Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ReadMe VS You Need A Wiki

Compare ReadMe VS You Need A Wiki and see what are their differences

ReadMe logo ReadMe

A collaborative developer hub for your API or code.

You Need A Wiki logo You Need A Wiki

Create a wiki with Google Docs
  • ReadMe Landing page
    Landing page //
    2025-03-04
  • You Need A Wiki Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-09

ReadMe features and specs

  • User-friendly Interface
    ReadMe offers a clean, intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to create and manage documentation without requiring extensive technical skills.
  • Interactive API Documentation
    The platform provides interactive API documentation, allowing users to try out API calls directly within the documentation, which enhances user understanding and engagement.
  • Customizability
    ReadMe allows a high level of customization, enabling users to tailor the look and feel of their documentation to match their brand identity.
  • Analytics
    The service offers built-in analytics, providing insights into how users interact with the documentation, which can help in improving user experience and understanding common issues.
  • Version Control
    ReadMe supports version control, making it easy to manage and maintain documentation for different versions of an API or product.
  • Collaboration Tools
    It includes collaboration tools that facilitate teamwork by allowing multiple users to work on documentation simultaneously.
  • Markdown Support
    The platform supports Markdown, making it easy for users to format their documentation efficiently.

Possible disadvantages of ReadMe

  • Cost
    Compared to some other documentation platforms, ReadMe can be more expensive, especially for small startups or individual developers.
  • Learning Curve
    While user-friendly, some advanced features may have a learning curve, especially for those who are not familiar with documentation tools.
  • Limited Offline Access
    ReadMe primarily operates as an online service, which can be limiting for users who need offline access to their documentation.
  • Performance on Large Projects
    There may be performance issues or slowdowns when dealing with very large projects or extensive documentation, requiring optimization.
  • Feature Limitations in Lower Tiers
    Some advanced features and customizability options are restricted to higher pricing tiers, which may not be accessible to all users.

You Need A Wiki features and specs

  • Easy Integration
    You Need A Wiki integrates seamlessly with Google Sheets, allowing users to manage and display their data in a wiki format without leaving the Google ecosystem.
  • Collaborative Editing
    Multiple users can collaborate on the same document simultaneously, benefiting from Google Sheets' collaborative features while using You Need A Wiki.
  • Simple Setup
    You Need A Wiki is straightforward to set up and use, making it accessible even for users who are not technically inclined.
  • Cost-Effective
    For teams that already use Google Workspace, You Need A Wiki can be a cost-effective wiki solution since it leverages existing tools.
  • Automatic Syncing
    Changes made in Google Sheets are automatically reflected in the wiki, ensuring that the information is always up-to-date.

Possible disadvantages of You Need A Wiki

  • Limited Features
    Compared to full-fledged wiki software, You Need A Wiki may lack advanced features such as complex page structuring and extensive customization options.
  • Dependent on Google Sheets
    The functionality of You Need A Wiki is tied to Google Sheets, requiring users to have a Google account and possibly limiting functionality if Google services are down or unavailable.
  • Scalability Issues
    For large organizations or complex projects, using Google Sheets as a backend might not be scalable, potentially leading to performance issues.
  • Privacy Concerns
    As information is stored in Google Sheets, privacy-conscious users might be concerned about data security and Google’s access to their information.
  • Lack of Advanced Permissions
    The permission settings are limited to what Google Sheets offers, potentially posing challenges for teams that require detailed access control.

Analysis of ReadMe

Overall verdict

  • Overall, ReadMe is considered a good choice for organizations looking to streamline their API documentation process and provide a professional, user-friendly documentation experience. Its interactive features and ease of integration with existing development workflows make it a valuable tool for many development teams.

Why this product is good

  • ReadMe is a popular platform for creating and managing API documentation. It provides a user-friendly interface with features such as interactive API references, auto-generated documentation from API specifications, and the ability to customize and update documentation easily. Additionally, ReadMe offers integrations with various development tools and supports continuous updates to ensure your documentation is always current. The platform is designed to improve developer experience by providing clear, accessible, and collaborative documentation resources.

