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Scalar vs Redocly

OCT 2026 audit

A comparison of Scalar and Redocly built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.

Reviewed by Palash BagchiUpdated 19 criteria compared

The short answer

Choose Scalar if…

A team that wants OpenAPI-driven docs, an API client, SDK generation and MCP servers from one toolchain with an MIT-licensed core. Pro is $150 a month for 15 APIs and 5 editor seats.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Choose Redocly if…

An API reference built from OpenAPI, GraphQL or AsyncAPI descriptions with Git workflows, at one flat price with unlimited seats and readers: Pro is $249 a month billed annually for three projects, with a 30-day trial.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Consider something else if…

  • Scalar: You need SAML SSO, which starts at Business, or a SOC 2 Type II report, where Scalar states a Type 1. Publishing a docs site needs a paid plan after the 7-day trial, so the free plan is not a way to host docs.
  • Redocly: You want a standing free plan, which Redocly does not list. Its AI assistant, MCP server and SDK generation are beta or early access, and its security and pricing pages disagree on which plan includes SAML SSO.

Neither quite fits? Every other option, ranked by iScore: Scalar alternatives · Redocly alternatives

10 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.

Visit Scalar documentationVisit Redocly documentation

No affiliate links, sponsored placements or paid rankings appear on this site. Ordering follows the sourced data and the stated criteria.

01.

At a glance.

CriterionScalarRedocly
Pricing
Free tier
Yes
No
Kind of free offerFree tierFree trial
What the free plan includesThe Free plan costs $0 with no credit card: hosted OpenAPI docs, built-in API client, landing pages, up to 3 APIs, 1 SDK up to 25 endpoints, 50 Agent Scalar credits and 1 editor seat. Publishing a Docs site needs a paid plan after the 7-day trial every new team gets.A 30-day free trial of Pro with no credit card, inviting the whole team from day one; the trial can be switched to Scale at any time.
Entry paid planPro is $150/month ($125/month billed yearly): 5 editor seats, up to 15 APIs, 1 SDK up to 100 endpoints, custom domains, Git Sync, Markdown and MDX, hosted MCP servers. Business is $600/month.Pro is $249 per month billed annually as $2,988 a year: 3 projects, unlimited seats, readers and Git contributors. The page states annual billing is two months free compared with monthly; its default view shows annual figures only. Extra projects are $390 a year each.
Pricing modelPriced per plan by APIs published, SDK size (endpoints in the OpenAPI document) and editor seats: Free 3 APIs and 1 seat, Pro 15 APIs and 5 seats, Business 25 APIs and 10 seats, Enterprise custom. Each plan includes 1 SDK; extra SDKs are $150/month each up to 100 endpoints or $600/month each for 101-250. Billed monthly or yearly.One flat price per plan, not per person: unlimited seats, readers and Git contributors on every plan. Plans differ in projects included (Pro 3, Scale 10, Enterprise unlimited) and in features; extra projects cost $39 a month or $390 a year each. AI features are included in beta under usage limits.
Limits
Sites or apps includedPro, the entry paid plan, allows up to 15 APIs and 5 editor seats; Free allows 3 APIs and 1 editor seat, Business 25 APIs and 10 seats.3 projects on Pro, where a project is one docs site with its own Git repository and domain; more are $390 a year each. Scale includes 10 and Enterprise is unlimited.
Observability
Self-hostableLimited — MIT-licensed core only; no page says the hosted Docs platform itself can be self-hosted.Limited — Open-source Redoc CE self-hosts the API reference; no self-hosting of the full platform is described
Documentation
Docs as code in a git repositorySupportedSupported
API reference from an OpenAPI specSupportedSupported
Interactive API playgroundSupportedSupported
Client SDK generation
Supported
Limited — Early access; hosted publishing from Scale, local CLI on Pro
llms.txt and markdown for AI toolsSupportedSupported
MCP server for the docs or API
Supported
Limited — Beta; on every plan, under fair-use usage limits
Built-in AI assistant over the docs
Supported
Limited — Beta; on every plan, under fair-use usage limits
Multiple documentation versionsSupported — Docs plan table lists versions from Pro upward, not on Free.Supported
Compliance
SOC 2SOC 2 Type 1 report received for controls relevant to security; no Type 2 stated. GDPR privacy rights are described, no data-residency region is stated.Redocly states it has completed the SOC 2 Type II audit; reports are downloadable after logging in.

