# GitBook vs Read the Docs

| Attribute | GitBook | Read the Docs |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 64.7 (72% (medium)) | 62.2 (43% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 66 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 8,392 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A cloud-hosted documentation platform for technical teams that combines collaborative editing, Git workflow synchronization, and AI-powered content assistance. Supports API documentation from OpenAPI specifications and includes built-in analytics, customer support features, and authentication controls. It is indexed under Documentation Tools.","source":"https://www.gitbook.com/blog/pricing-update-september-2022","question":"What is GitBook?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"GitBook offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $12 per user per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.gitbook.com/blog/pricing-update-september-2022","question":"Is GitBook free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to GitBook. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.gitbook.com/blog/pricing-update-september-2022","question":"What platforms does GitBook support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for GitBook, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.gitbook.com/blog/pricing-update-september-2022","question":"Can GitBook be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 13 integrations for GitBook, including GitHub, GitLab, Ahrefs, Okta, SAML, Intercom, kapa.ai and Slack, plus 5 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.gitbook.com/blog/pricing-update-september-2022","question":"What does GitBook integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR for GitBook. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as GitBook not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.gitbook.com/industries/security","question":"What security certifications does GitBook have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"GitBook is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://www.gitbook.com/blog/pricing-update-september-2022","question":"Where is GitBook available?","confidence":0.5}]` | `[{"answer":"A managed documentation platform that connects to Git repositories to automatically build, preview, and host documentation. Handles infrastructure for builds, search, versioning, and authentication so teams can focus on writing documentation. It is indexed under Documentation Tools.","source":"https://readthedocs.org/pricing/","question":"What is Read the Docs?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Read the Docs is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. A commercial or hosted edition starts at $50 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://readthedocs.org/pricing/","question":"Is Read the Docs free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Read the Docs. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://readthedocs.org/pricing/","question":"What platforms does Read the Docs support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Read the Docs, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://readthedocs.org/pricing/","question":"Can Read the Docs be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 7 integrations for Read the Docs, including GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Google, Sphinx, MkDocs and Docusaurus. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://readthedocs.org/pricing/","question":"What does Read the Docs integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Read the Docs is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org","question":"Is Read the Docs open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A documentation hosting and management tool that incorporates AI assistance for user support and includes automated checks to identify when content becomes outdated. | A hosting service for software documentation that allows projects to build, version, and publish their documentation automatically |
| features.capabilities | `{"i18n":true,"kind":"hosted_platform","engine":"TypeScript/Node.js","search":"built_in","git_sync":true,"analytics":true,"authoring":"markdown","themeable":true,"versioning":true,"api_reference":true,"self_hostable":true,"hosted_offering":true}` | `{"kind":"hosted_build","engine":"Sphinx, MkDocs, Docusaurus, and others","search":"built_in","git_sync":true,"analytics":true,"authoring":"markdown","versioning":true,"api_reference":true,"hosted_offering":true}` |
| integrations.count | 30 | 7 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"GitLab"},{"name":"Ahrefs"},{"name":"Okta"},{"name":"SAML"},{"name":"Intercom"},{"name":"kapa.ai"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"OpenAPI","native":true,"category":"api","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Swagger","native":true,"category":"api","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Discord","native":true,"category":"chat","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Confluence","native":true,"category":"documentation"},{"name":"Linear","native":true,"category":"project management","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"YouTube","native":true,"category":"media","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"PDF","native":true,"direction":"inbound"}]` | `[{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"GitLab"},{"name":"Bitbucket"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"Sphinx"},{"name":"MkDocs"},{"name":"Docusaurus"}]` |
| language.primary | - | Python |
| license.spdx | - | MIT |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free","features":["Git Sync","Basic customization","Built-in SEO","Page view analytics","Full text search","API playground","Integrations","Preview deployments","Vulnerability management","ISO 27001 & SOC 2 certified","GitBook Agent (10 messages/week)"],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Premium","summary":"$65/site/mo + $12/additional user/mo (annual billing)","features":["All Free features","Advanced customization","Custom domain","AI writing and editing","AI search","Real-time collaboration","Redirect management","Search analytics","Opt out of search indexing","GitBook Agent (unlimited)"],"minSeats":1,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":65,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":12,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Ultimate","summary":"$249/site/mo + $12/additional user/mo (annual billing)","features":["All Premium features","Custom subdirectory","Custom fonts","Adaptive content","Embed Assistant anywhere","Customize the Assistant","Connect external sources","AI Insights","Auto-updating translations","GitBook MCP Server"],"minSeats":1,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":249,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":12,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["All Ultimate features","SAML SSO","Git Sync IP allowlisting","Unlimited adaptive content","Custom integrations","White-glove migration and support"],"contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Auto-updating translations (Premium add-on)","components":[{"per":{"qty":50000,"unit":"words"},"kind":"metered","amount":25,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1000,"unit":"words"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.2,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $65/site/month. Free tier available. Enterprise custom.