ReadMe is a well known developer documentation platform. Its only published paid plan is $250 a month billed annually, and it still covers a single project and five admins, at $20 for each one after that. Ask AI is a further $150 a month on top. Role-based access control, audit logs and migration help sit on an Enterprise plan whose price is not published. DeveloperHub Pro is $199 a month with 20 editors, the AI Assistant included, and roles on every plan including the free one.
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Both platforms are built for customer-facing developer portals with interactive API references. They part company on pricing philosophy, on which features you can actually reach, and on who is allowed to write.
DeveloperHub is a comprehensive documentation platform for product and API docs that helps businesses boost customer satisfaction, minimise onboarding time, and decrease support ticket volume through a self-service experience. It features a modern WYSIWYG editor that works like Google Docs: anyone on your team can start writing immediately without learning markdown. DeveloperHub includes a native OpenAPI editor, built-in AI tools (writer, search, SEO), synced blocks for content reuse, granular role-based access control, and collaboration features like comments and reviews, all accessible from lower-cost tiers.
ReadMe is a cloud-based platform for creating interactive developer documentation and API references. Established in 2014, ReadMe differentiates with its interactive API explorer (“Try It” functionality), OpenAPI/Swagger synchronisation, and robust analytics for tracking API usage. Docs are written in ReadMe's own flavoured markdown with drag-and-drop widgets. Its pricing runs free, then jumps straight to $250/month for a plan that still covers one project and five admins, and it keeps role-based access control, audit logs, multiple projects and migration help on an unpriced Enterprise tier. Non-developers may also face a steeper learning curve with its markdown-centric editor.
ReadMe concentrates investment on API exploration and analytics, but locks the things a growing docs team runs into first (role-based access control, audit logs, more than one project, migration assistance) behind an Enterprise tier it will not price in public. DeveloperHub puts those on published plans, and gives you a modern authoring experience that every team member can use from day one.
Your docs are the foundation of your clients' ability to use your products. As your product grows, your docs must be able to scale with it. Here is how the two compare across the capabilities that decide it.
| Feature | DeveloperHub | ReadMe |
|---|---|---|
| Page editor | Anyone can edit Modern WYSIWYG editor with markdown shortcuts enabled. You see the preview as you type, no need to switch to reader mode, just like Google Docs. Anyone on the team can use it right away: developers, marketing, product managers, technical writers, CEOs. We also support tabs for more complex page structures. | Markdown first ReadMe-flavoured markdown editor with drag-and-drop widget support. Text is displayed in markdown format, widgets with a UI. No support for tabs. Non-developers must learn markdown to contribute effectively. |
| API editor | Three views, live linting Native three-view OpenAPI editor, edit visually, in raw source, or side-by-side in split view, with live linting in every view. Add, modify, and remove paths, data types, operations, request and response parameters: everything you need to manage your API spec, visually or in code. | Descriptions only ReadMe's API editor only allows descriptions to be modified for imported OpenAPI definitions. Full spec editing requires external tools. |
| Publishing and drafts | Drafts on every plan Pages have separate draft and published states. Edit freely until you're ready to publish. Versions, documentation sections, API references, and individual pages each have independent publishing controls. Pages can also be unlisted (reachable by link, but hidden from the index). | Branches from $250 On the free Starter plan, saving a page publishes it immediately: there is no draft state to work in. Draft work means branching, and Branches, shareable branches and review permissions all start on the $250/month Pro plan. |
| Role-based access control | On every plan Granular roles (Reviewer, Writer, Publisher, Admin) on every plan, the free one included. Enables proper content workflows where reviewers review, writers draft, and publishers approve. | Two roles, then Enterprise Below Enterprise there are exactly two roles, Editor and Viewer, and both start on the $250/month Pro plan. The free plan has neither. User roles and access control proper is an Enterprise feature, at a price ReadMe does not publish. |
| Content reuse | Free plan included Synced blocks for single-sourcing available on all plans, including Free. Edit content once, update everywhere: essential for scaling documentation without duplication. | $250/mo Pro Reusable content requires the $250/month Pro plan, and a shared library across projects is Enterprise only. Below that, teams must manually find and update every occurrence of repeated content. |
| Dynamic linking | Slugs move, links follow Links between pages are dynamic. If a page slug changes, backlinks update automatically. A built-in link analysis tool ensures all links remain reachable. Cloning a version migrates all internal links with it. | Static links Links are static. Changing a page slug breaks every backlink to it, and nothing updates them for you. ReadMe's Broken Link Checker finds the breakage afterwards rather than preventing it, and it starts on the $250/month Pro plan. |
| AI features | Included, no add-on AI Writing Tools (simplify, enhance, shorten, expand), AI Assistant for readers, AI commit messages, AI SEO meta descriptions, spam filter, and PII redaction, all included on every paid plan, from Plus at $99/month, with a monthly grant of AI credits. The AI Assistant is on Pro and Enterprise. AI Agent available on every paid plan, from Plus at $99/month. Free has no AI. | $150/mo on top of $250 Ask AI, the reader-facing assistant, is a $150/month add-on on every plan, which takes Pro to $400/month. Ask AI Lite, Agent Owlbert, the AI Linter and the GitHub AI Writer are included from Pro at $250/month, and none of them are on the free plan. AI translations and the Ask AI API are Enterprise only. There is no AI commit message, AI SEO, spam filter or PII redaction. |
