ReadMe vs Mintlify

ReadMe and Mintlify both start with a free plan, but the free plans are fenced in different places. ReadMe Starter allows one project, one published version and one admin, while Mintlify Starter allows five editors and holds back every AI feature. On the paid side ReadMe asks $250 a month billed annually for five admins plus $20 per extra admin, and Mintlify asks $450 a month billed annually for unlimited editors and 10,000 AI credits. Country of origin stays blank for both vendors in our reading, which leaves versions, seat counts and the AI billing style to decide it.

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Both are reviewed in full in our API documentation tool ranking: ReadMe and Mintlify.

1. 01

   One version versus five editors on the free tier

   ReadMe Starter costs $0 a month but is limited to 1 project, 1 published version and 1 admin, with 7 days of documentation metrics and a 24-hour request history. Mintlify Starter is free for up to 5 editor seats and includes hosting, search, a custom domain, a web editor and an MCP server. A small team with several writers fits Mintlify's free tier better. A solo maintainer with one API version can use either.

   Edge: Mintlify

2. 02

   The first paid step: $250 against $450

   ReadMe Pro is $250 a month billed annually and covers 5 admins, unlimited published versions and 4,000 Restless credits. Mintlify Pro is $450 a month billed annually, or $540 a month if paid monthly, with unlimited editor seats and 10,000 AI credits. For a team that fits in five admins, ReadMe reaches a paid plan at a much lower fixed price, while a month-to-month rate appears only on Mintlify's page, at $540.

   Edge: ReadMe

3. 03

   What happens when the team outgrows its seats

   On ReadMe Pro every admin beyond the five included costs $20 each, so a team of fifteen adds a visible line to the bill. Mintlify Pro has no seat count to manage because editor seats are unlimited. ReadMe's pricing page shows no per-seat price on any plan, and ReadMe's Enterprise tier is the one with unlimited seats. For fast-growing teams, Mintlify's pricing model is simpler to forecast on the seat side.

   Edge: Mintlify

4. 04

   AI: a priced add-on or a monthly credit pot

   ReadMe sells Ask AI as a $150 a month add-on and its homepage also lists an AI Writer that drafts updates from pull requests and Slack threads, plus an AI Linter before merging. Mintlify keeps AI off Starter entirely, then gives Pro 10,000 credits a month and charges $0.01 for each credit above that, plus credit packs. ReadMe's AI cost is a known fixed amount, while Mintlify's can rise with heavy use.

   Edge: ReadMe

5. 05

   Git, Markdown and agent-facing output

   ReadMe's homepage names bi-directional Git sync with GitHub, GitHub Enterprise Server and GitLab, plus an MCP server for editors like Claude Code and Cursor. Mintlify stores pages as Markdown or MDX in a connected repository or a Mintlify-managed one, and serves llms.txt and Markdown for agents. Mintlify's home page never names GitHub or GitLab, so ReadMe is the clearer match for teams that need those specific hosts.

   Edge: ReadMe

6. 06

   Enterprise options, trials and the paper trail

   Mintlify offers a 14-day Pro trial with 5,000 credits and no card, and lists self-hosted Enterprise deployment on AWS, Kubernetes or on-premises. ReadMe offers a Pro trial whose length the pricing page does not state, and Enterprise with SSO, audit logs and unlimited seats. ReadMe's terms cite California law, while the Mintlify terms and privacy URLs we tried returned 404. Neither names a country.

   Depends on the buyer

Which of the two lets a free account publish more than one API version?

Neither Starter plan is built around that, but Mintlify's free tier is the roomier one for people because it has 5 editors.

ReadMe Starter is capped at a single published version, and unlimited versions begin on Pro. Mintlify's pricing page gives no figure for published versions.

Can a non-commercial open source project avoid paying either vendor?

Mintlify says non-commercial open source projects can receive Pro free through its OSS Program. ReadMe's pricing page mentions no such program, only the free Starter plan. ReadMe Starter still gives a custom domain, an interactive API reference and an MCP server at $0 a month.

What would a team of ten pay for the paid plan, ignoring add-ons?

On ReadMe Pro, ten admins would be the 5 included plus 5 extra at $20 each, so $350 a month at the annual rate.

Mintlify Pro is $450 a month billed annually for unlimited editors, before any credit overage. Both figures exclude taxes and ReadMe's Ask AI add-on, which the pricing page lists at $150 a month.

• ReadMe pricing: Starter limits, Pro annual fee, the $20 extra admin charge, Ask AI add-on and Restless credits.
• ReadMe homepage: Git sync hosts, MCP server, AI Writer and AI Linter listed on the page.
• ReadMe terms of service: California governing law, with no entity address or country named.
• Mintlify pricing: Free editor seats, annual and monthly Pro fees, credit overage, trial terms, OSS Program and self-hosted Enterprise.
• Mintlify homepage: Markdown or MDX storage, llms.txt output and the missing legal entity or country.