Read the Docs
Read the Docs: A docs-as-code host with strong versioning, previews, integrations, and paid private-documentation plans. Ranked #3 of 27 in Developer Documentation Software by our editors (9.0/10); pricing: Free plan · 30-day trial; best for open-source teams using docs-as-code.
At a glance
- Editor score9.0 / 10
- PricingFree plan · 30-day trial
- Best forOpen-source teams using docs-as-code
- Free planYes
- Paid from$50/mo
- Founded2010
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Automatic builds, previews, and visual diffs from repository changes
- Versions documentation from branches, tags, or commits
- Supports Git providers, major doc tools, exports, search, and analytics
Where it doesn't
- Community is limited to public documentation and public repositories
- Advanced analytics windows are limited to 30 or 90 days
- Enterprise controls require a $10,000-per-year plan
Our verdict on Read the Docs
Read the Docs is a documentation hosting and deployment platform for open-source projects, engineering teams, and documentation teams. It connects with Git repositories, builds documentation automatically, hosts multiple versions, and provides search, previews, custom domains, analytics, authentication, and downloadable formats. Its model suits teams that manage documentation as code rather than teams seeking a conventional article-authoring knowledge base.
The plan structure separates free open-source hosting from private and commercial documentation. Community is free for open-source projects and includes public documentation with public repositories. Basic costs $50 per month and adds two concurrent builds, a shared domain, GitHub and GitLab SSO, and 50 redirects. Advanced costs $150 per month with four concurrent builds, five custom domains, 250 redirects, and 30 days of pageview and search analytics. Pro costs $250 per month, raising capacity to six concurrent builds, 15 custom domains, 500 redirects, Google SSO, and 90-day analytics. Enterprise costs $10,000 per year and adds SAML SSO, dedicated builders, advanced audit tracking, and a support SLA.
Its ecosystem is a major reason to consider it. GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket integration connects documentation builds to repository workflows, while Sphinx, MkDocs, Docusaurus, VitePress, Markdoc, OpenAPI tools, and Jupyter Notebook support broaden the fit across documentation stacks. Features such as pull request previews, rendered visual diffs, integrated search, automatically configured SSL, private documentation, and PDF, EPUB, and zipped HTML output cover the publishing lifecycle. Choose Read the Docs for repository-driven documentation with version history and multiple publishing formats; choose an alternative if your priority is a conventional knowledge base centered on article authoring and editorial workflows.
Your product? Our editors can test Read the Docs in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →
Read the Docs pricing
All 5 Read the Docs plans and prices →
Read the Docs fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $50/mo |
| Publishing model | Not verified |
| Custom domain | Yes |
| Documentation versioning | Not verified |
| Single sign-on | Yes |
| Documentation analytics | Not verified |
| Included team seats | Not verified |
| Free trial | 30 days |
| Deployment | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web |
| Support | Email, Tickets, Docs |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 10 integrations: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Sphinx, MkDocs, Docusaurus … |
| Pricing | Free plan · 30-day trial (source) |
| Website | about.readthedocs.com |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
Read the Docs integrations
Read the Docs lists 10 integrations on its own site.
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Bitbucket
- Sphinx
- MkDocs
- Docusaurus
- VitePress
- Markdoc
- OpenAPI tools
- Jupyter Notebook
Alternatives to Read the Docs
- DocPlatformBroad documentation coverage with a permanent free plan and a $29 monthly cloud tier.9.4
- GitBookA polished documentation platform with strong collaboration, publishing, and integration depth.9.2
- Documentation.AIA strong fit for AI-first API teams that need publishing, automation, and access control.8.9
See all Read the Docs alternatives →
Read the Docs vs the competition
- Read the Docs vs DocPlatform
- Read the Docs vs GitBook
- Read the Docs vs Documentation.AI
- Read the Docs vs Fern
- Read the Docs vs Redocly
- Read the Docs vs 0docs
Compare Read the Docs with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
Read the Docs is ranked in 5 of our directories.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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