You might not need the hub.
ReadMe runs a hosted developer hub: API reference with Git sync, changelog, forums, personalized docs that show each developer their own API keys, and a developer dashboard fed by real-time logs through the Metrics SDK. If you want the hub, buy it. That product is what ReadMe ships and it is real. Sourcey is something different: the build step between Git-tracked source and static HTML you deploy yourself, with no platform underneath.
Side by side.
ReadMe ships a hosted developer platform; Sourcey is a build tool that emits static files. They overlap on rendering API reference.
| ReadMe.com | Sourcey | |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAPI reference | Yes | Yes |
| Markdown guides | Yes | Yes |
| Git sync (bidirectional) | Yes (all plans) | N/A (repo is the source) |
| Custom domain | Yes (all plans) | Yes (your DNS) |
| Hosted platform | Yes | No |
| Self-hosted deployment | Not documented | Yes (any static host) |
| Personalized docs (per-user keys) | Yes | No |
| My Developers / API log dashboard | From $100/mo (volume) | No |
| Changelog | Yes (Pro+) | Markdown content |
| Forums / recipes / landing pages | Yes (Pro+) | Not in scope |
| Teammates / branching / review | Yes (Pro+) | Via Git workflow |
| SSO / audit logs | Enterprise | Handled by your infra |
| Doxygen / MCP input | MCP server (Starter+) | Doxygen + MCP native |
| Output model | Hosted site | Static HTML build |
| License | Proprietary SaaS | AGPL-3.0 (CLI) |
| Pricing | $0 / $250/mo / $3k+/mo | Free |
Where the two actually differ.
Your docs live on their infrastructure.
ReadMe serves documentation from ReadMe-managed infrastructure. Its Custom Domain & SSL documentation describes hosted domain configuration; SSL runs through readmessl.com and Cloudflare. The public ReadMe docs we could find do not describe an official self-hosted deployment path. If infrastructure ownership is load-bearing for you (regulated industry, data residency, air-gapped environment), this is where the two tools diverge permanently. Sourcey outputs static files. Put them anywhere; they never phone home.
docs.readme.com/main/docs/setting-up-custom-domain; readme.com/pricing. If ReadMe ships a self-hosted deployment path we missed, this trade narrows.
The price tags are paying for real features.
As of April 21, 2026: Starter is $0/month. Pro is $250/month billed annually. Enterprise starts at $3,000+/month. Starter already includes custom domain, bidirectional Git sync, interactive API reference, usage metrics, a markdown editor, themes, llms.txt, and an MCP server. Pro adds teammates, branching and reviews, private docs, landing pages, changelog, forums, custom MDX components, reusable content, and CSS overrides. Enterprise adds multi-project combination, roles and access control, audit logs, SSO/OAuth, and removing the ReadMe branding. Sourcey has no platform underneath it, which is why there is nothing equivalent to charge for.
readme.com/pricing, verified April 21, 2026.
The dashboard and personalization are real.
ReadMe's Developer Dashboard has its own price: $100/month for 5M logs, plus $10 per additional 1M. The dashboard, surfaced as My Developers, is fed by real-time API request logs through the Metrics SDK. Personalized docs are the other side of the same platform: user-specific API keys and server variables inserted into the rendered reference, per-developer request histories, integrated developer profiles. Every one of those requires live state on a server; a static site cannot produce them. If any of this is what your docs actually do, Sourcey is the wrong tool.
readme.com/pricing; docs.readme.com/main/docs/my-developers; docs.readme.com/main/docs/personalized-docs.
Export moves content. It does not move the site.
ReadMe exports content. ZIP, PDF, API, and GitHub export are documented in Exporting Data. What those exports do not produce is a static-HTML build of your published site. If Git Sync is on, your Markdown is already in your repo; source portability was never the problem. Rebuilding the rendered site means picking a new build target. Sourcey is one option there, but it starts from the repo you already control rather than from anything ReadMe produces.
docs.readme.com/main/docs/exporting-data; docs.readme.com/main/page/what-is-readme-sync.
