Mintlify vs GitBook: Which documentation platform should you choose?

When it comes to developer documentation, choosing the right platform can make or break your team's productivity. We've spent considerable time evaluating both Mintlify and GitBook, and here's what we've learned.

The quick take

Mintlify is a developer-first platform that requires Git integration and launched in 2022. With backing from a16z's $18M Series A, they're growing fast but aren't yet profitable.

GitBook takes a more user-friendly approach, offering standalone editing capabilities. Founded in 2014, they've built a customer base of 30,000 users on a lean seed round (less than $1M) and are profitable.

Let's dig into the details.

At-a-glance comparison

Developer focus vs user accessibility

This is probably the biggest differentiator between the two platforms.

Mintlify takes a strict developer-first approach. Everything runs through Git integration, which means your documentation lives in your repository. For engineering teams that already live in Git, this is fantastic. For marketing teams or non-technical writers? Not so much.

GitBook offers more flexibility. You can use it standalone or integrate with Git. This means your product marketing team can update docs without needing to create a pull request, while still maintaining the option for version control when needed.

WYSIWYG editing experience

If you've used any modern documentation tool, you know the editing experience matters.

"Code is read more often than it is written, and documentation is read even more."

Guido van Rossum, Creator of Python

GitBook shines here with a solid WYSIWYG editor. It's intuitive, and non-technical team members can jump in without training.

Mintlify's WYSIWYG editing is... well, let's just say there's room for improvement. The developer-first approach means editing often feels more like writing markdown in a code editor than composing in a document.

Pricing and value

This is where things get interesting.

GitBook keeps pricing simple: plan + users. Done. Want to remove branding? That's available on their middle tier. Not too shabby.

Mintlify takes a more complex approach: plan + users + assistant messages + languages. This can add up quickly, especially for larger teams or those operating in multiple markets. Removing branding requires their top/custom tier.

One significant cost difference: translation.

• Mintlify: Custom pricing (you'll need to talk to sales)

• GitBook: $25 for the first 50,000 words, then $0.20 per 1,000 words

Both platforms offer continuous translation features, which is crucial if you're serving a global audience.

Scale and maturity

The numbers tell an interesting story.

GitBook has been around since 2014 and serves 30,000 customers. They've achieved profitability on minimal funding, which suggests strong unit economics and a sustainable business model.

Mintlify launched in 2022 with significant VC backing ($18M from a16z) but isn't yet profitable. They claim 5,000 customers publicly but mentioned 10,000 on a recent call. The company is in growth mode, which means features and pricing could change as they figure out their business model.

File storage and limits

Both platforms have reasonable file storage limits:

• Mintlify: Less than 20 MB for images, 100 MB for other file types

• GitBook: Up to 100 MB per file

For most documentation needs, either will work fine.

Export and portability

Need to export your docs to PDF?

• GitBook: Available on the premium plan

• Mintlify: Only available on custom plan

This might matter if you're creating downloadable resources, compliance documentation, or offline content.

Link management

Broken links are the silent killer of documentation sites.

GitBook includes broken link detection on their ultimate plan. Mintlify offers smart 404 detection across plans. Both approaches have merit, though preventing broken links (GitBook's approach) seems preferable to detecting 404s after the fact (Mintlify's approach).

Modern features: MCP and AI

Both platforms now support MCP (Model Context Protocol) in beta, allowing integration with AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT.

Both also include AI chat assistants that can answer questions based on your documentation, and both support integrating external sources into those chat experiences.

Both platforms offer REST APIs and support for OpenAPI specs, making them suitable for modern, API-first documentation workflows.

Analytics and insights

Both Mintlify and GitBook support PostHog and GA4 integration, so you can track documentation usage and user behaviour.

Both also offer customer insight features with thumbs up/down and comment functionality, which is essential for understanding which documentation is working and where users are struggling.

SEO and subdirectory hosting

For SEO purposes, hosting documentation at yourdomain.com/docs (subdirectory) typically performs better than docs.yourdomain.com (subdomain).

Both platforms support subdirectory hosting, though you'll need Cloudflare or similar setup to make it work smoothly.

Both are also optimised for LLMs, which is increasingly important as AI agents become a primary way users discover and consume documentation.

Authentication and security

If you need to lock down documentation:

• GitBook: Authentication available on Pro plan

• Mintlify: Enterprise/Custom only

GitBook publishes their security practices at security.gitbook.com. Mintlify has a security page at security.mintlify.com, though there's no mention of ISO 27001 certification. They did experience a notable incident in March which they've documented.

So, which should you choose?

Choose Mintlify if:

• Your team lives in Git and prefers a docs-as-code workflow

• You're willing to sacrifice some ease-of-use for tight developer integration

• You have budget for VC-backed pricing and don't mind potential future changes

• Your documentation is strictly technical and written by engineers

Choose GitBook if:

• You need non-technical team members to contribute

• You want a more mature, stable platform with proven profitability

• You prefer transparent, predictable pricing

• You value a better editing experience over pure Git integration

• You want authentication without paying enterprise pricing

The Growth Method take

For teams building AI-native tools and marketing documentation, GitBook's user-friendly approach tends to win out. The ability to give marketing, product, and customer success teams direct editing access without requiring Git knowledge is invaluable.

That said, if you're a pure engineering team documenting an API and everyone's already comfortable with Git workflows, Mintlify's developer-first approach might feel more natural.

The key question: who will be writing and maintaining your documentation? Answer that, and you'll know which platform is right for you.

"Documentation is a love letter that you write to your future self."

Damian Conway, Computer Scientist and Author