Starlight vs Stoplight

Starlight is a free, open-source Astro-based framework for building documentation sites, while Stoplight is a paid, design-first platform for designing,…

Best for Starlight: Teams that want a free, self-hosted, highly customizable documentation site with built-in search, i18n, and support for Markdown, MDX, and Markdoc, and are comfortable working with Astro.
Best for Stoplight: Teams doing OpenAPI-first API design who need a visual editor, automatic mock servers, style guide governance, and Git sync (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure) across a portfolio of APIs, especially with SSO and activity logs at the Pro Team tier ($362/month annual).

At a Glance

 StarlightStoplight
Primary categoryDeveloper ToolsDeveloper Tools
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelopen-sourcefreemium/subscription
Starting priceFreeFree
Free planNot documentedYes
Free trialNot documentedYes
PlatformsNot documentedWeb
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresNot documentedNot documented
Public APINot documentedYes

Key Differences

Pricing Model

Starlight: Starlight is free and open source, with no paid tiers.

Stoplight: Stoplight is freemium, starting at $44/month (annual, Basic plan, 3 users) up to Pro Team at $362/month (15 users), plus custom Enterprise pricing.

Budget-conscious teams and collaboration-heavy teams face very different cost structures with these tools.

Core Purpose

Starlight: Starlight is a docs-site framework for authoring content in Markdown, MDX, or Markdoc, with built-in search and internationalization.

Stoplight: Stoplight is an API design platform centered on a visual OpenAPI/JSON Schema editor, automatic mock servers, and style guides.

This determines whether you're publishing written content or designing and governing an API contract.

Hosting Model

Starlight: Starlight has no official hosted or managed offering; it must be deployed like any other Astro site.

Stoplight: Stoplight is a hosted SaaS platform with free and paid tiers, and also maintains open-source components (Spectral, Prism, Elements).

Teams that don't want to manage deployment infrastructure need a hosted option.

Governance & Collaboration

Starlight: Starlight has no built-in collaboration or governance layer since it is a static site framework, not a workspace.

Stoplight: Stoplight includes built-in and shared style guides, LDAP/SAML SSO, workspace groups, and activity logs on the Pro Team plan.

Larger organizations managing many APIs need enforceable design standards across teams.

Free Tier Depth

Starlight: Starlight is fully free and open source with no user or project caps.

Stoplight: Stoplight's Free plan is capped at 1 user and 1 project.

Growing teams will hit Stoplight's free-tier limits faster than they'll hit any limit in Starlight.

Feature-by-Feature

Documentation & Content

FeatureStarlightStoplight
Built-in full-text searchAvailableNot documented
Internationalization (i18n)AvailableNot documented
Markdown/MDX/Markdoc authoringAvailableNot documented
Interactive API documentationNot documentedAvailable
Framework UI components (React/Vue/Svelte)AvailableNot documented

API Design & Governance

FeatureStarlightStoplight
Visual OpenAPI/JSON Schema editorUnavailableAvailable
Automatic mock serversUnavailableAvailable
Style guides / API governanceUnavailableAvailable
Reusable schemas/components across APIsUnavailableAvailable
Git sync (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure)Not documentedAvailable

Collaboration & Access

FeatureStarlightStoplight
Free tier availabilityAvailableAvailable
LDAP/SAML SSOUnavailableAvailable
Activity logsUnavailableAvailable
Multi-user seats includedNot documentedAvailable
Open-source codebaseAvailableLimited

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Starlight

Open Source — Free N/A

Stoplight

Free — $0 N/A
Basic — $44-$56/month monthly or annual
Startup — $113-$147/month monthly or annual
Pro Team — $362-$453/month monthly or annual
Enterprise — Custom annual

Pros & Cons

Starlight

Pros

  • Completely free and open source with no paid tier
  • Fast page loads thanks to Astro's minimal-JavaScript approach
  • Built-in search, navigation, and i18n reduce setup time
  • Actively maintained by the Astro core team with frequent releases
  • Flexible content authoring across Markdown, MDX, and Markdoc

Cons

  • Requires familiarity with Astro and its build tooling
  • No hosted or managed offering; teams must deploy and host it themselves
  • Customization beyond the built-in theme requires editing Astro components
  • Smaller plugin ecosystem than long-established docs tools like Docusaurus or GitBook

Stoplight

Pros

  • Strong design-first workflow with visual OpenAPI editing
  • Mock servers accelerate parallel frontend and backend development
  • Reusable style guides help enforce API governance at scale
  • Backed by SmartBear's broader API tooling and resources post-acquisition
  • Free tier available for individual users testing the product

Cons

  • Pricing scales quickly with user count on team plans
  • Some standalone Stoplight capabilities are being folded into SmartBear's unified platform, which can mean workflow changes for existing users
  • Advanced governance features like SSO require higher-tier plans
  • Smaller company footprint (11-50 employees) compared to larger API tooling competitors
  • Enterprise pricing requires a custom sales conversation

Use Cases

Choose Starlight: Teams that want a free, self-hosted, highly customizable documentation site with built-in search, i18n, and support for Markdown, MDX, and Markdoc, and are comfortable working with Astro.
Choose Stoplight: Teams doing OpenAPI-first API design who need a visual editor, automatic mock servers, style guide governance, and Git sync (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure) across a portfolio of APIs, especially with SSO and activity logs at the Pro Team tier ($362/month annual).
Need both: A platform team could design and govern its OpenAPI specs in Stoplight, then use Starlight to build the broader developer portal covering tutorials, guides, and changelogs that surrounds or links to the Stoplight-generated interactive API docs.

Starlight

  • Open-source project documentation — Open-source maintainers use Starlight to build searchable, well-organized docs for their libraries and tools without building a custom site.
  • Developer tool and API documentation — Companies building developer tools use Starlight to document APIs and SDKs with fast, accessible, search-enabled sites.
  • Multilingual product documentation — Teams needing documentation in multiple languages use Starlight's built-in internationalization to manage translated content in one site.

Stoplight

  • Design-first API development — Engineering teams define an OpenAPI contract in Stoplight before writing backend code, keeping frontend and backend work in sync.
  • API governance at scale — Large organizations use shared style guides and components to enforce consistent standards across dozens or hundreds of APIs.
  • Interactive API documentation — Teams publish auto-generated, always up-to-date documentation for internal or external API consumers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Starlight a replacement for Stoplight's API design tools?

No. Starlight is a documentation site framework built on Astro for publishing written content; it doesn't include an OpenAPI visual editor, mock servers, or style-guide governance the way Stoplight does.

Does Stoplight offer a free plan?

Yes, Stoplight has a Free plan for $0 limited to 1 user and 1 project, including the API editor, visual designer, interactive docs, and instant/local mock servers.

Can Stoplight be self-hosted like Starlight?

Not fully. Stoplight is a hosted SaaS platform; only its open-source components (Spectral, Prism, Elements) can be run independently, whereas Starlight is deployed entirely as a self-hosted Astro site.

Which tool costs money?

Starlight is free and open source. Stoplight is freemium, with paid plans starting at $44/month (annual) and custom Enterprise pricing.

Do both tools generate API documentation?

Stoplight generates interactive API documentation automatically from OpenAPI design work. Starlight can host any documentation content you write, including API reference pages, but it doesn't design or validate the API spec itself.

Is Stoplight still actively maintained after the SmartBear acquisition?

Yes. Stoplight's website and pricing remain active under the Stoplight brand, though the company now operates as part of SmartBear Software following an acquisition announced in 2023.

Read the full Starlight review · Read the full Stoplight review