A GitBook alternative for gated docs from GitHub

What is the difference in one paragraph?

GitBook is a documentation and knowledge base platform with a visual editor, built so that product managers, support teams and engineers can all write in the same place. DocuGate is a narrower tool: it publishes the markdown already in a GitHub repository, and puts an access gate in front of it. The two differ most on where content lives and on what it costs to control who reads it.

How do they compare?

GitBook details are as of October 2026, from gitbook.com/pricing.

	GitBook	DocuGate
Where content lives	In GitBook, with optional Git Sync	In your GitHub repository, nowhere else
Editing	Visual block editor	Markdown; edit in place commits to the branch as the editor
Free plan	Free, $0	Starter: 1 space, public repositories
Paid plans	Essential $65/mo per site; Ultimate $249/mo per site	Pro: $5/mo, $50/yr or $2/wk, unlimited spaces
Restricting who reads published docs	Ultimate and Enterprise	Every plan: Repo access or Allowlist
Readers without GitHub	Yes	Yes, Google sign-in for allowlisted emails
Navigation	Built in the editor	Folders become the sidebar
API reference from OpenAPI	Yes	Yes, with a console, on every plan
Custom domain	Yes	Enterprise, from $29/mo; in build
Enterprise	Custom price	From $29/mo, or Custom, quoted

The price gap on gated docs is the biggest difference. Restricting readers on GitBook starts at the Ultimate plan, $249 a month per site as of October 2026. On DocuGate it is available on every plan, and a private repository with unlimited spaces is $5 a month.

When is GitBook the better choice?

• The people writing docs are not developers. GitBook's editor is built for that: blocks, drag and drop, no markdown or Git required. DocuGate's editor edits markdown, and editing needs push access to the repository.
• Your docs are a knowledge base, not code documentation. Internal wikis, policies and product handbooks that have no reason to live next to code fit GitBook's model better.
• You want collaboration features in the tool. GitBook has change requests, comments and review inside the product. DocuGate relies on your repository's pull requests for that.
• You need a custom domain today. GitBook has it. DocuGate's custom domain is on Enterprise and still in build.
• You want analytics on readers. DocuGate does not count readers today.

When is DocuGate the better choice?

• Your docs are already markdown in GitHub. DocuGate reads them where they are. There is no import and no sync to keep healthy; push to the branch and the next reader sees the change.
• You need gated docs and $249 a month is too much. Starter can gate a public repository's docs; Pro, at $5 a month, adds private repositories and unlimited spaces.
• Readers are already defined by GitHub. With Repo access the server reads each page with the reader's own GitHub token. Whoever GitHub lets open the repository can read; nobody else can. No second permission list. See access control.
• You need to name outside readers. Allowlist mode takes GitHub logins or email addresses. The list lives in DocuGate's space settings, not in the repository, and is visible only to you.
• One repository, several audiences. Three spaces can read docs/developers, docs/partners and docs/operations from one repository, each with its own access mode.
• Your product spans several repositories. On Pro, one space can merge several repositories into one set of pages. See merging repositories.

How do I move from GitBook to DocuGate?

1. If you use GitBook's Git Sync, your content is already markdown in a repository. If not, export it to a repository first.
2. Check for GitBook-specific blocks and convert them to plain markdown.
3. Make sure each page starts with a # heading; that becomes its title.
4. Arrange pages in folders. Folders become sidebar groups, and index.md or README.md is a folder's landing page. Add docugate.json with a sidebar list if you want a fixed order.
5. Run npx docugate check to find broken links and pages without titles.
6. Sign up, open Dashboard → New space, pick the repository and folder, and choose Public, Repo access or Allowlist.

Who makes DocuGate?

DocuGate is built by ITK ALLIANCE GROUP in Kigali, Rwanda. It is a smaller product than GitBook and does less. The changelog says what has shipped and what has not, and the pricing page marks anything not yet enforced.

Try it

Publish one folder from a repository and set it to Allowlist.