GitBook vs Outline

GitBook

• Public product and API documentation for software companies
• Teams that want docs reviewed and merged in a Git workflow
• Open source projects, which can apply for the free Community plan

Outline

• Teams that want a fast, Markdown-friendly internal wiki
• Organizations that need to host their knowledge base themselves
• Small teams: cloud hosting is a flat $10 a month for up to 10 members

GitBook

• Paid plans combine a per-site fee with $12 per user / month, and guests and read-only members cost the same as other members.
• The pricing page shows annual-billing prices and advertises 2 months free; month-to-month rates are not shown in its default view.
• The Free plan covers a single user and leaves out custom domains, AI search and AI writing.
• SAML SSO is limited to Enterprise; the AI Assistant, adaptive content and authenticated access need Ultimate at $249 per site / month.

Outline

• The cloud version has no free plan: after the 30-day trial the workspace is read-only until a payment method is added.
• Cloud pricing goes by team-size tier, so an 11th member moves a team from $10 to $79 a month, and teams over 200 need a quote.
• The free Community Edition lacks AI answers, guest users, SAML 2.0 and the audit log; paid self-hosted licenses need at least 10 users.
• The download page offers desktop apps for macOS and Windows only; no mobile apps are listed.

GitBook

Block-based editor

A visual editor built from blocks, including custom ones. Added users collaborate through change requests and content reviews before edits are published.

Git Sync

Two-way sync with GitHub or GitLab lets a team branch, review and merge documentation like a pull request. It is included on every plan, the Free one too.

Published docs sites

Sites get unlimited traffic and preview deployments on every plan. Custom domains, branding and redirects start on Premium; sections and site groups need Ultimate.

AI search and Assistant

On Premium, readers get short answers straight from the search box. Ultimate adds the Assistant, a chat sidebar that can also draw on connected sources such as GitHub and Slack.

GitBook Agent

Writes, edits and updates documentation and flags content that no longer matches the product. Free accounts are limited to 10 messages a week.

API docs and LLM-ready output

OpenAPI specifications become interactive API playgrounds. Every site also gets llms.txt files, Markdown versions of pages and its own MCP server.

Outline

Markdown-friendly editor

The editor supports Markdown, slash commands and interactive embeds. Documents and their version history are unlimited on every tier, including the free Community Edition.

Real-time collaboration

Several people can edit a document at the same time, and comments, threads and @mentions keep the discussion attached to the text.

Search and AI answers

Search covers the whole workspace, and questions about your documents get direct AI answers. AI answers are in every cloud tier but need a paid license when self-hosting.

Permissions and public sharing

Read and write permissions, user groups and guest users control access. Documents can be shared publicly by link, with your own brand colors, logo and domain.

Self-hosting

Outline can run on your own infrastructure, either as the free Community Edition or with a paid Business or Enterprise license that adds features such as SAML 2.0.

Integrations and API

More than 20 integrations cover tools such as Slack, Figma, GitHub, GitLab and Zapier, and an API with webhooks is included on every tier.

GitBook

• Free$0

  For individuals: 1 user, block-based editor, GitHub or GitLab sync, interactive API playgrounds, preview deployments and LLM optimizations.

• Premium$65

  per site / month, billed annually, plus $12 per user / month

  Team collaboration, AI search, AI writing, a custom domain, advanced branding, analytics and user feedback, and site redirects.

• Ultimate$249

  per site / month, billed annually, plus $12 per user / month

  AI Assistant with 500 successful answers included, AI insights, adaptive content, authenticated access, site sections and channels for Slack, Linear and GitHub.

• EnterpriseCustom

  SAML SSO, migration service, custom integrations, dedicated support, custom contracts and invoicing, and Git Sync IP allowlisting.

Outline

• Community Edition$0

  Self-hosted on your own server: unlimited docs, real-time editing, SSO, integrations and the API, with no AI answers, guest users or support.

• Cloud, 1–10 members$10

  per month for the whole team; annual pricing available

  Hosted by Outline with every cloud feature: AI question answering, SSO, templates, groups and permissions, API and webhooks, and a security audit log.

• Cloud, 11–100 members$79

  per month for the whole team; annual pricing available

  The same features as the smaller tier. A team moves to this tier automatically once it has more than 10 members.

• Cloud, 101–200 members$249

  per month for the whole team; annual pricing available

  The same features for 101 to 200 members. Larger cloud teams are asked to contact Outline for pricing.

• On-Premises Business$4

  per user / month, billed annually, 10-user minimum

  Self-hosted license that adds AI question answering, guest users, SAML 2.0, extra security controls, a Confluence importer and the audit log.

• On-Premises Enterprise$5

  per user / month, billed annually, 100-user minimum

  Everything in On-Premises Business, plus removal of Outline branding and a support contract.

GitBook

• Annual discount

  2 months free with annual billing

  GitBook's pricing page advertises 2 months free on annual plans, which are paid for 12 months up front and are not refunded if canceled mid-term.

• Nonprofit

  Free Community plan for non-profits

  Eligible non-profit organizations can apply for the free Community plan, which includes all Ultimate plan features except SAML SSO.

• Education

  Free Community plan for education groups

  Education-related groups such as student, lab or course groups can apply for the Community plan. Schools, colleges and universities themselves are excluded.

• Other savings

  Free Community plan for open source

  Open source organizations that need to collaborate beyond the Free plan can apply for the Community plan at no cost, with all Ultimate features except SAML SSO.

Outline

• Nonprofit

  30% off for non-profits

  Outline's pricing FAQ offers non-profits a 30% discount on request, and says it will sponsor accounts for non-profits working directly on climate change.

• Education

  30% off for educational institutions

  The same pricing FAQ extends the 30% discount to educational institutions that contact Outline.