Fern leans into a git-based 'docs as code' workflow with SDK generation across four spec formats (OpenAPI, GraphQL, AsyncAPI, gRPC) and a self-hosting option,…
Best for Fern: Fern suits engineering teams that want git-based docs alongside SDK generation from OpenAPI, GraphQL, AsyncAPI, or gRPC specs, with a free-forever Hobby plan covering 2 team members and 250 AI credits per month.
Best for Mintlify: Mintlify suits teams wanting a browser-based documentation editor with agent-readiness tooling, backed by a free Starter plan offering 10,000 AI credits per month, used by companies including Anthropic and Coinbase.
At a Glance
Fern
Mintlify
Primary category
Developer Tools
Developer Tools
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
Freemium / Subscription
Starting price
Free
Free (Starter plan)
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Yes
Yes
Public API
Yes
Yes
Key Differences
SDK Generation
Fern: Fern generates client libraries from OpenAPI, GraphQL, AsyncAPI, and gRPC specifications.
Mintlify: Mintlify's documented feature set does not include SDK generation.
API providers distributing typed client libraries to developers need this built into their docs platform.
Self-Hosting
Fern: Fern's Enterprise plan offers a documented self-hosting option in addition to Fern's cloud.
Mintlify: Mintlify does not document a self-hosting option.
Regulated industries or companies with strict data-residency requirements may need to host documentation infrastructure themselves.
Team Size Limits on Paid Tier
Fern: Fern's Team plan ($150/month, or $112.50/month billed annually) caps at 5 members before requiring Enterprise.
Mintlify: Mintlify's Pro plan team size and price are not publicly documented.
Growing teams need to know when they'll outgrow a plan and face a pricing jump.
AI Credit Allowance on Free Tier
Fern: Fern's free Hobby plan includes 250 AI credits per month; Team adds 1,000 AI credits per month.
Mintlify: Mintlify's free Starter plan includes 10,000 AI credits per month, with $0.01 per credit for overages.
AI credit limits affect how much AI chat/assistant usage a team can support without paying.
Corporate Backing
Fern: Fern operates as 'a Postman company' following an acquisition by Postman.
Mintlify: Mintlify is used by companies including Anthropic, Amazon, AT&T, and Coinbase, with no documented acquisition or parent company.
Ownership changes can affect long-term product roadmap and independence.
Feature-by-Feature
Documentation & Workflow
Feature
Fern
Mintlify
Docs-as-code / git-based workflow
Available
Not documented
Web-based editor
Not documented
Available
Multi-source aggregation across repos
Available
Not documented
Self-hosting option
Available
Not documented
Custom domain on free tier
Available
Available
SDK & Developer Tooling
Feature
Fern
Mintlify
SDK generation
Available
Not documented
MCP server
Available
Available
llms.txt generation
Available
Not documented
Postman collection publishing
Available
Not documented
API Playground
Not documented
Available
Pricing & AI Credits
Feature
Fern
Mintlify
Free plan AI credits
Available
Available
Entry paid plan price
Available
Not documented
Enterprise SSO/RBAC
Available
Available
Paid team member cap
Available
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Fern
Hobby — Free Monthly
Team — $150/month Monthly
Enterprise — Custom pricing Custom
Mintlify
Starter — Free Monthly
Pro — Custom (usage-based, contact for pricing) Monthly or annual
Enterprise — Custom (contact sales) Annual
Pros & Cons
Fern
Pros
Single source of truth keeps SDKs and documentation permanently synchronized as the API evolves
Generated SDKs include real ergonomics like retries, pagination, and streaming rather than bare API wrappers
Supports a wide range of input specification formats beyond just OpenAPI
Backed by Postman's resources following the January 2026 acquisition, adding stability and integration potential
Cons
Post-acquisition roadmap and pricing under Postman are not yet fully settled or independently documented
Team tier at $150 per month may be a meaningful cost for very small startups compared to some free-tier competitors
Best suited to companies that already have or are willing to build a clean OpenAPI or equivalent specification
Smaller ecosystem and community track record compared to long-established API documentation tools
Mintlify
Pros
Polished, modern documentation output out of the box
Strong AI features: writing assistant, in-docs chat, and MCP server support
Backed by top-tier VC (a16z) with a well-funded roadmap
Trusted by major AI and developer-tool companies like Anthropic and Cursor
Generous free Starter tier for individuals and small teams
Cons
Advanced AI features (Agent, Assistant, Automations) require paid Pro/Enterprise plans
Credit-based usage system can be confusing to estimate costs upfront
Self-hosting only available on the Enterprise tier
Less mature ecosystem than long-established tools like Docusaurus
Pricing for Pro plan is not transparently listed and varies by usage
Use Cases
Choose Fern: Fern suits engineering teams that want git-based docs alongside SDK generation from OpenAPI, GraphQL, AsyncAPI, or gRPC specs, with a free-forever Hobby plan covering 2 team members and 250 AI credits per month.
Choose Mintlify: Mintlify suits teams wanting a browser-based documentation editor with agent-readiness tooling, backed by a free Starter plan offering 10,000 AI credits per month, used by companies including Anthropic and Coinbase.
Need both: This is unlikely in practice — both are full documentation platforms serving the same core job of hosting and generating API docs, so most teams pick one rather than running both in production; a team might trial both briefly during a documentation platform migration or acquisition-driven consolidation.
Fern
Shipping multi-language SDKs for a public API — API-first companies use Fern to automatically generate and maintain client libraries across many languages instead of hand-building each one.
Keeping documentation in sync with the API — Teams wire fern generate into their CI pipeline so documentation and SDKs regenerate automatically whenever the underlying OpenAPI spec changes, avoiding drift.
Enabling AI coding assistants to use an API — Companies use Fern's llms.txt and Model Context Protocol support so AI coding tools can accurately reference and call their API during development.
Mintlify
API-first startups — Early-stage companies that need professional API documentation quickly without building custom tooling.
AI companies documenting APIs and SDKs — AI labs and companies needing documentation that integrates with AI coding assistants via MCP.
Yes. Fern documents SDK generation from OpenAPI, GraphQL, AsyncAPI, and gRPC specs. Mintlify's feature list does not include SDK generation.
How many AI credits come free with each platform?
Fern's free Hobby plan includes 250 AI credits per month. Mintlify's free Starter plan includes 10,000 AI credits per month, with $0.01/credit overage charges beyond that.
Is Fern's paid plan pricing public?
Yes, Fern's Team plan is listed at $150/month ($112.50/month billed annually) for up to 5 members. Mintlify's Pro plan price is not publicly listed.
Does either platform support self-hosting?
Fern documents a self-hosting option on its Enterprise plan. Mintlify does not document self-hosting as a feature.
Who owns Fern now?
Fern's site describes it as 'a Postman company' following an acquisition by Postman.
Which companies use Mintlify?
Mintlify reports over 20,000 companies as users, including Anthropic, Amazon, AT&T, and Coinbase, and states 99.99% uptime across its services.