ReadMe — Fern

ReadMe, similar to Fern, supports generating docs for APIs. Below, we walk through the different capabilities of Fern and ReadMe.

1. Fern offers docs as code

Fern leverages your git version control provider (e.g., GitHub) as a content management system (CMS). You commit Markdown files (MDX) & your OpenAPI Specification to benefit from branching, pull requests, and approval workflows. Generating docs takes place in CI/CD (e.g., GitHub Actions) and is done automatically when your content changes.

ReadMe has a built-in content management system backed by Markdown, but not accessible in your code repository.

2. Fern offers more levels of customization

Fern’s docs allow you to completely customize your docs to match your brand’s needs.

Feature	Fern	ReadMe
Custom CSS/HTML	✅	✅
Custom JS	✅	✅
Reusable content	✅	✅
Built-in translations	❌	✅
UI (React) components	✅	❌
Direct communication for feature requests	✅	❌

3. Fern is an all-in-one: SDKs + Docs

When you generate SDKs with Fern, you automatically get the SDK code snippets embedded inside your API Reference. Plus, you get an SDK reference that informs a developer about how to get started. In the API Playground, developers can try the API and see how to make a request using the SDK, allowing them to copy, paste, and go.

API Docs with SDK code snippets (generated by Fern)

If you choose ReadMe, you would have to find a separate vendor for SDK generation and would need to manually maintain code examples using the SDK. You also do not have access to dynamic SDK snippets in the API Playground.

4. Fern offers full OpenAPI support

Fern is built with first-class support for nested objects and will give developers detailed information about what properties are required vs optional as well. Fern can also support the intuitive display of additional properties.

First-class support for nested objects (generated by Fern)

5. Fern offers live editing experience

With Fern, you can iterate quickly by running a local development server, changing Markdown, and then immediately seeing what the page looks like in your browser. Local development allows for real-time editing, where you can see what you get while writing documentation.

Local development environment (generated by Fern)

ReadMe has an editor in the browser that allows you to edit guides without seeing the underlying Markdown. This is appealing to non-technical teammates who aren’t familiar with git, terminal, VS Code, and CLI commands.

6. Universal search

When you have more than 1 API, Fern allows you to search between them all. ReadMe’s search is specific to the API you’re currently looking at. Fern’s search extends to mobile versions, as well.