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.gitbook.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-09-23T13:30:38.298Z","startingPrice":{"amount":65,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Read the Docs Community","summary":"Free forever for open source","features":["Clone public repositories","Public documentation","Ads-supported hosting"],"description":"For free and open-source projects","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"features":"ads-supported hosting","repositories":"public only","documentation":"public only"}},{"free":false,"name":"Basic","summary":"$50/month, billed monthly or annually","features":["2 concurrent builds","Shared domain","SSO with GitHub and GitLab","50 redirects","3 business day support","Automatic builds","Versioning","Search","Pull request previews","CDN hosting"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For small teams getting started with private docs","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"redirects":"50","custom_domains":"1 (shared domain)","concurrent_builds":"2"}},{"free":false,"name":"Advanced","summary":"$150/month, billed monthly or annually","features":["4 concurrent builds","5 custom domains","250 redirects","2 business day support","Automatic builds","Versioning","Search","Pull request previews","CDN hosting"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":150,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For hosting public docs at your own domain","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"redirects":"250","custom_domains":"5","concurrent_builds":"4"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$250/month, billed monthly or annually","features":["6 concurrent builds","15 custom domains","SSO with Google","500 redirects","1 business day support","Automatic builds","Versioning","Search","Pull request previews","CDN hosting"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":250,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For organizations with scale and security needs","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"redirects":"500","custom_domains":"15","concurrent_builds":"6"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Starting at $10,000/year","features":["SAML SSO","Dedicated builders","Advanced audit tracking","Support SLA"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":10000,"period":"year","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Custom plans for large-scale deployments","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free for open source. Paid plans from $50/month for commercial projects. 30-day free trial available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://readthedocs.org/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-14T15:30:38.558Z","freeTrialDays":30,"startingPrice":{"amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | high | mid |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":65,"currency":"USD"}` | `{"amount":50,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 6 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.10.13post2","date":"2026-10-13T13:07:14Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.10.13post2"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.10.06","date":"2026-10-06T15:53:26Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.10.06"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.09.22","date":"2026-09-22T15:19:48Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.09.22"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.09.15","date":"2026-09-15T12:40:30Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.09.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.09.01","date":"2026-09-01T15:00:05Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.09.01"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.08.26","date":"2026-08-26T14:54:05Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.08.26"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.08.18","date":"2026-08-18T15:07:27Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.08.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.08.11","date":"2026-08-11T16:05:45Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.08.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.08.04","date":"2026-08-04T16:49:45Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.08.04"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.07.28","date":"2026-07-28T14:55:41Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.07.28"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.07.21","date":"2026-07-21T16:14:39Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.07.21"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.07.07","date":"2026-07-07T16:14:18Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.07.07"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.07.01","date":"2026-07-01T19:16:11Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.07.01"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.06.30","date":"2026-06-30T12:19:59Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.06.30"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.06.23","date":"2026-06-23T15:59:57Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.06.23"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.06.16","date":"2026-06-16T14:56:53Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.06.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.06.09","date":"2026-06-09T13:12:30Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.06.09"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.06.02post1","date":"2026-06-02T17:19:50Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.06.02post1"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.06.02","date":"2026-06-02T15:45:02Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.06.02"},{"url":"https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/releases/tag/2026.05.26","date":"2026-05-26T16:05:37Z","type":"stable","version":"2026.05.26"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"SOC 2"},{"name":"ISO 27001"}]` | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 7.7 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://www.gitbook.com/industries/security | - |

## Capabilities (Documentation Tools)

| Capability | GitBook | Read the Docs |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Tool kind | Hosted platform | Hosted build service |
| Engine / language | TypeScript/Node.js | Sphinx, MkDocs, Docusaurus, and others |
| **Authoring** |  |  |
| Authoring format | Markdown | Markdown |
| **API docs** |  |  |
| API reference from OpenAPI / code | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Content** |  |  |
| Multi-version docs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Internationalisation | ✓ | - |
| **Discovery** |  |  |
| Search | Built-in | Built-in |
| **Design** |  |  |
| Theming / custom design | ✓ | - |
| **Workflow** |  |  |
| Edit-in-Git / WYSIWYG round-trip | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Self-hostable | ✓ | - |
| Official managed host | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Insight** |  |  |
| Built-in usage analytics | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:14:52.651Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*