Fern vs ReadMe
Fern and ReadMe are both API & developer docs tools. Fern is aimed at developers, while ReadMe is aimed at developers and enterprise. Both have a free plan.
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium · $250 |
| Starting price | Not published | $250/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Developers | Developers, Enterprise |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Country | US · 2022 | US · 2014 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Fern if
API-first companies.
- Saves SDK engineering
- Idiomatic code
- Docs included
Look elsewhere if: Small internal APIs.
Choose ReadMe if
API-first companies wanting docs plus usage analytics.
- API usage metrics connected to docs
- Personalized developer experience
- Mature platform
Look elsewhere if: Small projects (Docusaurus, Scalar).
Fern vs ReadMe pricing
Fern
- Free$010 team members, 1,000 pages, custom domain
- EnterpriseCustomSSO, SCIM, RBAC, self-hosting, SLA
ReadMe
- Starter$01 project, 1 published version, 1 admin
- Pro$250/moBilled annually; 5 admins, unlimited versions
- EnterpriseCustomAnnual billing only
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
ReadMe · Key features
- Interactive API reference with try-it
- Guides, recipes and changelogs
- API metrics per developer and endpoint
- Personalized docs with user keys
- AI search (Owlbot)
- Versioning and staging
Cons
- Pro plan is expensive
- Design flexibility limited
- Docs-as-code workflow less native than Mintlify
Fern vs ReadMe: FAQ
Do Fern and ReadMe have a free plan?
Yes, both Fern and ReadMe have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.