Bring your source. Decide what you give up.
OpenAPI specs and Markdown guides transfer cleanly; if ReadMe Sync is on, the Markdown is already in your repo. What does not transfer are platform features: personalization, developer dashboards, forums, landing-page builder, hosted collaboration. Leaving ReadMe means deciding whether you need any of those elsewhere, or can live without them.
Bring the OpenAPI spec
Your spec file is the real source; it transfers directly. Sourcey reads OpenAPI 3.0, 3.1, and Swagger 2.0.
// sourcey.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "sourcey";
export default defineConfig({
name: "Your API",
navigation: {
tabs: [
{ tab: "API Reference", slug: "api", openapi: "./openapi.yaml" },
],
},
});Bring the Markdown guides
If ReadMe Sync is on, the Markdown is already in your Git repo. Otherwise ReadMe's own export options (ZIP, PDF, API, GitHub export in Exporting Data) pull the content out. ReadMe-specific MDX components become Sourcey directives. The syntax is different. The capabilities map cleanly.
<!-- ReadMe MDX -->
<Callout icon="📘">Remember to authenticate.</Callout>
<!-- Sourcey directive -->
:::note
Remember to authenticate.
:::Decide what you are giving up
Platform features do not migrate. Personalized docs with user-specific API keys, the My Developers dashboard, forums and recipes, the landing-page builder, and hosted collaboration (branching, review, teammates) live on ReadMe's platform; Sourcey has nothing equivalent. If any of them is load-bearing, either keep ReadMe or plan the replacement before you leave.
Build and deploy
Static HTML. Deploy anywhere.
$ npx sourcey build
Sourcey — building documentation site
Pages: 31
Output: dist
Time: 1.6sCommon questions.
Is Sourcey a drop-in replacement for ReadMe?
No. Sourcey replaces the docs-generation part. It does not replace the hub: personalization, the API log dashboard, forums, landing-page builder, and team collaboration are ReadMe features with no Sourcey equivalent. If any of those is what you are actually paying for, stay on ReadMe.
What do I lose if I leave ReadMe for Sourcey?
Hosted collaboration (branching, review, teammate permissions). Integrated developer analytics through My Developers. Personalized docs where each developer sees their own API keys. The landing-page builder. Forums and recipes. The platform's hosted infrastructure. ReadMe ships all of those and charges for them; Sourcey does not, because Sourcey is not a hosted platform.
What do I gain?
A static HTML build artifact you own. Deploy on any static host: GitHub Pages, S3, Cloudflare, your own box, an air-gapped server. Git-native build; the repo is the source of truth, no platform sync. No platform dependency. Doxygen XML and MCP manifests alongside OpenAPI in one site.
Can I run ReadMe and Sourcey side by side?
Yes. Use ReadMe for the hosted hub and Sourcey for the in-repo, statically-built side: internal docs, C++ SDK docs through Doxygen, MCP server docs. Neither tool objects to the other.
What about the Developer Dashboard and API metrics?
ReadMe's Developer Dashboard is priced separately: $100/month for 5M logs, plus $10 per additional 1M. It is fed by real-time API logs through the Metrics SDK. Sourcey does not capture API logs at all; that was never the product. If you want the analytics surface, keep ReadMe's dashboard or pair Sourcey with an observability tool like Moesif, Treblle, or whatever APM you already run.
Does Sourcey support ReadMe's MCP server?
ReadMe's Starter plan includes an MCP server that exposes documentation content to AI tooling on ReadMe's infrastructure. Sourcey supports MCP in a different shape: it renders MCP server manifests into docs pages at build time and emits llms.txt and llms-full.txt alongside the HTML, all as static output.
Can Sourcey self-host behind a firewall?
Yes. Sourcey's output is a directory of static HTML files. Put them on any HTTP server inside your network, behind a VPN, in an air-gapped environment. For ReadMe, we could not find a documented self-hosted deployment path.
Own your docs.
Open source. Self-host it, fork it, ship it on your own infrastructure. No account required.
Fork the demo →