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Documentation · head to head

HelpDocs vs Starlight

HelpDocs logo

HelpDocs

Documentation

Self-service help centre software priced by number of editors, not by readers

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Starlight logo

Starlight

Documentation

Documentation site framework built on Astro that ships no JavaScript to the reader by default

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Starlight has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: HelpDocs it is a knowledge base only, so a company still needs a separate ticketing or chat tool for any support that is not fully self-service; Starlight there is no editing interface, so every correction requires a git client, a Node install and a CI run, which puts documentation changes out of reach for anyone who does not already work in a repository.
  • They diverge on capability: HelpDocs covers Editor-only seat pricing, Starlight covers File based routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HelpDocs and Starlight actually diverge.

Attributes where HelpDocs and Starlight differ
AttributeHelpDocsStarlight
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer editor seat per monthOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, macOS, Windows, Linux

Identical on both: 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 HelpDocs

  • Editor-only seat pricing
  • AI drafting and credits
  • Search analytics
  • Custom branding and domain
  • Multi-language content

Only in Starlight

  • File based routing
  • Pagefind search
  • Internationalisation
  • Component overrides
  • Zero client JavaScript
  • Expressive Code blocks
  • Auto generated sidebar

What people use each for

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

HelpDocs

  • A SaaS support team that wants a public, brandable help centre separate from its ticketing toolnot Starlight
  • A product team publishing release notes and how-to articles that needs unlimited free readers with only a handful of paid writer seatsnot Starlight
  • A company scaling its support content team that wants cost tied to writer headcount rather than customer or ticket volumenot Starlight
  • A team wanting AI-assisted drafting of support articles without adopting a full AI-enabled helpdesk suitenot Starlight

Starlight

  • A developer tool whose docs live in the same repository as the code and are reviewed in the same pull requestnot HelpDocs
  • A team that already runs Astro for its marketing site and wants one build pipeline for bothnot HelpDocs
  • Documentation that must be served from a CDN or an air gapped static host with no search backendnot HelpDocs
  • A multilingual open source project that needs per locale content trees and untranslated page fallbacknot HelpDocs

Where each one falls short

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

HelpDocs

  • It is a knowledge base only, so a company still needs a separate ticketing or chat tool for any support that is not fully self-service
  • Extra editor seats above a plan's included count cost $25 each per month, which adds up quickly for a growing content team on the Harvest tier
  • AI credits are capped per plan and reset monthly, so a heavy AI-drafting workflow can exhaust the allowance before the billing period ends
  • Moving from Sprout to Bloom to add editors is a large jump in absolute price, not a smooth per-seat increment, since each tier is a fixed bundle rather than pay-per-seat
  • There is no free tier, only a 14-day trial, so a small team wanting to test long-term usage patterns has a short evaluation window
  • Being editor-priced means it does not scale cost with help centre traffic or ticket deflection value delivered, so a high-traffic help site pays the same as a low-traffic one with the same editor count

Starlight

  • There is no editing interface, so every correction requires a git client, a Node install and a CI run, which puts documentation changes out of reach for anyone who does not already work in a repository.
  • Starlight versions track Astro versions, so an Astro major release becomes a documentation site migration on someone else timeline rather than yours.
  • Pagefind builds the whole search index at compile time, so build duration and index size grow with page count and large documentation sets pay for it on every deploy.
  • There is no analytics, no feedback widget and no page level rating built in, so measuring which pages fail readers means wiring a third party script yourself.
  • Component overrides are limited to the slots the theme exposes, and anything outside those slots means forking the theme and inheriting the merge burden on every upgrade.

Pricing, plan by plan

HelpDocs

On request
  • Sprout$99/month
    • 5 editors
    • 1,000 AI credits/month
  • Bloom$239/month
    • 15 editors
    • 5,000 AI credits/month
  • Harvest$399/month
    • 25 editors
    • 10,000 AI credits/month
    • Extra editors at $25/month each

Starlight

Free
  • Open sourceFree
    • MIT licence
    • All features included
    • Self hosted on any static host

Which should you pick?

Choose HelpDocs if

  • You need editor-only seat pricing.
  • You also want ai drafting and credits.
HelpDocs review

Choose Starlight if

  • You need file based routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want pagefind search.
Starlight review

Questions people ask

Is HelpDocs or Starlight better?
Neither clearly leads. HelpDocs starts at On request and Starlight at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HelpDocs or Starlight?
Starlight has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for HelpDocs and Free for Starlight.
Does HelpDocs or Starlight run on more platforms?
HelpDocs runs on Web. Starlight runs on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux.
Can I use Starlight for free?
Yes. Starlight has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. HelpDocs starts at On request.
What is HelpDocs best used for?
HelpDocs is most often used for a saas support team that wants a public, brandable help centre separate from its ticketing tool, a product team publishing release notes and how-to articles that needs unlimited free readers with only a handful of paid writer seats, a company scaling its support content team that wants cost tied to writer headcount rather than customer or ticket volume, a team wanting ai-assisted drafting of support articles without adopting a full ai-enabled helpdesk suite. Of those, a saas support team that wants a public, brandable help centre separate from its ticketing tool and a product team publishing release notes and how-to articles that needs unlimited free readers with only a handful of paid writer seats are not what Starlight is typically brought in for.
What can HelpDocs do that Starlight cannot?
HelpDocs covers Editor-only seat pricing, AI drafting and credits, Search analytics, Custom branding and domain. Starlight covers File based routing, Pagefind search, Internationalisation, Component overrides.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HelpDocs: Are readers of the help centre charged for?

No, HelpDocs charges only for editors who log in to write and manage content; anonymous readers are unlimited and free.

Starlight: Can a non technical writer publish a page without help?

No. There is no content management interface. Every change is a commit, a pull request and a build.

HelpDocs: Is there a free plan?

No, HelpDocs offers a 14-day free trial rather than a permanent free tier.

Starlight: Do I need to know Astro to use it?

Not for basic use. Markdown files and a config file are enough until you want custom components, at which point Astro knowledge becomes mandatory.

HelpDocs: Does HelpDocs include ticketing or live chat?

No, it is a knowledge base and help centre product only; it integrates with tools like Zendesk and Intercom for ticketing.

Starlight: Is search included or do I pay for it?

Included and free. Pagefind builds a static index at compile time. Algolia DocSearch is optional if you want hosted search instead.

Starlight: What happens when Astro releases a major version?

Starlight follows it, and your site needs a migration. Read the upgrade guide before pinning a version for a long lived project.

Starlight: Can I self host with no external services?

Yes. The output is static HTML, CSS and a search index. Nothing calls out at runtime unless you add it.

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