Only criteria both providers publish appear here; a tinted cell marks a real difference. Criteria only one of them documents are listed below, and an absence there means we found no source — not that the feature is missing. How we source this.

The small bar above a value is inetGeek's own lean toward that side — computed from the same facts shown, never a number the provider published. See the picker below "The short answer" to weigh only the criteria you care about.

02.

Where they differ.

Free tier

Scalar
Yes
Redocly
No
Sources (2) →

Kind of free offer

Scalar
Free tier
Redocly
Free trial
Sources (2) →

What the free plan includes

Scalar
The Free plan costs $0 with no credit card: hosted OpenAPI docs, built-in API client, landing pages, up to 3 APIs, 1 SDK up to 25 endpoints, 50 Agent Scalar credits and 1 editor seat. Publishing a Docs site needs a paid plan after the 7-day trial every new team gets.
Redocly
A 30-day free trial of Pro with no credit card, inviting the whole team from day one; the trial can be switched to Scale at any time.
Sources (2) →
  • Scalar Pricing — Free & Paid Plans for API Docs & SDKs ↗

    “Hosted OpenAPI docs Built-in API client Landing pages Up to 3 APIs, 1 SDK up to 25 endpoints 50 Agent Scalar credits 1 editor seat [...] Every new team starts with a 7-day trial with Pro limits, including Docs publishing. After the trial, publishing a Docs site needs a paid plan.”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official pricing · Report a correction

  • Pricing ↗

    “Start a 30-day free trial on Pro. No credit card. Invite your whole team on day one. [...] Start the trial on Pro, switch to Scale any time”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official pricing · Report a correction

Entry paid plan

Scalar
Pro is $150/month ($125/month billed yearly): 5 editor seats, up to 15 APIs, 1 SDK up to 100 endpoints, custom domains, Git Sync, Markdown and MDX, hosted MCP servers. Business is $600/month.
Redocly
Pro is $249 per month billed annually as $2,988 a year: 3 projects, unlimited seats, readers and Git contributors. The page states annual billing is two months free compared with monthly; its default view shows annual figures only. Extra projects are $390 a year each.
Sources (2) →

Pricing model

Scalar
Priced per plan by APIs published, SDK size (endpoints in the OpenAPI document) and editor seats: Free 3 APIs and 1 seat, Pro 15 APIs and 5 seats, Business 25 APIs and 10 seats, Enterprise custom. Each plan includes 1 SDK; extra SDKs are $150/month each up to 100 endpoints or $600/month each for 101-250. Billed monthly or yearly.
Redocly
One flat price per plan, not per person: unlimited seats, readers and Git contributors on every plan. Plans differ in projects included (Pro 3, Scale 10, Enterprise unlimited) and in features; extra projects cost $39 a month or $390 a year each. AI features are included in beta under usage limits.
Sources (2) →
  • Scalar Pricing — Free & Paid Plans for API Docs & SDKs ↗

    “Pricing scales with how many APIs you publish and the size of each SDK, measured by the number of endpoints in your OpenAPI document. [...] Additional SDKs are priced by each SDK's endpoint count: $150 per month each for up to 100 endpoints, or $600 per month each for 101–250 endpoints.”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official pricing · Report a correction

  • Pricing ↗

    “Pay for the product, not the people. One flat price per plan. Unlimited seats, unlimited readers, unlimited Git contributors, on every plan. [...] Both can add projects one at a time for $39 a month each, or $390 a year on annual billing. [...] AI features are included in beta, with usage limits.”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official pricing · Report a correction

Sites or apps included

Scalar
Pro, the entry paid plan, allows up to 15 APIs and 5 editor seats; Free allows 3 APIs and 1 editor seat, Business 25 APIs and 10 seats.
Redocly
3 projects on Pro, where a project is one docs site with its own Git repository and domain; more are $390 a year each. Scale includes 10 and Enterprise is unlimited.
Sources (2) →

