Happy Valley

Docusaurus vs Stoplight

Docusaurus and Stoplight are both API & developer docs tools. Docusaurus is aimed at developers, while Stoplight is aimed at developers and enterprise. Both have a free plan.

Docusaurus

Static docs sites built with React

Stoplight

API design, docs and governance

PricingOpen sourceFreemium · $56
Starting priceNot published$56/mo
Free planYesYes
Free trial—14 days
Built forDevelopersDevelopers, Enterprise
Platformswebweb
CountryUS · 2017US · 2015
Rating——

Choose Docusaurus if

Developer teams wanting free, customizable docs.

  • Free and open source
  • Highly customizable
  • Great for open source

Look elsewhere if: Non-technical editors (GitBook, Mintlify).

Choose Stoplight if

API-first organizations.

  • Design-first workflow
  • Spectral linting
  • Mocking

Look elsewhere if: Small projects.

Docusaurus vs Stoplight pricing

Docusaurus

  • Open source$0MIT license, self-hosted static site generator

Stoplight

  • Free$01 user, 1 project
  • Basic$56/mo$44/mo billed annually; 3 users, unlimited projects
  • Startup$147/mo$113/mo billed annually; 8 users
  • Pro Team$453/mo$362/mo billed annually; 15 users, up to 20 teams
  • EnterpriseCustom

Docusaurus · Key features

  • Markdown and MDX docs
  • Versioning and i18n
  • Blog and custom pages
  • Algolia DocSearch integration
  • React theming and plugins
  • Deploy anywhere

Cons

  • Developer setup and maintenance
  • No hosted analytics or AI
  • Design needs work to stand out

Stoplight · Key features

  • Visual API design
  • Mock servers
  • Style guides (Spectral)
  • Hosted docs
  • Git sync
  • Governance

Cons

  • Pricey tiers
  • SmartBear integration changes
  • UI heavier

Docusaurus vs Stoplight: FAQ

Do Docusaurus and Stoplight have a free plan?

Yes, both Docusaurus and Stoplight have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Not sure yet?