| Customisation | CSS and JS from $199/mo Custom CSS and JavaScript from the Pro plan ($199/month). Custom HEAD tags, custom footer, custom 404 page, and multiple landing pages also included. Dark theme available on all plans, including Free. Built-in UI translation and internationalisation on all plans. | $250/mo Pro Custom CSS, custom HTML, custom JavaScript, landing page templates and removing the ReadMe logo all start on the $250/month Pro plan. The free plan gets the theme editor and a custom domain, nothing more. Internationalisation requires a third-party Localize integration. |
| Hosting | Subdirectory or subdomain Docs can be hosted on a custom domain (for example docs.example.com) or on a subdirectory under your existing domain (for example example.com/docs). Subdirectory hosting inherits the SEO ranking of your main domain, a significant advantage. | Subdomain only Custom domain hosting only (for example docs.example.com). No subdirectory hosting. A new subdomain starts with zero SEO authority, potentially taking years to build ranking. |
| Docs structure | Many sections per version Versions can contain many documentation sections, each with its own page index, categories, and hierarchies. Essential for scaling complex documentation. | One section per version Versions contain only one documentation section. Larger docs expand within a single index, making navigation unwieldy as content grows. |
| Search analytics | Shows the zero-result terms Dashboard showing search user count, total searches, no-result percentage, top terms, and, critically, terms that lead to no results. This metric is the number one driver for reducing support ticket volume. | No zero-result terms Usage and documentation metrics are on every ReadMe plan, the free one included, but ReadMe does not surface the terms that lead to no results: the one metric that tells you what to write next. Exporting those metrics starts on the $250/month Pro plan. |
| Team collaboration | Comments on every plan Built-in comment system for editors to discuss content changes. Comments can be resolved before publishing. Readers can also provide feedback. Available on all plans, including Free. | No editor comments No comment system for editors. Suggested Edits allow readers to propose changes. Readers can provide page feedback. Teams must use external tools (Slack, GitHub) for editorial review workflows. |
| Activity and audit logs | From $199/mo Activity log available from the Pro plan ($199/month). Full audit logging on Enterprise ($499+/month). | Enterprise only Audit logs are Enterprise only, at a price ReadMe does not publish. Request history is capped at 24 hours on every plan. Extended history and exporting that history are Enterprise add-ons at $100/month each. |
| Conditional content | From $199/mo Show or hide content based on conditions such as user role, product version, or audience segment. Maintain a single source of truth instead of duplicating pages for different readers. Available from the Pro plan ($199/month). (learn more) | Not available Not available. Teams must create and maintain separate documentation pages for different audiences or product versions, leading to content duplication and inconsistency. |
| Export | Standard formats out All content (pages and OpenAPI references) can be exported from DeveloperHub. PDF export available as an add-on ($100/month per project) or included in Enterprise. | Proprietary API format Written content is exportable, but APIs created in ReadMe's editor use a proprietary format and cannot be exported as standard OpenAPI. PDF export requires the $250/month Pro plan. |
Scroll the table sideways for the full comparison →
Plenty of the basics are a wash. This is the list where picking either one leaves you in the same place.
Both the free plan and the $250/month Pro plan are capped at a single project. A second product, a partner portal or an internal handbook means the Enterprise tier, whose price ReadMe does not publish.
Pro includes five admins and charges $20/month for every one after that. DeveloperHub's $199 Pro plan includes 20 editors outright, so a team of twelve pays $199 rather than $250 plus $140.
ReadMe bundles AI authoring tools into Pro, but Ask AI, the assistant your readers actually use, is $150/month on top of every plan. That is $400/month before you have roles, audit logs or a second project. There is still no AI SEO, no AI commit messages, and no spam or PII filtering on feedback.
ReadMe only supports subdomain hosting (docs.example.com). Teams cannot host docs at example.com/docs, missing out on inherited SEO authority from their main domain.
Changing a page slug breaks every backlink to it, because links are static rather than dynamic. The Broken Link Checker that reports the damage is itself a $250/month Pro feature, and it tells you after the fact.
No built-in comment or review system for editors. Teams must rely on external tools for content review workflows, adding friction and context-switching.
ReadMe has no way to show or hide content based on user role, product version, or audience. Teams must maintain entirely separate pages for different readers, leading to content duplication and drift.
The free plan gets the theme editor and a custom domain. Custom CSS, HTML and JavaScript, landing page templates and removing the ReadMe logo all wait until $250/month, and some users report that managing global CSS across pages gets complex from there.
Everything below is available today, on a plan you can start on a card-free trial this afternoon.
DeveloperHub's Plus plan is $99/month billed annually, and Pro is $199/month. ReadMe has no middle tier: it goes from free to $250/month, and that $250 plan is still capped at one project with five admins. DeveloperHub's Enterprise starts at a published $499/month; ReadMe's price is available on request only.
