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Documentation · head to head

BookStack vs ReadMe

BookStack logo

BookStack

Documentation

Self-hosted documentation wiki with a fixed shelf, book, chapter and page structure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ReadMe logo

ReadMe

Documentation

Hosted developer hub priced per API project, with docs personalised from live request logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: BookStack there is no vendor-hosted option at all, so you own the server, TLS certificates, database backups and upgrades, or you pay a third-party host that has no support relationship with the project and no ability to fix a bug.; ReadMe pricing is per project, so an organisation with several distinct APIs multiplies the monthly bill rather than adding seats, and the sensible workaround, merging unrelated APIs into one documentation project, distorts the information architecture to fit the invoice.
  • They diverge on capability: BookStack covers Shelves, books, chapters, pages, ReadMe covers OpenAPI reference.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BookStack and ReadMe actually diverge.

Attributes where BookStack and ReadMe differ
AttributeBookStackReadMe
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer project per month
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, DockerWeb

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Documentation).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in BookStack

  • Shelves, books, chapters, pages
  • Dual editors
  • Granular permissions
  • Full text search
  • Page revisions
  • REST API
  • External authentication
  • Export

Only in ReadMe

  • OpenAPI reference
  • Try It playground
  • API metrics
  • Personalised docs
  • Versioning
  • Guides and recipes
  • Git sync via rdme
  • Changelog and support widget

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BookStack

  • Running an internal knowledge base on infrastructure inside a network that cannot reach external SaaSnot ReadMe
  • Documenting procedures and runbooks where a fixed structure prevents the tree sprawl a free-form wiki producesnot ReadMe
  • Replacing a Confluence licence for a team that needs pages, permissions and search but none of the surrounding suitenot ReadMe
  • Publishing customer-facing manuals from the same instance as internal documentation using per-book permissionsnot ReadMe

ReadMe

  • Publishing a public API reference where a developer can send a live request with their own key from the documentation pagenot BookStack
  • Cutting support load by showing an integrating developer their own recent failing requests next to the endpoint descriptionnot BookStack
  • Keeping documentation versions aligned with API versions so customers on an older release read the matching referencenot BookStack
  • Shipping documentation from the same pull request as the code change using the rdme command line tool in CInot BookStack

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

BookStack

  • There is no vendor-hosted option at all, so you own the server, TLS certificates, database backups and upgrades, or you pay a third-party host that has no support relationship with the project and no ability to fix a bug.
  • The shelf, book, chapter, page hierarchy is fixed at four levels and cannot be reshaped, so migrating a deeply nested Confluence or MediaWiki space means flattening content by hand and losing the original structure.
  • It requires PHP and MySQL or MariaDB, which is a stack many engineering teams no longer run, so adopting it usually means introducing a database and runtime nobody else in the organisation maintains.
  • Development is concentrated on a single maintainer, which makes the bus factor a legitimate procurement question for anything the organisation intends to depend on for a decade.
  • Content lives in the database rather than in files under version control, so there is no docs-as-code workflow, no review by pull request and no branch per release.
  • Export is per page, chapter or book, so moving a large instance to another platform means writing a script against the REST API rather than copying a directory of Markdown.

ReadMe

  • Pricing is per project, so an organisation with several distinct APIs multiplies the monthly bill rather than adding seats, and the sensible workaround, merging unrelated APIs into one documentation project, distorts the information architecture to fit the invoice.
  • The metrics and personalisation features require your API to stream request logs to ReadMe, which means production request metadata leaves your infrastructure and needs a scrubbing layer plus a security review before anything is switched on.
  • Single sign-on and private documentation sit on the higher tier, so a company that only needs to gate partner documentation behind SAML pays a large step up for one control.
  • The platform is built for describing REST APIs, and long-form product manuals, internal knowledge bases or non-OpenAPI protocols fit it badly, so most customers end up running a second documentation tool alongside it.
  • Theming is bounded by ReadMe templates and limited custom CSS, so a documentation site that must match a strongly designed marketing site will not get there without compromise.
  • Content uses ReadMe-specific Markdown extensions and platform features, so migrating away is an export plus a rewrite rather than moving a folder of Markdown files.

Pricing, plan by plan

BookStack

Free
  • BookStackFree
    • MIT licence with no paid edition
    • All features included, no seat limits
    • Self-hosted on your own infrastructure

ReadMe

Free
  • FreeFree
    • One project on a ReadMe subdomain
    • OpenAPI reference and guides
    • Basic editing and publishing
  • Startup$99/month
    • One project
    • Custom domain
    • API metrics from request logs
  • Business$399/month
    • One project
    • SAML single sign-on
    • Private and partner-only documentation
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Multiple projects under one contract
    • Negotiated support and uptime terms
    • Security review and custom deployment questions

Which should you pick?

Choose BookStack if

  • You need shelves, books, chapters, pages.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want dual editors.
BookStack review

Choose ReadMe if

  • You need openapi reference.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want try it playground.
ReadMe review

Questions people ask

Is BookStack or ReadMe better?
Neither clearly leads. BookStack starts at Free and ReadMe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BookStack or ReadMe?
BookStack starts at Free and ReadMe at Free.
Does BookStack or ReadMe run on more platforms?
BookStack runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker. ReadMe runs on Web.
Can I use BookStack for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is BookStack best used for?
BookStack is most often used for running an internal knowledge base on infrastructure inside a network that cannot reach external saas, documenting procedures and runbooks where a fixed structure prevents the tree sprawl a free-form wiki produces, replacing a confluence licence for a team that needs pages, permissions and search but none of the surrounding suite, publishing customer-facing manuals from the same instance as internal documentation using per-book permissions. Of those, running an internal knowledge base on infrastructure inside a network that cannot reach external saas and documenting procedures and runbooks where a fixed structure prevents the tree sprawl a free-form wiki produces are not what ReadMe is typically brought in for.
What can BookStack do that ReadMe cannot?
BookStack covers Shelves, books, chapters, pages, Dual editors, Granular permissions, Full text search. ReadMe covers OpenAPI reference, Try It playground, API metrics, Personalised docs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BookStack: Is there a paid or hosted version?

No. BookStack is MIT-licensed with no commercial edition and no official hosted service. Third-party hosts exist but are unaffiliated with the project.

ReadMe: Is ReadMe priced per user?

No. It is priced per project, meaning per documented API. Team size does not change the bill, and a second API generally does.

BookStack: Can I nest pages more deeply?

No. Four levels is the design, not a limitation waiting to be fixed, and content that needs deeper nesting has to be restructured.

ReadMe: Do I have to send my API logs to ReadMe?

Only for metrics and personalised documentation. The reference, guides and playground work without it, but the features that most distinguish the product are the ones that need the log stream.

BookStack: Does it support single sign-on?

Yes, through LDAP, SAML2 or OpenID Connect, with group to role mapping, and none of it is gated behind a paid tier because there is no paid tier.

ReadMe: Can I keep documentation in Git?

Yes. The rdme command line tool synchronises Markdown and OpenAPI files from a repository, so documentation can ship in the same pull request as the code.

BookStack: How hard is it to migrate content in?

Straightforward for flat content through the REST API, awkward for deeply nested wikis, because the structure has to be collapsed to fit.

ReadMe: Can I self-host it?

No. ReadMe is a hosted product only, so buyers with a hard on-premises requirement need a different platform.

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