# ReadMe vs GitBook

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

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

## At a glance

| Criterion | ReadMe | GitBook |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Kind of free offer | Free tier | Free tier |
| What the free plan includes | 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. | The Free plan for individuals: one user, unlimited page views, Git Sync with GitHub or GitLab, OpenAPI-based API docs with a playground, a docs MCP server and llms.txt. A custom domain and the AI Assistant Ask feature are not included. |
| Entry paid plan | $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. | Essential is $65 per site per month when billed annually, plus $12 per user per month for additional team members; Ultimate is $249 per site per month. The page shows annual-billing figures in its default view. |
| Pricing model | 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. | Priced per published site (Free, Essential, Ultimate, Enterprise) plus $12 per user per month on the paid plans; Enterprise is custom. Page views are never metered. AI features draw on monthly AI credits (Essential includes $20, Ultimate $100), extra credit bundles are sold separately and usage auto-pauses when credits run out. |
| Sites or apps included | 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. | Priced per site: Essential is $65 per site per month when billed annually, so the entry paid plan covers each site you buy; the page states no cap on the number of sites. Additional users are $12 per user per month. |
| SAML single sign-on | Limited — Enterprise plan only; covers teammate sign-in to ReadMe | Limited — Enterprise plan only; for team members signing in to the app |
| Docs as code in a git repository | Supported | Supported — Two-way Git Sync with GitHub or GitLab |
| API reference from an OpenAPI spec | Supported | Supported |
| Interactive API playground | Supported | Supported |
| Client SDK generation | Limited — Docs say it generates no full client SDK; it shows code samples plus an optional Node api option | Limited — Generic code examples per operation; custom SDK samples via x-codeSamples |
| 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 — Ask AI Lite is built into Pro; the full Ask AI is a $150/month add-on on any plan | Supported — Ask from Essential, Chat from Ultimate; not on Free |
| Multiple documentation versions | Supported — Starter publishes 1 version; Pro and Enterprise unlimited | Supported |
| SOC 2 | 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. | GitBook Inc. states it completed the AICPA SOC 2 Type II audit, performed by Prescient Assurance. |
| GDPR / data residency | API request and key data is stored in an Amazon Web Services facility in Virginia (USA); ReadMe's security FAQ names no other region. | Customer data is stored in U.S. data centers on Google Cloud; some HTML pages and assets may be cached in other geographies by the CDN. The page names no EU storage region. |

## Where they differ

### What the free plan includes

- 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))
- GitBook: The Free plan for individuals: one user, unlimited page views, Git Sync with GitHub or GitLab, OpenAPI-based API docs with a playground, a docs MCP server and llms.txt. A custom domain and the AI Assistant Ask feature are not included. ([source](https://www.gitbook.com/pricing))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

### Entry paid plan

- 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))
- GitBook: Essential is $65 per site per month when billed annually, plus $12 per user per month for additional team members; Ultimate is $249 per site per month. The page shows annual-billing figures in its default view. ([source](https://www.gitbook.com/pricing))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

### Pricing model

- 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))
- GitBook: Priced per published site (Free, Essential, Ultimate, Enterprise) plus $12 per user per month on the paid plans; Enterprise is custom. Page views are never metered. AI features draw on monthly AI credits (Essential includes $20, Ultimate $100), extra credit bundles are sold separately and usage auto-pauses when credits run out. ([source](https://www.gitbook.com/pricing))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

### Sites or apps included

- 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))
- GitBook: Priced per site: Essential is $65 per site per month when billed annually, so the entry paid plan covers each site you buy; the page states no cap on the number of sites. Additional users are $12 per user per month. ([source](https://www.gitbook.com/pricing))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

### SOC 2

- 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/))
- GitBook: GitBook Inc. states it completed the AICPA SOC 2 Type II audit, performed by Prescient Assurance. ([source](https://gitbook.com/docs/policies/privacy-and-security/security/security-as-a-company-value))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

### GDPR / data residency

- 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))
- GitBook: Customer data is stored in U.S. data centers on Google Cloud; some HTML pages and assets may be cached in other geographies by the CDN. The page names no EU storage region. ([source](https://gitbook.com/docs/policies/privacy-and-security/security/security-faq))
- Lean: none. No documented basis to lean either way on this criterion.

## Which should you choose?

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.

Pick GitBook if A team that wants a collaborative editor with two-way Git sync and an OpenAPI reference, priced per published site: Essential is $65 per site per month billed annually plus $12 per additional user, and the free plan covers one user.

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.

Consider something else: GitBook — You publish several docs sites or have many editors, since the bill grows with both. AI answers start at Essential, SAML SSO is Enterprise-only, and SDK generation is limited to code examples.

## 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: GitBook: Limited — Published docs site only, and unsupported by GitBook

## Questions this comparison answers

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

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.
GitBook: Essential is $65 per site per month when billed annually, plus $12 per user per month for additional team members; Ultimate is $249 per site per month. The page shows annual-billing figures in its default view.

**Should I choose ReadMe or GitBook?**

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.
Pick GitBook if A team that wants a collaborative editor with two-way Git sync and an OpenAPI reference, priced per published site: Essential is $65 per site per month billed annually plus $12 per additional user, and the free plan covers one user.