# Mintlify vs ReadMe

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

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

## At a glance

| Criterion | Mintlify | ReadMe |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Kind of free offer | Free tier | Free tier |
| What the free plan includes | The Starter plan, free forever: hosting at a mintlify.site address, a custom domain, the web editor, authentication, an MCP server, the API playground and up to 5 editor seats. AI features are not on Starter; new accounts also get a separate 14-day Pro trial. | 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 | $540/month billed monthly for Pro ($450/month when billed annually): unlimited editor seats, the AI assistant and automations, preview deployments and admin APIs. Starter is free and Enterprise is custom. | $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 | Flat monthly price per account rather than per seat: Starter is free with 5 editor seats, Pro and Enterprise have unlimited editor seats. AI features are metered in credits: Pro includes 10,000 credits a month, overage is $0.01 per credit, an assistant answer costs 25 credits and an automation update 250. Enterprise is custom. | 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 | Unlimited editor seats on Pro, the entry paid plan (Starter has up to 5). The pricing page does not state a cap on the number of documentation sites. | 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 plans only; covers sign-in to the Mintlify dashboard | 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 | Limited — Displays SDK code samples; the page points to Speakeasy for generating the SDKs themselves | 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 — Pro and Enterprise plans only, billed in credits; not on the free Starter plan | 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 | SOC 2 Type 2 report listed among the documents in Mintlify's Trust Center; ISO 27001 appears only as a letter of intent. | 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 | The Trust Center lists Amazon Web Services as the cloud infrastructure subprocessor with data location Northern Virginia, and a GDPR Article 27 Verification document. | 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

- Mintlify: The Starter plan, free forever: hosting at a mintlify.site address, a custom domain, the web editor, authentication, an MCP server, the API playground and up to 5 editor seats. AI features are not on Starter; new accounts also get a separate 14-day Pro trial. ([source](https://www.mintlify.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

- Mintlify: $540/month billed monthly for Pro ($450/month when billed annually): unlimited editor seats, the AI assistant and automations, preview deployments and admin APIs. Starter is free and Enterprise is custom. ([source](https://www.mintlify.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

- Mintlify: Flat monthly price per account rather than per seat: Starter is free with 5 editor seats, Pro and Enterprise have unlimited editor seats. AI features are metered in credits: Pro includes 10,000 credits a month, overage is $0.01 per credit, an assistant answer costs 25 credits and an automation update 250. Enterprise is custom. ([source](https://www.mintlify.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

- Mintlify: Unlimited editor seats on Pro, the entry paid plan (Starter has up to 5). The pricing page does not state a cap on the number of documentation sites. ([source](https://www.mintlify.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.

### SOC 2

- Mintlify: SOC 2 Type 2 report listed among the documents in Mintlify's Trust Center; ISO 27001 appears only as a letter of intent. ([source](https://security.mintlify.com))
- 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

- Mintlify: The Trust Center lists Amazon Web Services as the cloud infrastructure subprocessor with data location Northern Virginia, and a GDPR Article 27 Verification document. ([source](https://security.mintlify.com))
- 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 Mintlify if A team that wants docs and an API reference built from Markdown, MDX and OpenAPI files in a git repository, with an AI assistant, llms.txt and an MCP server, at a flat price per account rather than per seat. Pro is $540 a month billed monthly with unlimited editors; the free Starter plan allows five.

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: Mintlify — You want SDKs generated from the same spec. Mintlify shows SDK code samples and points to Speakeasy for the SDKs themselves, where Fern generates them. The AI assistant is a Pro feature and is not on the free plan.

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: Mintlify: Limited — Enterprise plan only; each deployment is a scoped engagement with the account team

## Questions this comparison answers

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

Mintlify: $540/month billed monthly for Pro ($450/month when billed annually): unlimited editor seats, the AI assistant and automations, preview deployments and admin APIs. Starter is free and Enterprise is custom.
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 Mintlify or ReadMe?**

Pick Mintlify if A team that wants docs and an API reference built from Markdown, MDX and OpenAPI files in a git repository, with an AI assistant, llms.txt and an MCP server, at a flat price per account rather than per seat. Pro is $540 a month billed monthly with unlimited editors; the free Starter plan allows five.
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.