Client SDK generation

Scalar
Supported
Redocly
Limited — Early access; hosted publishing from Scale, local CLI on Pro
Sources (2) →

MCP server for the docs or API

Scalar
Supported
Redocly
Limited — Beta; on every plan, under fair-use usage limits
Sources (2) →
  • Ask AI ↗

    “You can connect your docs AI to LLMs like Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf, and other tools that support Model Context Protocol (MCP). [...] Just add /mcp to your Scalar Docs domain.”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official docs · Report a correction

  • Pricing ↗

    “MCP server for your docs Your published docs served as tools, so AI agents look things up instead of guessing. [...] All of it is beta with fair-use limits.”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official pricing · Report a correction

Built-in AI assistant over the docs

Scalar
Supported
Redocly
Limited — Beta; on every plan, under fair-use usage limits
Sources (2) →
  • Ask AI ↗

    “Ask AI adds an AI-powered assistant to your documentation site. [...] Ask AI is enabled by default for all Scalar Docs projects. No setup required.”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official docs · Report a correction

  • Pricing ↗

    “AI Assistant for your readers An assistant on your docs that answers from your content. Included with usage limits. [...] All of it is beta with fair-use limits.”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official pricing · Report a correction

SOC 2

Scalar
SOC 2 Type 1 report received for controls relevant to security; no Type 2 stated. GDPR privacy rights are described, no data-residency region is stated.
Redocly
Redocly states it has completed the SOC 2 Type II audit; reports are downloadable after logging in.
Sources (2) →
  • Security ↗

    “SOC 2 report: Scalar has received a SOC 2 Type 1 report for controls relevant to security.”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official site · Report a correction

  • Security at Redocly ↗

    “SOC 2 Type II Redocly has completed the System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2, Type II audit. Log in to download this and other reports.”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official site · Report a correction

When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.

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03.

Documented by only one.

These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing — except where we say we read the other provider's own page on a given date and it does not state it. Those rows lean, and the provider can correct them with a link.

When the free offer endsRedocly: 30 days
SAML single sign-onScalar: Supported — Business and Enterprise plans; not on Free or Pro.
GDPR / data residencyRedocly: Under the Data Processing Addendum, Redocly may transfer and process Customer Data in the United States and anywhere else in the world where it, its affiliates or its sub-processors operate.
04.

Questions this comparison answers.

Entry paid plan: Scalar or Redocly?

Scalar: Pro is $150/month ($125/month billed yearly): 5 editor seats, up to 15 APIs, 1 SDK up to 100 endpoints, custom domains, Git Sync, Markdown and MDX, hosted MCP servers. Business is $600/month.

Redocly: Pro is $249 per month billed annually as $2,988 a year: 3 projects, unlimited seats, readers and Git contributors. The page states annual billing is two months free compared with monthly; its default view shows annual figures only. Extra projects are $390 a year each.

Free tier: Scalar or Redocly?

Scalar: Yes

Redocly: No

Should I choose Scalar or Redocly?

Pick Scalar if A team that wants OpenAPI-driven docs, an API client, SDK generation and MCP servers from one toolchain with an MIT-licensed core. Pro is $150 a month for 15 APIs and 5 editor seats.

Pick Redocly if An API reference built from OpenAPI, GraphQL or AsyncAPI descriptions with Git workflows, at one flat price with unlimited seats and readers: Pro is $249 a month billed annually for three projects, with a 30-day trial.

Provider pages

ScalarAPI documentation platform and OpenAPI toolchain: hosted docs, SDK generator, API client and MCP servers built from an OpenAPI document.RedoclyAPI documentation platform that publishes reference docs from OpenAPI, GraphQL and AsyncAPI descriptions, with Markdown pages and Git-based workflows.

Related comparisons

Fumadocs vs ScalarRedocly vs Bump.shScalar vs MintlifyFern vs ReadMeMintlify vs FernMintlify vs FumadocsMintlify vs GitBookMintlify vs ReadMe

Comments

Every page here is sourced and dated.