A ReadMe alternative for private API docs

What is the difference in one paragraph?

ReadMe is an API documentation platform built around the API itself: an interactive explorer, developer dashboards and metrics on how your API is used. DocuGate is a documentation host for the markdown and OpenAPI file already in your GitHub repository, with an access gate in front. Both draw an API reference from OpenAPI. They differ most on what private docs cost and on how much the tool knows about your API traffic.

How do they compare?

ReadMe details are as of October 2026, from readme.com/pricing.

	ReadMe	DocuGate
Where content lives	In ReadMe, with options to sync	In your GitHub repository
Free plan	Starter, $0	Starter: 1 space, public repositories
Paid plan	Pro, $250/mo billed annually	Pro: $5/mo, $50/yr or $2/wk
Private docs	Pro	Every plan; private repositories on Pro
Access control	User roles and access control on Enterprise	Public, Repo access or Allowlist on every plan
SSO	SSO and OAuth on Enterprise	Not offered on standard plans
Readers without GitHub	Yes	Yes, Google sign-in for allowlisted emails
API reference from OpenAPI	Yes, with an API explorer	Yes, OpenAPI 3.0 and 3.1, with a console
Code examples	Yes	curl, JavaScript and Python
API usage metrics	Yes	No
Guides alongside the reference	Yes	Yes, markdown from the same repository
Editing	In ReadMe's editor	Edit in place; commits to the branch as the editor
Custom domain	Check their pricing page	Enterprise, from $29/mo; in build

When is ReadMe the better choice?

• You want to know how developers use your API. ReadMe's metrics connect docs to API traffic: which endpoints are called, by whom, and where calls fail. DocuGate does not have this.
• The API explorer is central to your docs. ReadMe's explorer is mature and widely used. DocuGate's console sends calls from the reader's browser, so your API needs CORS set up for the console to work.
• Non-developers maintain the docs. ReadMe's editor works without Git. DocuGate's editing needs push access to the repository.
• You need SSO and roles. ReadMe lists them on Enterprise. DocuGate offers SSO only as a Custom quote, not on a standard plan.
• You need a custom domain today. DocuGate's is on Enterprise and still in build.

When is DocuGate the better choice?

• Your API docs should be private and $250 a month is a lot. DocuGate gates on every plan, and Pro, which adds private repositories and unlimited spaces, is $5 a month.
• The spec and the guides already live in the repository. Commit openapi.json or openapi.yaml and DocuGate draws the reference from it: an overview, an authentication page, and a page per endpoint with parameters, request body, responses and copyable examples. It updates when you push. See API reference.
• You need to name partners one by one. Allowlist mode takes GitHub logins or email addresses; a partner allowlisted by email signs in with Google and never sees your repository. See access control.
• Different readers, one repository. A public space for docs/developers, an allowlisted one for docs/partners, and one for docs/operations that follows repository access. The logistics setup fills these in.
• You want the spec checked before it ships. docugate openapi prepares your backend's spec without the paths and fields you do not want shown, and docugate check can fail a pull request on broken links. See the CLI.

What about API keys for my developers?

DocuGate has API keys on Enterprise, from $29 a month: a developer signs in to the docs and generates a key there, with scopes, limits and an expiry you set, and your backend checks each key with DocuGate. It needs the space on your own domain, and custom domains are still in build, so plan on it as coming rather than available. See API keys.

How do I move from ReadMe to DocuGate?

1. Export your OpenAPI file and commit it to the repository as openapi.json or openapi.yaml, at the root or in the docs folder.
2. Export your guides as markdown into a docs folder. Convert any ReadMe-specific blocks to plain markdown.
3. Start each page with a # heading, and use folders for sidebar groups.
4. Run npx docugate check.
5. Sign up, open Dashboard → New space, pick the repository and folder, and choose Public, Repo access or Allowlist.
6. Check that your API allows requests from the browser, so the console can call it.

Who makes DocuGate?

DocuGate is built by ITK ALLIANCE GROUP in Kigali, Rwanda. It is a smaller product than ReadMe and does less. The changelog says what has shipped and what is still being built.

Try it

Commit your OpenAPI file and publish the folder beside it as a space.