# Fern review (2026): is the free plan enough? > API documentation sites and SDKs generated from an API spec Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Fern builds developer documentation sites from API definitions and Markdown guides, with an API explorer, a web editor and a changelog. It also generates SDKs, and its docs include AI search and an MCP server. The company's footer says Fern is a Postman company. - **Category:** Docs & Wikis - **Made by:** Fern - **Website:** https://buildwithfern.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you need SSO or SCIM, which are Enterprise only. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Fern has a free plan. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** 10 team members, 1 site with up to 1,000 pages, 250 AI credits and 2,000 page generations per month, custom domain, API explorer and web editor. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | 10 members, 1,000 pages, 250 AI credits and 2,000 page generations per month, custom domain and subpath, API explorer, Ask Fern and MCP server. | | Enterprise | Custom | Adds SSO, SCIM and advanced RBAC, multiple repos and docs sites, custom CSS, JavaScript and React, advanced analytics, self-hosting and an uptime SLA. Sold through sales. | Read from https://buildwithfern.com/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Fern before buying. ## Key features - **Docs from API specs:** Supports OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, gRPC, GraphQL, OpenRPC and Arazzo, plus Markdown guides and changelogs. - **API explorer:** A try-it-out explorer with an option to fill in the visitor's API key. - **Web editor and docs-as-code:** Pages can be edited in a web editor or kept as files in a repository. - **AI features:** Ask Fern search, an AI writing agent, AI translations, an llms.txt file and an MCP server are on the pricing page. - **SDK generation:** Client libraries are generated from the same API definition; the SDK pricing is a separate tab. ## Good for - API companies that want docs and SDKs from one spec - Small teams: the free plan has 10 members and a custom domain - Enterprises that need SSO, self-hosting or custom React components ## Worth knowing - Only two documentation plans are listed, Free and a sales-only Enterprise, so there is no published mid-tier price. - SSO, SCIM, custom CSS and JavaScript, removing Fern branding and self-hosting are Enterprise only. - The Free plan is limited to 1 site, 1,000 pages and 10 members. - SDK pricing was not read for this listing; the pricing page has a separate SDKs tab. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Fern builds docs sites from API definitions, with an explorer, a web editor and a free plan for 10 members and 1,000 pages. But there's no published mid-tier price, and SSO, custom CSS and JavaScript, and self-hosting all need a sales call for Enterprise. - **Value for money: B.** The Free plan costs $0 and the only other plan is a sales quote. Free is in the cheapest group, but there is no published price in between. - **Free plan and trial: B.** Free plan with 10 members, 1 site, 1,000 pages and 2,000 page generations a month, which one small team could live on. - **Features: C.** Docs from several API spec types, an explorer, a web editor and SDK generation. The listing shows gaps: SDK pricing was not read, and custom CSS, SSO and branding removal are Enterprise only. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You point it at your API definitions or a repository, which takes some setup. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web product that reads OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, GraphQL and gRPC, plus Postman. No desktop or phone app is named. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Fern's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among docs and wiki tools - Fern's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 47 of the 86 other docs and wiki tools we grade, and level with 17. - It stands best on value for money (B, above 50 of 86) and worst on features (C, above 2). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/docs-wikis ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Fern you would be making a search engine with an AI model behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. - You could make: Documents and Markdown: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: A search engine with an AI model behind it. - You could not: It plugs into other products, OpenAPI, AsyncAPI and GraphQL among them, and has an API. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, GraphQL, gRPC, Postman **Tags:** Documents, Public API, AI features, AI search, Markdown ## Alternatives - [Mintlify](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mintlify): Documentation platform with built-in AI agents. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fern-vs-mintlify) - [ReadMe](https://toolgpa.com/tools/readme): Hosted API documentation with an interactive reference. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fern-vs-readme) - [Redocly](https://toolgpa.com/tools/redocly): API reference and docs-as-code publishing platform. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fern-vs-redocly) - [GitBook](https://toolgpa.com/tools/gitbook): Documentation platform for product and API docs, synced with Git. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fern-vs-gitbook) - [Stoplight](https://toolgpa.com/tools/stoplight): OpenAPI design and documentation platform for API teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fern-vs-stoplight) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://buildwithfern.com/pricing Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/fern Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).