Freedom251 › Knowledge base software
Read the Docs
What Read the Docs is
Read the Docs is a web service for publishing and maintaining documentation for open-source projects and teams. Every plan includes automatic builds, versioning, search, pull request previews, and CDN hosting. Documentation versions can be built from branches or tags, and each pull request gets a live preview with a visual comparison against production. The free Community offering is for open-source and community projects; it uses public documentation, public repositories, and ads-supported hosting. Paid plans support private and public repositories through GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or SSH. Teams can control access to documentation, from internal users to the public. SSO is available with GitHub and GitLab, with Google also listed for Pro. Support for AI agents includes llms.txt, Markdown content negotiation, and agent skills. Paid tiers include a 30-day free trial, and annual billing is available across those tiers. Monthly plan prices are $50 a month for Basic, $150 a month for Advanced, and $250 a month for Pro; Enterprise is $10,000 a year. Read the Docs has hosted open-source documentation since 2010.
Who it suits
It suits open-source projects and teams that need to publish versioned documentation. Paid tiers are available for teams needing private repositories or controlled access.
What it does well
- Automatic builds and versioning on every plan.
- Pull request previews include visual comparisons.
- Supports GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and SSH repositories.
- Teams can control documentation access.
- Paid plans include a 30-day trial.
What to know first
- Community hosting uses public documentation and repositories.
- Community hosting is supported by ads.
- Basic lists no custom domains.
- Paid plans start at $50 a month.
Limits
Community is limited to public documentation and public repositories with advertising-supported hosting. Paid tiers vary in concurrent builds, redirects, custom domains, and audit-log retention.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Community | Free hosting for open-source projects · Public documentation · Clone public repositories | On request |
| Basic | Monthly pricing; annual available · 2 concurrent builds · 50 redirects | $50 a month |
| Advanced | Monthly pricing; annual available · 4 concurrent builds · 5 custom domains · 250 redirects | $150 a month |
| Pro | Monthly pricing; annual available · 6 concurrent builds · 15 custom domains · 500 redirects | $250 a month |
| Enterprise | from $10k/year · Custom requirements · SAML SSO · Dedicated builders · Advanced audit tracking · Support SLA | $10,000 a year |
As about.readthedocs.com lists them, read 28 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Open the Read the Docs website
- Choose Community or a paid plan
- Connect a supported repository or use a public repository for Community
- Configure documentation builds from branches or tags
- Set access controls, custom domains, or SSO where available
- Use the 30-day trial on a paid plan
Verdict
Read the Docs covers documentation builds, versioning, search, and previews across its plans. The free Community offering is limited to public projects and ad-supported hosting.
Questions
Does Read the Docs have a free plan?
Yes. Community hosting is free for open-source and community projects, with public documentation, public repositories, and ads-supported hosting.
What does the Basic plan cost?
Basic costs $50 a month, with annual billing available.
Which platforms does it support?
Read the Docs is available on the web.
Can it use private repositories?
Paid plans support private and public repositories through GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or SSH.
Does it support single sign-on?
Yes. SSO is available with GitHub and GitLab; Pro also lists Google.
Is there a free trial?
Paid plans include a 30-day free trial.
Facts from Read the Docs's own pages
- AI Agent Support
- Support includes llms.txt, Markdown content negotiation, and agent skills. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Annual Billing
- Annual plans are available on every paid tier and can be paid by invoice or purchase order. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Publishing audience
- both · about.readthedocs.com, 21 Sept 2026
- Automatic Builds
- Every plan includes automatic builds, versioning, search, pull request previews, and CDN hosting. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Company History
- Read the Docs has hosted open-source documentation since 2010. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Content analytics
- Yes · about.readthedocs.com, 21 Sept 2026
- Custom domain
- Yes · about.readthedocs.com, 21 Sept 2026
- Custom Domains
- Paid tiers offer custom domains, ranging from none listed on Basic to 15 on Pro. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Founded
- 2010 · about.readthedocs.com, 23 Sept 2026
- Open Source Hosting
- Open source and community projects can use Read the Docs for free. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · about.readthedocs.com, 21 Sept 2026
- Free Plan Limits
- The Community offering uses public documentation, public repositories, and ads-supported hosting. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Preview Builds
- Every pull request receives a live preview build with a visual diff against production. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Repository Support
- Paid plans support private and public repositories through GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or SSH. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Authentication Auditing
- Authentication auditing provides security logs for 30 or 90 days depending on plan. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- SSO support
- Yes · about.readthedocs.com, 21 Sept 2026
- SSO Providers
- SSO is available with GitHub and GitLab; Pro also lists Google. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Paid from
- 50 · about.readthedocs.com, 21 Sept 2026
- Support Response Times
- Paid plan support targets range from one to three business days. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Access Control
- Teams can control who accesses documentation, from internal users to the public. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Trial Length
- Paid plans include a 30-day free trial. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Versioned Documentation
- Documentation versions can be built automatically from branches or tags. · about.readthedocs.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Version history
- Yes · about.readthedocs.com, 21 Sept 2026
Where Read the Docs stands on Freedom251
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