A Mintlify alternative for private docs from GitHub

What is the difference in one paragraph?

Mintlify is a developer documentation platform built for polished public docs, with MDX components, API playgrounds and AI features. DocuGate is narrower: it publishes the markdown already in a GitHub repository and puts an access gate in front of it. If your main problem is "these docs should be readable by these people and nobody else", DocuGate does that for $5 a month. If your main problem is "our public docs are part of how we sell", Mintlify is built for that.

How do they compare?

Prices and plan details for Mintlify are as of October 2026, from mintlify.com/pricing. Mintlify changed its pricing several times in 2026, so check their page before deciding.

	Mintlify	DocuGate
Source	Markdown and MDX in a Git repository	Markdown (.md) in a GitHub repository
Navigation	Configured in a docs.json file	Folders become the sidebar; optional docugate.json for order
Free plan	Yes	Starter: 1 space, public repositories
Paid plan	Pro around $450/mo billed annually (check their page)	Pro: $5/mo, $50/yr or $2/wk
Private docs	Password auth; OAuth, JWT and SSO on Enterprise	Repo access or Allowlist, on every plan
API reference from OpenAPI	Yes, with a playground	Yes, with a console, on every plan
Web editor	Yes	Edit in place; commits to the branch as the editor
AI assistant for readers	Yes	No
Custom domain	Yes	Enterprise, from $29/mo; in build
Analytics	Yes	No

When is Mintlify the better choice?

Be honest with yourself about what you are building.

• Your docs are a marketing surface. Mintlify's themes, components and typography are polished, and its public docs sites are some of the best looking in the field. DocuGate gives you one reader layout with an accent colour and density setting.
• You want AI features. Mintlify offers an AI assistant for readers and tooling for writers. DocuGate has nothing comparable for readers today.
• You use MDX components. Tabs, cards, callouts and embedded React are normal in Mintlify. DocuGate reads plain markdown, and docugate check warns about .mdx files.
• You need a custom domain now. Mintlify has it. DocuGate's custom domain is on Enterprise and still in build.
• You want analytics on what readers look at. Mintlify has them. DocuGate does not count readers today.
• You need enterprise SSO. Mintlify offers SSO on Enterprise. DocuGate does not offer SSO on any standard plan.

When is DocuGate the better choice?

• Your docs are private, and the price matters. If the reason you are looking at Mintlify's paid tiers is to keep docs behind a login, DocuGate Pro at $5 a month does that, including private repositories and unlimited spaces.
• Your readers are already defined by GitHub. With Repo access, the server reads each page with the reader's own GitHub token, so whoever can open the repository can read the docs. There is no second list to keep in sync, and no way for DocuGate to grant access GitHub would refuse. See access control.
• Some readers are outside your organisation. Allowlist mode takes GitHub logins or email addresses. A partner allowlisted by email signs in with Google and never sees your repository.
• You do not want a config file. Folders are the sidebar and the first heading is the title. A repository that already has a docs folder and READMEs usually publishes as it is.
• Your product spans several repositories. On Pro, one space merges a frontend, a backend and a mobile app into one set of pages, and the editor commits each change back to the repository it came from. See merging repositories.
• Different audiences, one repository. Point a public space at docs/developers, an allowlisted one at docs/partners and a repo-access one at docs/operations.

How do I move from Mintlify to DocuGate?

1. Check your pages. Plain .md files carry over. .mdx files with components need converting to markdown, and DocuGate does not read them.
2. Make sure each page starts with a # heading, since that becomes its title.
3. Drop docs.json navigation into folders, or list the order in docugate.json's sidebar field.
4. Keep your OpenAPI file; DocuGate reads openapi.json or openapi.yaml from the repository root or the docs folder.
5. Run npx docugate check to catch broken links.
6. Sign up, open Dashboard → New space, pick the repository and folder, and choose the access mode.

Who makes DocuGate?

DocuGate is built by ITK ALLIANCE GROUP in Kigali, Rwanda. It is a smaller product than Mintlify, with a narrower scope, and the changelog says plainly what has shipped and what has not.

Try it

Publish a space from one repository and compare it with what you have now.