Best API Documentation Tools in 2026
Updated
In short: Scalar is ranked #1 of 27 as of 2 October 2026, ahead of Redocly and Apiary. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Apiary. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Redocly at $10/mo.
27 api documentation tools ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | OpenAPI import | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scalar | 8.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $150/mo | Yes | 150 /mo | Yes | View |
| 2 | Redocly | 8.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $10/mo | No | — | — | View |
| 3 | Apiary | 8.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Yes | View |
| 4 |  Fern | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 5 | ApiNotes | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $19/mo | Yes | 19 /mo | Yes | View |
| 6 | ReadMe | 7.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $250/mo | Yes | 250 /mo | — | View |
| 7 | Theneo | 6.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | 120 /mo | Yes | View |
| 8 | PilotDocs | 6.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $49/mo | Yes | 49 /mo | Yes | View |
| 9 |  Palt | 6.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $19/mo | Yes | 19 /mo | Yes | View |
| 10 | Stoplight Elements | 6.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Yes | View |
| 11 | Zudoku | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Yes | View |
| 12 | Bump.sh | 6.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | 50 /mo | Yes | View |
| 13 | Endrel | 6.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Yes | View |
| 14 |  RapiDoc | 6.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Yes | View |
| 15 | Doxygen | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 16 |  Miredot | 5.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 17 | DapperDox | 5.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Yes | View |
| 18 | Javadoc | 5.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | No | View |
| 19 |  Widdershins | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Yes | View |
| 20 |  TypeDoc | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 21 |  Swagger2Markup | 5.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Yes | View |
| 22 |  JSDoc | 5.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 23 |  OpenAPI 3 Generator | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Yes | View |
| 24 | phpDocumentor | 5.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | No | View |
| 25 | Mihari | 5.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which api documentation tool is ranked first on Inferse?
Scalar is ranked #1 of 27 with a score of 8.9. Redocly is second and Apiary third.
How many of these have a free plan?
8 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Redocly has the lowest first paid tier we found: $10/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.