# Stoplight review (2026): is the free plan enough? > OpenAPI design and documentation platform for API teams Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Stoplight is a hosted platform for designing APIs in the OpenAPI format, generating interactive documentation and mock servers from the same definition. Plans are priced per workspace with a set number of included users. The company is part of SmartBear, and also maintains the open-source tools Spectral, Prism and Elements. - **Category:** Docs & Wikis - **Made by:** SmartBear Software - **Website:** https://stoplight.io - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you want a company wiki, because it handles API docs only. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Stoplight has a free plan, and paid plans start at $44 per month for 3 users, billed annually ($56 billed monthly). - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** 1 user and 1 project; paid plans are priced per workspace. - **Free trial:** 14-day free trial on Basic, Startup and Pro Team. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | 1 user and 1 project. | | Basic | $44 per month for 3 users, billed annually ($56 billed monthly) | Visual OpenAPI designer, interactive docs and mock servers; extra users $11 a month billed annually ($14 monthly). | | Startup | $113 per month for 8 users, billed annually ($147 billed monthly) | Adds private projects, multi-branch support, custom domains and theming; extra users $11 a month annually ($14 monthly). | | Pro Team | $362 per month for 15 users, billed annually ($453 billed monthly) | Up to 20 teams, shared style guides, SSO, activity logs, self-hosted Git; extra users $22 annually ($27 monthly). | | Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited projects and teams, custom payment terms, invoicing and priority support. Sold through sales. | Read from https://stoplight.io/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Stoplight before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Lower prices with annual billing** (Annual discount): Basic is $44 a month billed annually against $56 billed monthly; Startup $113 against $147; Pro Team $362 against $453. Source: https://stoplight.io/pricing ## Key features - **Visual OpenAPI designer:** A form-based editor for OpenAPI and JSON Schema, alongside code-based editing, with schema reuse and design validation. - **Interactive documentation:** Docs are generated from the API definition, with a documentation editor and, from the Startup plan, custom domains and theming. - **Mock servers:** Instant mock servers are listed from the Basic plan, so front-end work can start before an API is built. - **Git sync and branches:** Projects sync with Git, and Startup adds multi-branch support. Pro Team lists self-hosted Git providers. - **Shared style guides:** Pro Team adds shared style guides, component libraries and workspace groups for governing APIs across teams. ## Good for - Teams that design APIs OpenAPI-first and publish docs from the same file - API programs that want shared style guides across teams - Developers who already use the open-source Spectral and Prism tools ## Worth knowing - The Free plan is limited to 1 user and 1 project. - Prices are per workspace with a fixed number of included users, then per extra user. - Private projects need Startup; SSO, style guides and removing Stoplight branding need Pro Team at $362 a month billed annually. - Stoplight is an API documentation tool, not a general company wiki. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Stoplight designs and documents APIs from OpenAPI, with mock servers and Git sync. The free plan is 1 user and 1 project, private projects need Startup at $113 a month, and it isn't a company wiki. - **Value for money: C.** Basic is $44 a month for 3 users billed annually, so about $66 for five people with extra users at $11. That's under the dearer quarter of $82.50 for docs tools. - **Free plan and trial: C.** A free plan for 1 user and 1 project, and a 14-day trial of paid plans. Private projects aren't on it. - **Features: C.** Visual OpenAPI design, interactive docs, mock servers, Git sync and style guides. It's for API docs only, not a general wiki. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You write or import OpenAPI files and connect Git. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web app with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps links, plus Spectral and Prism. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Stoplight'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 - Stoplight's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 17 of the 86 other docs and wiki tools we grade, and level with 16. - It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 28 of 86) and worst on features (C, above 2). - Its paid plans start at $44 a month, against a middle price of $18.50 for the category: 36 of the 57 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 24 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/docs-wikis ## Keep it, or make your own? **Your call.** A wiki at its plainest is pages that link to each other. You could make the core of Stoplight for yourself: documents and templates. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. It costs $528 a year. - You could make: Documents and templates: an app builder makes these well. - You could make: It runs in a browser, which is where something home-made would run too. - You could not: It plugs into other products, GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket 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 GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, Google Analytics, Spectral, Prism **Tags:** Documents, Public API, Templates ## Alternatives - [Redocly](https://toolgpa.com/tools/redocly): API reference and docs-as-code publishing platform. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/redocly-vs-stoplight) - [Bump.sh](https://toolgpa.com/tools/bump-sh): API documentation portals built from OpenAPI and AsyncAPI files. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bump-sh-vs-stoplight) - [Fern](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fern): API documentation sites and SDKs generated from an API spec. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fern-vs-stoplight) - [ReadMe](https://toolgpa.com/tools/readme): Hosted API documentation with an interactive reference. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/readme-vs-stoplight) - [GitBook](https://toolgpa.com/tools/gitbook): Documentation platform for product and API docs, synced with Git. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gitbook-vs-stoplight) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://stoplight.io/pricing - https://stoplight.io - https://stoplight.io/about - https://stoplight.io/open-source Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/stoplight Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).