Role-based access control on every plan, including Free, where ReadMe gives you two fixed roles at $250 and real access control only on Enterprise. Activity logs from $199/month, against Enterprise-only audit logs and a 24-hour request history that costs $100/month to extend.
AI Writing Tools, AI Assistant, AI commit messages, AI SEO meta descriptions, spam filtering, and PII redaction are all included on every paid plan, with a monthly grant of AI credits. The AI Agent is available on every paid plan, from Plus at $99/month. ReadMe charges $150/month extra for Ask AI on top of any plan, taking its $250 Pro plan to $400.
Synced blocks for single-sourcing are available on all plans, including Free. ReadMe requires the $250/month Pro plan for the same capability, and keeps a library shared across projects on Enterprise.
DeveloperHub's editor works like Google Docs, real-time preview with markdown shortcuts. Developers, technical writers, product managers, marketing, and support teams can all contribute without learning markdown syntax. ReadMe's in-place editing leaves non-technical contributors locked out.
Pages have separate draft and published states from the Free plan. Reviewer, Writer, Publisher and Admin roles on every plan, including Free, with comments and approval workflows built in. On ReadMe's free plan, saving publishes: drafting means branches, and branches, shareable branches and review permissions all start at $250/month.
Live draft previews, automatic backlink updates when page slugs change, and a built-in link analyser so cross-references never silently break. Cloning a version migrates all internal links automatically. ReadMe's links are static: change a slug and every backlink breaks, with no impact preview before you publish, and its Broken Link Checker reports the damage afterwards from the $250 plan up.
Glossary, readability metrics, page tagging, code steps, conditional content, Jupyter notebook integration, LaTeX support, graphs and charts, Markdoc format, subdirectory hosting, built-in internationalisation, and more, all available on DeveloperHub.
DeveloperHub offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, removing friction and letting your team evaluate the platform risk-free.
To help you understand the difference in total monthly cost of ownership between DeveloperHub and ReadMe, we provide the following comparison.
| Plan | DeveloperHub | ReadMe |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | $0 (Free) 1 editor, 1 documentation | $0 (Starter) 1 admin, 1 project |
| Basic plan | $99 (Plus) 5 editors, not whitelabelled | None The next step up is $250 |
| Full plan | $199 (Pro) 20 editors included | $250 (Pro) 5 admins, then $20 each |
| Enterprise plan | Starting from $499 | Contact us Price not published |
| Feature | DeveloperHub | ReadMe | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Editors on the full plan | 20, at $199/mo (Pro) | 5, at $250/mo (Pro) then $20 each | 4× the team |
| More than one docs site | Uncapped on every paid plan | Enterprise, price on request | $99 vs a sales call |
| Role-based access control | Every plan, Free included | Enterprise, price on request | Free vs a sales call |
| Removing their branding | $199/mo (Pro) | $250/mo (Pro) | 20% cheaper |
| Custom CSS and JavaScript | $199/mo (Pro) | $250/mo (Pro) | 20% cheaper |
| AI authoring tools (included) | $99/mo (Plus) | $250/mo (Pro) | Included vs $250 |
| AI Assistant for readers | $199/mo (Pro) | $400/mo $250 plan plus the $150 Ask AI add-on | 2× cheaper |
| Activity and audit log | $199/mo (Pro) | Enterprise, price on request Extended history $100/mo on top | $199 vs a sales call |
| Migration assistance | $199/mo (Pro) | Enterprise, price on request | $199 vs a sales call |
| SAML SSO | $499+/mo (Enterprise) | Enterprise, price on request | Published vs not |
| Content reuse (synced blocks) | Free (all plans) | $250/mo (Pro) | Free vs $250 |
Scroll the table sideways for the full comparison →
DeveloperHub delivers more features at every price point. The capabilities ReadMe keeps on an Enterprise tier it will not price in public (role-based access control, audit logs, more than one docs site, migration assistance) are on DeveloperHub's Pro plan at $199/month, and role-based access is on the free plan. DeveloperHub also offers features ReadMe does not provide at any price: glossary, readability metrics, page tagging, code steps, conditional content, Jupyter notebook integration, LaTeX support, graphs and charts, subdirectory hosting, dark theme on all plans, built-in UI translation, AI writer, AI commit messages, AI SEO, spam filtering, PII redaction, and more.
Export your content from ReadMe and point our dedicated migrate tool at it. All pages and images are migrated automatically, and our team provides migration assistance as needed. All you need to do is hit the publish button.
Cybersecurity platforms, fintechs, identity providers and open-source projects: 27,000+ documentation sections written and a 4.8★ average on G2.
“Our customers can find what they are looking for, proven by the decrease in the support ticket volume. … It is no longer just about writing documentation; it is about writing, analysing, gathering feedback and iterating to provide the best experience possible.”
“We have APIs and SDKs which we monetise through and they need to be explained. … For them to easily integrate, we need to provide great documentation and this is where DeveloperHub comes in.”
“Lots of time was saved for our customers and us internally. … They can now find the answers they are looking for on their own. By doing that, we are avoiding having multiple calls to go through things. So we get a happy customer and time savings on our end.”
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