Comparisons / Mintlify
Mintlify alternative — governed client portals
Mintlify makes genuinely beautiful, AI-ready documentation — a polished publishing experience for public product and API docs. It builds one docs site from a Git repo, per-user access control for private docs sits on the Enterprise plan, and its AI assistant is metered in credits. ilumd is a different thing — a governance layer over the Markdown that stays in your own repo, with per-client isolation and portals on every plan.
Credit where it’s due
Mintlify is one of the nicest ways to publish public product and API documentation — clean design, good developer experience, and AI search built in. If your job is a beautiful public docs site, it's a strong choice.
Where ilumd is different
Where Mintlify stops, and ilumd keeps going.
Governance over every repo, not one docs site
Mintlify builds a docs site from a repo. ilumd governs the Markdown across all of your repos and clients, and the repo stays the source of truth.
Governance isn't an enterprise upsell
Access control, SSO, and roles in docs platforms typically live in enterprise tiers. ilumd's per-audience access and two-axis client isolation are core, on every plan.
Built for many isolated clients
Mintlify is shaped around your public docs site. ilumd is built for an agency running many clients — each isolated, each with a branded portal, resellable.
AI that respects who's asking
Mintlify's assistant respects user groups once Enterprise authentication is set up. ilumd's ask-your-docs is governed on every workspace and answers only from docs the asker may see.
See every doc, not just the published site
Mintlify publishes the docs you curate. ilumd auto-discovers every Markdown file across every repo and client, including forgotten ones.
Side by side
ilumd vs Mintlify, feature by feature.
| Capability | Mintlify | ilumd |
|---|---|---|
| Docs source of truth stays in your repo | Git repo (yours or Mintlify-hosted) | Yes |
| Per-audience access + isolation as core | Enterprise | Yes |
| Built for many isolated clients + resale | No | Yes |
| Governed AI (answers only what you can see) | Group-aware (needs Enterprise auth) | Yes |
| Auto-discovery across many repos | No | Yes |
| Beautiful public docs site | Yes | Not the point |
| Pricing model | Flat plan fee + AI credits | Per workspace · readers free |
Mintlify’s pricing and features were checked against its own website on 3 October 2026. Mintlify is good at what it’s built for; ilumd solves a different problem over the same docs.
Reach for Mintlify when…
You want a beautiful, AI-ready public documentation or API site built from a Git repo. Mintlify does that well.
Reach for ilumd when…
Your docs must stay in your repo, you need governance and client isolation without an enterprise upgrade, and you're serving many clients who each need a branded, isolated portal.
ilumd vs Mintlify · FAQ
Common questions.
Is ilumd a Mintlify alternative?
They solve different problems. Mintlify publishes a beautiful public docs site; ilumd is a governance and access layer over the docs in your own repo, built for private, per-client, and internal audiences. Some teams use both.
Do I need to set up a docs site like Mintlify?
No. ilumd reads the Markdown already in your GitHub or GitLab repos and treats it as the source of truth. There is no site to build, and you choose per doc who sees it.
Does ilumd have AI over my docs?
Yes — included on every workspace, and governed. ilumd's ask-your-docs answers only from documents the person asking is allowed to see, under the same access rules as the portal itself, so a client's answers are drawn from their own material.
Is access control available without an enterprise plan?
Yes. Per-audience access and two-axis client isolation are core primitives in ilumd on every plan, not an enterprise upsell.
Can agencies give each client their own portal?
Yes — ilumd gives every client a branded, isolated portal, and you choose who's billed: the client directly, or self-billed at your own markup. It's built for the agency model.