Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

swagger.io VS ReadTheDocs

Compare swagger.io VS ReadTheDocs and see what are their differences

swagger.io logo swagger.io

Swagger is an open source RESTapi Documentation Tool.

ReadTheDocs logo ReadTheDocs

Spend your time on writing high quality documentation, not on the tools to make your documentation work.
  • swagger.io Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-11
  • ReadTheDocs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-09

swagger.io features and specs

  • Comprehensive Documentation
    Swagger.io offers extensive documentation that is easy to understand, making it accessible for both beginners and advanced users to document and visualize APIs.
  • Interactive API Exploration
    Swagger UI allows developers to test endpoints directly from the browser, which significantly enhances the API development and debugging process.
  • Automated Code Generation
    Swagger can generate client and server code in multiple languages, reducing the time and effort needed to develop APIs.
  • Standardization
    Swagger adheres to the OpenAPI Specification, which is widely recognized and helps in maintaining a standard format across different APIs.
  • Wide Adoption
    Being one of the most popular tools for API documentation, Swagger has a large community and wide industry adoption, which facilitates better support and resources.
  • Third-Party Integrations
    Swagger supports numerous third-party integrations, enabling seamless integration into CI/CD pipelines and other development workflows.

Possible disadvantages of swagger.io

  • Learning Curve
    Despite its comprehensive documentation, there can be a steep learning curve for beginners who are not familiar with API documentation and the OpenAPI Specification.
  • Complexity with Large APIs
    For very large APIs with numerous endpoints, the Swagger UI can become unwieldy and less performant, making it difficult to manage and visualize.
  • Customization Limitations
    While Swagger offers a lot of out-of-the-box features, there are limitations in terms of customizing the UI and some other aspects without delving into code.
  • Dependency on Additional Tools
    To fully utilize Swagger's capabilities, especially in code generation and testing, developers often need to rely on additional tools and libraries, which can add to the complexity.
  • Performance Overhead
    Running the Swagger documentation server can introduce some performance overhead, which might be noticeable in environments with limited resources.

ReadTheDocs features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    ReadTheDocs simplifies the process of generating and hosting documentation. It integrates easily with various version control systems like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket, making it straightforward to deploy and update documentation.
  • Automatic Builds
    Documentation is automatically built and updated each time changes are pushed to the repository. This ensures that the docs are always in sync with the codebase.
  • Search Functionality
    Search functionality is built-in, providing users with the ability to quickly find information within the documentation.
  • Custom Themability
    ReadTheDocs supports theming and custom CSS, allowing users to personalize the look and feel of their documentation.
  • Multi-Version Support
    It supports multiple versions of documentation, making it easy to maintain and access different versions of your project’s documentation.
  • Multi-Language Support
    ReadTheDocs provides support for multiple languages, enabling users to create and manage documentation in various languages.
  • Integration with Sphinx
    As ReadTheDocs relies on Sphinx, it offers powerful extensions and integrations, enhancing the documentation capabilities with code syntax highlighting, inline citations, and API documentation generation.

Possible disadvantages of ReadTheDocs

  • Limited Customization
    While ReadTheDocs offers theming capabilities, it is still relatively limited compared to custom-built documentation sites. Customizing beyond basic theming can be challenging.
  • Performance Issues
    For very large projects, the build times can be longer, and occasional performance issues might arise, especially with extensive documentation.
  • Learning Curve
    Although it is designed to be user-friendly, integrating with Sphinx and setting up the initial configuration for complex projects can have a learning curve.
  • Dependency on Sphinx
    As ReadTheDocs relies heavily on Sphinx, any limitations or bugs within Sphinx can directly affect the documentation site's functionality.
  • Limited Control Over Hosting
    Because it's a hosted service, users have limited control over the hosting environment, which could be a limitation for some companies requiring specific deployment configurations.
  • Potential Downtime
    Since it’s a cloud service, ReadTheDocs may experience downtime or outages, which could temporarily affect the availability of the documentation.
  • Inconsistent Build Environments
    Differences between local development and the ReadTheDocs build environment can sometimes lead to inconsistencies and unexpected issues in the rendered documentation.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to swagger.io and ReadTheDocs)
API Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Documentation
60 60%
40% 40
Task Management
0 0%
100% 100
Documentation As A Service & Tools

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare swagger.io and ReadTheDocs

swagger.io Reviews

Introduction to Doxygen Alternatives In 2021
Swagger io is a software application In the Documentation as a Service & Tools department of a technology stack. It is an open-source tool. Swagger io is an independent set of Javascript, CSS, and HTML tools from a Swagger-compliant API that dynamically produces paperwork and sandbox.
Source: www.webku.net
Doxygen Alternatives
Swagger io is a software In the Documentation as a Service & Tools division of a technology stack. It is an open-source tool. Swagger io is an independent set of Javascript, CSS, and HTML tools from a Swagger-compliant API that dynamically creates documentation and sandbox.
Source: www.educba.com

ReadTheDocs Reviews

Best Gitbook Alternatives You Need to Try in 2023
ReadTheDocs is a web-based platform for building, hosting, and versioning documentation. It supports multiple languages and has built-in versioning, so you can easily switch between different versions of your documentation. It also integrates with various version control systems, including GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket. Additionally, ReadTheDocs provides a hosting service...
Source: www.archbee.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, swagger.io seems to be a lot more popular than ReadTheDocs. While we know about 97 links to swagger.io, we've tracked only 2 mentions of ReadTheDocs. 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.

swagger.io mentions (97)

  • Scalable REST API Architecture with NestJS, Prisma, Swagger, & Docker: How To.
    Swagger (OpenAPI) is a powerful tool for documenting and testing APIs. It provides interactive documentation that makes it easier for front-end developers and API consumers to understand and use your endpoints. (Check out Swagger). - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • 6 Game-Changing Postman Alternatives That Will Revolutionize Your API Development in 2025
    For teams that follow an OpenAPI-first approach, Swagger UI provides a straightforward way to visualize and interact with APIs. It's not a complete replacement for Postman's testing capabilities, but it excels at creating a bridge between documentation and testing. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • How API Schema Validation Boosts Effective Contract Testing
    OpenAPI (Swagger): A comprehensive approach to API design that includes built-in schema validation capabilities. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • 🚀 The Ultimate Guide to REST API Design: Best Practices & Patterns You Can’t Ignore
    Not documenting your API (use tools like Swagger). - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Squido: A Beginner’s Guide to the HTML Website Generator
    Swagger API doc: It enables swagger and generates your super fast static API documentation. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
View more

ReadTheDocs mentions (2)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing swagger.io and ReadTheDocs, you can also consider the following products

Doxygen - Generate documentation from source code

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

Swagger UI - Swagger UI is a dependency-free collection of HTML, Javascript, and CSS assets that dynamically generate beautiful documentation from a Swag

Documize - Enterprise-grade wiki and knowledge management platform

Apigee - Intelligent and complete API platform

HackMD - Fast and flexible, real-time collaborative markdown, inspired by Hackpad.