Documentation · head to head
Slab vs Starlight
Slab
Documentation
Internal knowledge base for teams, organised by topic rather than folders, with search across connected tools
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Starlight
Documentation
Documentation site framework built on Astro that ships no JavaScript to the reader by default
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Slab it is built for internal knowledge, so public product documentation on a custom domain with versioning is outside what the product does.; 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: Slab covers Topics instead of folders, Starlight covers File based routing.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Slab and Starlight actually diverge.
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 Slab
- Topics instead of folders
- Unified search
- Post verification
- Quill editor
- Permissions
- Free tier for small teams
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.
Slab
- Building an employee handbook and onboarding path that new starters can actually findnot Starlight
- Replacing a folder-based wiki where nobody agrees which folder a document belongs innot Starlight
- Companies whose knowledge is already spread across Drive, Slack and GitHub and needs one search boxnot Starlight
- Documenting process and decisions for teams that do not want a project management tool attachednot Starlight
Starlight
- A developer tool whose docs live in the same repository as the code and are reviewed in the same pull requestnot Slab
- A team that already runs Astro for its marketing site and wants one build pipeline for bothnot Slab
- Documentation that must be served from a CDN or an air gapped static host with no search backendnot Slab
- A multilingual open source project that needs per locale content trees and untranslated page fallbacknot Slab
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Slab
- It is built for internal knowledge, so public product documentation on a custom domain with versioning is outside what the product does.
- There is no docs-as-code workflow, no git synchronisation and no markdown files on disk, so engineering-owned technical documentation ends up somewhere else anyway.
- Hierarchy is shallow by design, and organisations that genuinely need deep nested structure find topics an awkward substitute rather than an improvement.
- There is no offline mode, so a knowledge base that includes incident runbooks is unavailable during exactly the incident where the network is the problem.
- Pricing is per user per month, so organisations where most staff only read a handbook twice a year still pay a seat for each of them.
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
Slab
Free- FreeFree
- Up to ten users
- Unlimited posts
- Core integrations
- Slab$undefined/month
- Priced per user per month with annual billing
- Unlimited users and history
- Full integration set and unified search
Starlight
Free- Open sourceFree
- MIT licence
- All features included
- Self hosted on any static host
Which should you pick?
Choose Slab if
- You need topics instead of folders.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want unified search.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Slab or Starlight better?
- Neither clearly leads. Slab starts at Free and Starlight at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Slab or Starlight?
- Slab starts at Free and Starlight at Free.
- Does Slab or Starlight run on more platforms?
- Slab runs on Web. Starlight runs on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux.
- Can I use Slab for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Slab best used for?
- Slab is most often used for building an employee handbook and onboarding path that new starters can actually find, replacing a folder-based wiki where nobody agrees which folder a document belongs in, companies whose knowledge is already spread across drive, slack and github and needs one search box, documenting process and decisions for teams that do not want a project management tool attached. Of those, building an employee handbook and onboarding path that new starters can actually find and replacing a folder-based wiki where nobody agrees which folder a document belongs in are not what Starlight is typically brought in for.
- What can Slab do that Starlight cannot?
- Slab covers Topics instead of folders, Unified search, Post verification, Quill editor. Starlight covers File based routing, Pagefind search, Internationalisation, Component overrides.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Slab: Can I publish documentation publicly with Slab?
Posts can be shared by link, but it is not a product documentation platform. There is no custom domain publishing, versioning or API reference tooling.
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.
Slab: What does the free plan actually cover?
Up to ten users with unlimited posts and core integrations. It is a real free tier rather than a trial, and it is enough for a small company handbook.
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.
Slab: How does it compare with a general workspace tool?
Slab does less on purpose. There are no databases, boards or task views, which makes it faster to write in and much harder to turn into an unmaintained sprawl.
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.
Slab: Does search really cover other tools?
Yes, connected sources are indexed and appear in results. That integration is the main reason to choose it, so verify your specific tools are supported before committing.
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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