Stainlessvs
Speakeasy
Speakeasy: Speakeasy originally competed directly in SDK generation before repositioning as an AI governance platform.
Stainless
Generates client SDKs, API docs, and MCP servers from an OpenAPI spec
As of 29 August 2026, Stainless is free to use. Stainless generates typed client SDKs, documentation sites, and MCP servers directly from an OpenAPI specification. Softwr lists it under APIs. Stainless is available on Web, API.
Overview
What Stainless does
Stainless is a platform that generates production-quality client libraries, API documentation sites, and MCP servers from an OpenAPI specification, aiming to give any API a Stripe-quality developer experience. Generated SDK code is owned by the customer and published under the Apache 2.0 license. The platform supports webhooks, streaming, authentication configuration, and automated unit tests, and offers a free tier for small APIs plus paid tiers for larger or private SDKs and enterprise compliance needs.
What people use it for
- Generating typed SDKs for a public API
- Producing an MCP server from an existing OpenAPI spec
- Building an API documentation site alongside client libraries
- Giving open-source APIs a free SDK generation path
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Stainless.
- Starter and Pro plan prices are not published and require contacting the company.
- The free plan caps APIs at 25 endpoints, which excludes larger production APIs.
- Overage charges apply per SDK/endpoint/month once limits are exceeded, which can make costs unpredictable at scale.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Stainless
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- StainlessvsOna (formerly Gitpod)
Ona (formerly Gitpod): Both serve API and developer tooling workflows, though Gitpod (now Ona) focuses on development environments rather than SDK generation.
Pricing
What Stainless costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Up to 5 generators (SDKs, docs, or MCP servers)
- 5 seats
- APIs with 25 or fewer endpoints
- Webhooks, streaming, and auth support
- 100 preview builds per month
- Email support
Starter
On request
- Unlimited generators
- Expanded seats
- Private SDKs of any size
- Custom domains, custom JS/CSS
- Git integration
- AI chat
Pro
On request
- Custom enterprise features and pricing
Enterprise
On request
- Dedicated support
- SOC 2 compliance reports
- Purchase order/invoicing with negotiable terms
Capabilities
Features
SDK generation
Generates typed client SDKs in multiple languages from an OpenAPI spec.
MCP server generation
Generates MCP servers directly from the same API specification.
Docs site generation
Produces a documentation site alongside generated SDKs.
Webhooks and streaming support
Generated SDKs support webhooks and streaming responses out of the box.
Automated unit tests
Generates unit tests for the produced SDK code.
Git integration
Syncs generated SDK code changes through Git.
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?
Yes. The Free plan supports up to 5 generators, 5 seats, APIs with 25 or fewer endpoints, and 100 preview builds per month, with email support.
SourceWho owns the generated SDK code?
The generated SDK code is owned by the customer and published by Stainless under the Apache 2.0 license.
SourceWhat happens if I exceed my plan's endpoint limit?
Customers exceeding their endpoint limits are billed per SDK, per endpoint, per month for the overage.
SourceKeep looking
Where to go from Stainless
- Stainless alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Stainless pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Stainless badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All APIs softwareThe full category
- Best APIs softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best APIs software for
Compare Stainless with
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- Prisma
- Asyncapi
- REST Client VSCode
- Appwrite
- TrueLayer
- Griffin
- Stoplight
- Treasury Prime
- Trustly
- Paw
- RapidAPI
- Rutter
- Sensedia
- Sila
- Swagger/OpenAPI
- Prisma
- REST Client VSCode
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Stainless, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Stainless
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Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
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