plan between the two. | One project on Pro, the entry paid plan, with 5 admins and $20 for each additional admin. Starter also has one project and one admin; Enterprise offers multiple combined projects. |
| SAML single sign-on | Limited — Enterprise plan only; SAML 2.0 or OIDC sign-in to gated docs | Limited — Enterprise plan only; covers teammate sign-in to ReadMe |
| Docs as code in a git repository | Supported | Supported |
| API reference from an OpenAPI spec | Supported | Supported |
| Interactive API playground | Supported | Supported |
| Client SDK generation | Supported | Limited — Docs say it generates no full client SDK; it shows code samples plus an optional Node api option |
| llms.txt and markdown for AI tools | Supported | Supported |
| MCP server for the docs or API | Supported | Supported |
| Built-in AI assistant over the docs | Supported | Supported — Ask AI Lite is built into Pro; the full Ask AI is a $150/month add-on on any plan |
| Multiple documentation versions | Supported | Supported — Starter publishes 1 version; Pro and Enterprise unlimited |
| SOC 2 | Trust center lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and CCPA, with a SOC 2 Type II Report among the documents available through a request-access form. | SOC 2 Type II is listed under Compliance on ReadMe's Trust Center, alongside GDPR, HIPAA and WCAG 2.1, with a SOC 2 Type II report among its resources. |
| GDPR / data residency | Fern's privacy policy says personal information is stored and/or processed in the United States, or where Fern or its partners, affiliates and third-party providers maintain facilities. | API request and key data is stored in an Amazon Web Services facility in Virginia (USA); ReadMe's security FAQ names no other region. |

## Where they differ

### What the free plan includes

- Fern: The Free docs plan: 10 team members, 1,000 pages, 250 AI credits and 2,000 page generations a month, a custom domain and subpath, API explorer and web editor, Ask Fern, Fern Agent, MCP server, and version and product switching. ([source](https://buildwithfern.com/pricing))
- ReadMe: The Starter plan, free for everyone: one project, one admin and one published version, with a custom domain, bi-directional Git sync, an interactive API reference, usage metrics, a Markdown editor, themes, AI Dropdown, LLMs.txt and an MCP server. Ask AI is a paid add-on. ([source](https://readme.com/pricing))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

### Entry paid plan

- Fern: No priced paid plan is listed for Fern Docs: Enterprise is quoted by sales (Custom, 'Tailored pricing terms'). The only priced plan is Free at $0. ([source](https://buildwithfern.com/pricing))
- ReadMe: $250/month for Pro, shown with 'Billed annually' and no monthly-billed price: teammates, multiplayer editing, branching and reviews, private docs, a landing page and custom MDX components, with 5 admins. Starter is free; Enterprise is contact-us, annual billing only. ([source](https://readme.com/pricing))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

### Pricing model

- Fern: Docs come in two plans: Free at $0 with caps (10 team members, 1,000 pages, 250 AI credits and 2,000 page generations a month) and a custom-priced Enterprise plan that lifts them. No self-serve paid tier is listed. AI features draw on a monthly credit allowance. ([source](https://buildwithfern.com/pricing))
- ReadMe: Per-project plans: Starter is free, Pro is $250/month billed annually, Enterprise is custom with annual billing only. Pro includes 5 admins and charges $20 for each additional admin. Add-ons are priced separately: Ask AI at $150/month and extended request history and logs at $100/month. ([source](https://readme.com/pricing))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

### Sites or apps included

- Fern: One docs site on the Free plan; Enterprise is custom and adds multiple repos and docs instances. The pricing page lists no plan between the two. ([source](https://buildwithfern.com/pricing))
- ReadMe: One project on Pro, the entry paid plan, with 5 admins and $20 for each additional admin. Starter also has one project and one admin; Enterprise offers multiple combined projects. ([source](https://readme.com/pricing))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

### Client SDK generation

- Fern: Supported ([source](https://buildwithfern.com/sdks))
- ReadMe: Limited — Docs say it generates no full client SDK; it shows code samples plus an optional Node api option ([source](https://docs.readme.com/main/docs/migrate-from-fern))
- Lean: 64% Fern / 36% ReadMe — documented support level. inetGeek's own reading, computed from the two values above by the rules at https://inetgeek.com/methodology/, not a provider claim.

### SOC 2

- Fern: Trust center lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and CCPA, with a SOC 2 Type II Report among the documents available through a request-access form. ([source](https://buildwithfern.com/trust))
- ReadMe: SOC 2 Type II is listed under Compliance on ReadMe's Trust Center, alongside GDPR, HIPAA and WCAG 2.1, with a SOC 2 Type II report among its resources. ([source](https://security.readme.com/))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

### GDPR / data residency

- Fern: Fern's privacy policy says personal information is stored and/or processed in the United States, or where Fern or its partners, affiliates and third-party providers maintain facilities. ([source](https://buildwithfern.com/privacy-policy))
- ReadMe: API request and key data is stored in an Amazon Web Services facility in Virginia (USA); ReadMe's security FAQ names no other region. ([source](https://docs.readme.com/main/docs/security-faq))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

## Which should you choose?

Pick Fern if A team that wants one API definition to produce both a docs site and client SDKs, with llms.txt, an MCP server and an AI assistant on the free plan, which covers 10 team members and 1,000 pages.

Pick ReadMe if A team publishing an interactive API reference beside guides from an OpenAPI file, with two-way Git sync, a free Starter plan for one project and one admin, and unlimited versions on Pro.

Consider something else: Fern — You need a paid plan between free and custom. Fern Docs lists a free plan and an Enterprise plan quoted by sales and nothing priced in between, and SSO and self-hosting are Enterprise-only.

Consider something else: ReadMe — You want a monthly-billed plan or generated SDKs. Pro is $250 a month shown as billed annually with no monthly price on the page, and ReadMe says it generates no full client SDK. The full Ask AI is a $150 a month add-on.

## Documented by only one

One side documents these and the other does not. An absence is a missing source, not a stated "no" — except where a line says the other page was READ on a date and does not mention it, which is a sourced observation and the only one-sided case this site leans on.

- Self-hostable: Fern: Limited — Enterprise plan only

## Questions this comparison answers

**Entry paid plan: Fern or ReadMe?**

Fern: No priced paid plan is listed for Fern Docs: Enterprise is quoted by sales (Custom, 'Tailored pricing terms'). The only priced plan is Free at $0.
ReadMe: $250/month for Pro, shown with 'Billed annually' and no monthly-billed price: teammates, multiplayer editing, branching and reviews, private docs, a landing page and custom MDX components, with 5 admins. Starter is free; Enterprise is contact-us, annual billing only.

**Should I choose Fern or ReadMe?**

Pick Fern if A team that wants one API definition to produce both a docs site and client SDKs, with llms.txt, an MCP server and an AI assistant on the free plan, which covers 10 team members and 1,000 pages.
Pick ReadMe if A team publishing an interactive API reference beside guides from an OpenAPI file, with two-way Git sync, a free Starter plan for one project and one admin, and unlimited versions on Pro.