Read the Docs review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Hosts documentation built from a Git repository
Black Friday: is there a Read the Docs sale?
Read the Docs report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for hosting docs built from a Git repository
Read the Docs builds and hosts documentation from a Git repository, free for open-source projects and from $50 a month for private ones. It hosts docs written in another tool rather than being an editor, and its free site is for open source only and shows ads.
Who Read the Docs is for
- Fits if you maintain an open-source project and want free hosted docs
- Works for companies already building docs with Sphinx or MkDocs
Who Read the Docs is not for
- Skip it if you want an editor, as it hosts and builds docs written elsewhere
- Watch out: the free Community site is for open source only and shows ads
- Tight if you are on Basic, with 2 concurrent builds, a shared domain and 50 redirects
- Watch out: SAML SSO needs Enterprise from $10,000 a year, and annual prices are not shown
Why Read the Docs gets a 2.0
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyBasic is $50 a month, above the category's middle at $18 and below its dearer quarter at $82.50. Advanced is $150 and Pro $250, and SAML SSO needs Enterprise from $10,000 a year.
- CFree plan and trialCommunity is free for open-source projects, with public repos and docs and ads. Business plans have a 30-day trial with nothing charged automatically, but there is no free plan for private docs.
- CFeaturesBuilds from Git, works with Sphinx, MkDocs and Docusaurus, pull-request previews, private docs and access control. It is a host and not an editor or a wiki, and plans cap concurrent builds, domains and redirects.
- DEase of useYou point it at a repository and add a config file, with a docs tool such as Sphinx or MkDocs behind it. It assumes a developer.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, with GitHub and GitLab sign-in and builds, and the common docs tools. No desktop or phone apps.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Read the Docs's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/read-the-docs#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/read-the-docs.svg" alt="Read the Docs: 2.0 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Read the Docs stands among docs and wiki tools
Read the Docs's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 3 of the 69 other docs and wiki tools we grade, and level with 6.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 18 of 69) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $50 a month, against a middle price of $18.50 for the category: 34 of the 51 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 32 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 70 docs and wiki tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Read the Docs’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 15 of 69, level with 25
- CFree plan and trialAbove 7 of 69, level with 27
- CFeaturesAbove 2 of 69, level with 34
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 69, level with 14
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 18 of 69, level with 47
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 63 docs and wiki tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Read the Docs, or make your own?
Keep it
The plain part of Read the Docs you could make: documents. What surrounds it you could not. The 3 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 60 of the 69 other docs and wiki tools grade higher. It costs $600 a year.
What you could make
- Documents: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- It plugs into other products, GitHub, GitLab and Sphinx among them.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on.
What this rests on. Read the Docs’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Read the Docs?
Read the Docs builds documentation from a Git repository and hosts it with search, versioning and pull request previews. It works with Sphinx, MkDocs, Docusaurus and other tools. Open source projects use a free, ad-supported community site, and companies use a separate paid Business site.
Worth knowing
- It hosts and builds docs written with another tool; it is not an editor or a wiki.
- Community and Business are two separate sites (readthedocs.org and readthedocs.com), and the free one is for open source only and shows ads.
- Business plans are capped by concurrent builds, custom domains and redirects; SAML SSO needs Enterprise, from $10,000 per year.
- Annual plans are offered on every paid tier, invoice or purchase order included, but the page does not show their prices.
Key features
- Builds from Git
- Connect a Git repository and the service builds the docs automatically, with versioning, search and CDN hosting on every plan.
- Works with common doc tools
- The site names Sphinx, MkDocs and Docusaurus as supported documentation tools.
- Pull request previews
- Each pull request gets a live preview build with a visual diff against production.
- Private docs and access control
- Business plans clone private repositories and can restrict who views the documentation, with SSO through GitHub, GitLab and, on Pro, Google.
- AI-ready output
- The site lists support for llms.txt, Markdown content negotiation and agent skills.
Read the Docs pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, Read the Docs has a free plan, and paid plans start at $50 per month, billed monthly.
- Starts at
- $50 per month, billed monthly
- Free plan
- Read the Docs Community is free for open source projects: public repositories and public documentation, with ad-supported hosting.
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial on the Business plans; nothing is charged automatically when it ends
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Community | $0 | Free for open source projects. Clones public repositories only, publishes public documentation and shows ads. |
| Basic | $50per month, billed monthly | Private repositories, 2 concurrent builds, a shared domain, SSO with GitHub and GitLab, 50 redirects and support within 3 business days. |
| Advanced | $150per month, billed monthly | 4 concurrent builds, 5 custom domains, 250 redirects and 90 days of page and search analytics. Support within 2 business days. |
| Pro | $250per month, billed monthly | 6 concurrent builds, 15 custom domains, 500 redirects, SSO with Google as well, and 90 days of authentication auditing. Support within 1 business day. |
| Enterprise | $10,000per year and up | SAML SSO, dedicated builders, advanced audit tracking and a support SLA. |
Read from about.readthedocs.com on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Read the Docs before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Other savingsFree hosting for open source documentation
Open source documentation is always free on Read the Docs Community, supported by ads.
Stated on about.readthedocs.com
Works with
Read the Docs alternatives
- Read the Docs vs GitBook
Free plan · from $65/mo
- Read the Docs vs Mintlify
Free plan · from $450/mo
Common questions
Does Read the Docs have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Read the Docs is listed for Web.
Does Read the Docs have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Read the Docs is listed for Web.
Is Read the Docs open source?
Read the Docs is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.