Recommended for

    ReadMe is recommended for tech companies, API developers, software development teams, product managers, and any organization that needs to create, maintain, and improve the usability of their API documentation. It is particularly beneficial for teams that prioritize collaborative documentation processes and wish to offer users a modern documentation interface.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ReadMe and You Need A Wiki)
Documentation
80 80%
20% 20
Documentation As A Service & Tools
Developer Tools
80 80%
20% 20
Knowledge Base
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare ReadMe and You Need A Wiki

ReadMe Reviews

Best Gitbook Alternatives You Need to Try in 2023
Readme.com is a developer hub that allows users to publish API documentation. It focuses on making API references interactive by allowing to Try out API calls, log metrics about the API call usage, and more. This means it lacks some capabilities, like a review system and several blocks, which the Gitbook editor supports.
Source: www.archbee.com
12 Most Useful Knowledge Management Tools for Your Business
ReadMe offers integration with apps like Slack, Google Analytics, and Zendesk. One of its most significant advantages is the metrics option which lets you see how customers are using your API.
Source: www.archbee.com

You Need A Wiki Reviews

11 Top Confluence Alternatives & Competitors For Team Collaboration
With YNAW, anyone with access to your Google Docs can edit or update your wiki-style website in seconds. The process of inviting anyone to your wiki is similar to inviting a user to a shared file or folder on Google Drive.
Source: clickup.com
The 11 Best Slite Alternatives in 2022- Free Tools Included!
That’s what makes YNAW a worthy Slite alternative. Users can create private team wikis, link to other documents, create a table of contents, create nested tree menus, and more.
Source: remoteverse.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ReadMe should be more popular than You Need A Wiki. It has been mentiond 23 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

ReadMe mentions (23)

  • 7 Top API Documentation Software Tools 2025 (With Reviews and Pricing)✨
    For more information and to subscribe, visit ReadMe. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Leveraging API Documentation for Faster Developer Onboarding
    Documentation portals like ReadMe provide complete Developer experience platforms with customization, analytics, and feedback mechanisms. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Integrating OpenAPI With Mintlify
    According to the OpenAPI specification initiative, OpenAPI is the standard for defining your API. This means that with the help of this file, you can migrate your API documentation from one platform to another. For example, you can migrate your API docs from Postman to ReadMe or Mintlify or vice versa. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • How to view API request examples in a ReadMe documentation.
    My recent experience with The Movie Database (TMDB) API documentation underscores the importance of request examples in API documentation. It took me a couple of hours to figure out how to make a successful request to an endpoint because I couldn't access a request sample. However, I eventually found it in an unexpected place. ReadMe on the other hand didn't make it easy. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Do you Know Only Fools Use APIs Doc Platform?
    I came across readme.io some days back, and It's like that fresh outfit you wear to high-end parties—the one with crisp lines, dark colors, and intricate designs that make you stand out. Their documentation platform is sleek, modern, and highly customizable to fit your brand's drip. It's like having a tailor sew a 007 suit (James Bond) to your specs. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
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You Need A Wiki mentions (13)

  • I Created Perfect Wiki and Reached $250K in Annual Revenue Without Investors
    This product reminds me a bit of 'You need a wiki', which allows you to maintain your wiki in Google Drive, but still browse it easily: https://youneedawiki.com/ As the files are all stored in Google Drive, so there's no vendor lock-in. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • How do you organise your information?
    Personally I use YNAW (You Need A Wiki), which makes you a wiki using google drive, I know obsidian is also good but it just doesn't jive right for me. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Is it Common Practice to use a “Dev Wiki”?
    I personally use google drive, and use https://youneedawiki.com/ to display it as a wiki. Completely free. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Looking for an oddly specific Wiki service feature. Is there one that does this?
    Is there a wiki that has a sidebar which uses some kind of expandable / collapsable folder structure that makes the taxonomy really clear? Here's an example as used in youneedawiki. I really like how clear and fast it is to see where you are in any particular knowledge branch. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Making the best of GitHub and Google Docs for a new startup
    Trying to nail down what tools we will use as a fully remote team needing to work asynchronously. We will have paid versions of GitHub (Teams) and Google Workspace for email / calendar and docs. I did look at notion, clickup but I honestly think I prefer limiting our spend on an extra tool. What I like about notion is how its got a wiki structure, and this is where G-Docs leaves us short. The performance of... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing ReadMe and You Need A Wiki, you can also consider the following products

GitBook - Modern Publishing, Simply taking your books from ideas to finished, polished books.

Docusaurus - Easy to maintain open source documentation websites

Archbee.io - Archbee is a developer-focused product docs tool for your team. Build beautiful product documentation sites or internal wikis/knowledge bases to get your team and product knowledge in one place.

Kbee - Create a wiki in 5 minutes Kbee turns your Google Drive folders into a fast, searchable wiki for you and your team.

Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development

DocsHound - A new way to document