Fern vs Mintlify
Fern and Mintlify are both API & developer docs tools aimed at developers. Both have a free plan.
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium · $540 |
| Starting price | Not published | $540/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | 14 days |
| Built for | Developers | Developers |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Country | US · 2022 | US · 2021 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Fern if
API-first companies.
- Saves SDK engineering
- Idiomatic code
- Docs included
Look elsewhere if: Small internal APIs.
Choose Mintlify if
Developer-tool and API companies who want polished docs quickly.
- Best-looking docs out of the box
- Fast setup from repo
- AI assistant improves self-service
Look elsewhere if: Teams wanting full control and zero cost (Docusaurus) or heavy API analytics (ReadMe).
Fern vs Mintlify pricing
Fern
- Free$010 team members, 1,000 pages, custom domain
- EnterpriseCustomSSO, SCIM, RBAC, self-hosting, SLA
Mintlify
- Starter$05 editor seats, custom domain, web editor, MCP server
- Pro$540/mo$450 billed annually; unlimited editors, 10,000 credits/mo
- EnterpriseCustomSSO, SCIM, RBAC, performance SLA
Fern · Key features
- SDK generation (TS, Python, Java, Go)
- Docs generation
- API definition
- CI publishing
- Versioning
- Examples
Cons
- Enterprise pricing is custom
- Spec quality required
- Vendor dependence
Mintlify · Key features
- MDX-based docs with components and theming
- OpenAPI references with interactive playground
- Git sync with automatic deploys
- AI assistant for readers and AI-written docs
- Analytics, feedback and search
- Web editor for non-technical contributors
Cons
- Pro price is steep for small teams
- Hosted only
- Customization limits versus self-built sites
Fern vs Mintlify: FAQ
Do Fern and Mintlify have a free plan?
Yes, both Fern and Mintlify have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.