ApiNotes vs Scalar
ApiNotes
apinotes.ioScalar
scalar.comSide by side
| Figure | ApiNotes | Scalar |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $19/mo | $150/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 7 |
| Spec score · API Documentation Tools | 8.3 (#4) | 8.8 (#2) |
| What it does | ApiNotes turns OpenAPI or Swagger specifications into hosted interactive documentation and an automatically generated changelog with breaking-change alerts. | Scalar turns OpenAPI or AsyncAPI descriptions into interactive API references, documentation sites, API clients, SDKs, registries and hosted MCP servers. |
Plans
Scalar
- FreeFree
- Pro$150 a month
- Business$600 a month
- FreeFree
- Pro$150 a month
- Business$600 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
ApiNotes
ApiNotes turns OpenAPI and Swagger specifications into hosted interactive documentation and a changelog that alerts teams to breaking changes. It accepts OpenAPI 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2, plus Swagger 2.0, in YAML or JSON. Generated references show endpoint parameters, response schemas, code samples in more than 10 programming languages, and a Try-It-Now console. Users can paste, upload, or link a specification and publish documentation at an ApiNotes subdomain. A GitHub Action can publish an updated specification on merge, while the Team plan lists pull request comments about breaking changes. Starter is free and limited to one public API, the last 10 changelog releases, 25 subscribers, and one team member. Team costs $19 a month and includes five APIs, private docs, full changelog history, unlimited subscribers, a custom domain, and five team members. The Team plan has a 14-day trial with no credit card required. Additional APIs are listed at £5/API; Postman, Bruno, and Insomnia integrations are marked as coming soon.
Scalar
Scalar is a set of API products for documentation, SDK generation, API registries, API requests, and MCP server use. Scalar Docs combines product guides and interactive API references generated from OpenAPI documents in a developer portal. Teams can write in Markdown or MDX, use GitHub content, preview pull requests, and publish through a CLI or after a merge. The SDK Generator builds idiomatic, type-safe client libraries from OpenAPI documents and can publish them through repository pull requests. Registry stores and versions OpenAPI and AsyncAPI documents, JSON Schema, and Spectral rules with Git integration. The open-source API Client works offline for sending requests, organizing collections, and testing APIs from OpenAPI documents. Scalar supports hosted and self-hosted deployment. Its Free plan is free and includes up to three APIs, one SDK with up to 25 endpoints, one editor seat, and 50 Agent Scalar credits. Pro is $150 a month; Business is $600 a month. Scalar states that it has received a SOC 2 Type 1 report and maintains GDPR-compliant privacy practices.