Dr.Explain vs Fonto Editor
Dr.Explain
drexplain.comFonto Editor
fontoxml.comSide by side
| Figure | Dr.Explain | Fonto Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $24.17/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 1 |
| Spec score · Help Authoring Tools | 8.5 (#4) | 7.7 (#14) |
| Publishing audience | both | Fonto says it is mostly used in finance, life sciences, pharma, standardization, legislation, technical documentation, aerospace and defense, and publishing. |
| Product | Dr.Explain is a help authoring tool for creating user guides, operating instructions, help files, and manuals. | Fonto Editor is an online XML editor designed for people without XML or structured content authoring experience. |
| Support | The maker offers multilingual technical and sales support by email and toll-free voicemail. | Fonto describes a support desk, developer documentation, and developer training for configuring and integrating the product. |
Plans
Dr.Explain
- FreeFree
- Business Temporary$290 a year
- Business Perpetual v.7$690, paid once
- Home Perpetual v.7$9,000, paid once
- Free Restricted LicenseFree
- Business License — Temporary$290 a year
- Business License — Perpetual for v.7$690, paid once
- Home License — Perpetual for v.7$9,000, paid once
In their own words
Dr.Explain
Dr.Explain is a Windows help authoring tool for creating user guides, operating instructions, help files, and manuals. It captures application windows or web pages and adds numbered callouts to interface elements. Documentation can be exported as HTML, CHM, PDF, or DOCX; imports include CHM, HLP, HTML, XML, DOC/DOCX, and TXT, with project structure and formatting preserved. For software integration, it supports Help Context IDs and creates map files in.h,.vb, and.inc formats. Multiple authors can work on a project through the free Tiwri.com service or a corporate server on the company's internal network. An in-program AI Assistant offers generation, translation, and proofreading. The desktop application requires 64-bit Windows 11, 10, 8, or 7. The free license has no time limit but restricts project size and watermarks exported images; it includes 20 topics. Business Temporary costs $290 a year for five users, and Business Perpetual v.7 costs $690, paid once for five users. Home Perpetual v.7 costs $9,000, paid once for one user and excludes commercial use.
Fonto Editor
Fonto Editor is an online XML editor for people without XML or structured-content authoring experience. It validates edits in real time against the active schema, including DITA, JATS, S1000D, or custom schemas. Authors can add comments and metadata, restructure content by dragging and dropping, copy and paste, and track changes. Version control, translation support, review workflows, and previews for HTML, PDF, e-books, learning platforms, magazines, and manuals are listed. Fonto says it supports any XML schema, including BITS, DocBook, NISO STS, TEI, and bespoke schemas. Its open architecture connects with content-management, digital-asset, and repository systems; listed integrations include Alfresco, OneDrive, SharePoint, Adobe EM, Google Drive, OpenText, SDL Tridion Docs, MarkLogic, and FileNet. It does not store content or provide workflow, so integration with a CMS, workflow system, or repository is required. Platforms are API, self-hosted, and web. Pricing is on request, with an annual fee based on named and/or concurrent users.