GitBook vs Shelf
GitBook
gitbook.comShelf
shelf.ioSide by side
| Figure | GitBook | Shelf |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $65/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · Knowledge base software | 9.1 (#5) | 7.2 (#125) |
| Spec score · AI Knowledge Base Software | 8.8 (#4) | 6.8 (#32) |
| Access control | Tiered roles and permissions control who can view and edit content. | Shelf lists SSO and SCIM support and granular user group based permissions. |
| Publishing audience | both | Shelf describes AI Knowledge Management as serving business and knowledge-management teams, and its AI Data Layer as serving technical teams. |
| Integrations | Built-in integrations include GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Intercom, analytics services, authentication providers, feature-flag tools, and support tools. | The integrations page lists connectors including SharePoint, Salesforce Knowledge, Confluence, Notion, ServiceNow, and Intercom. |
| Product | GitBook is a collaborative, AI-native documentation platform for creating, reviewing, and publishing branded documentation websites. | Shelf turns enterprise documents, files, and other knowledge sources into structured, contextualized information for people and AI. |
| Security | GitBook's Trust Center lists SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001:2022 compliance. | Shelf’s technology page states that it is SOC 2 Type II certified and uses TLS 1.2+ in transit and AES-256 encryption at rest. |
| Support | GitBook provides product support through [email protected] and offers sales contact and demos. | Shelf’s Salesforce app guide directs customers to their Shelf Account Manager or [email protected] for assistance. |
Plans
In their own words
GitBook
GitBook is a documentation platform for teams creating, reviewing, and publishing branded documentation websites. Content can be written in a block-based visual editor or Markdown, organized through branch-based review, or synchronized with GitHub and GitLab. Published sites support custom domains, responsive layouts, SEO, preview deployments, and site variants. GitBook Agent can surface documentation gaps, draft updates, and review changes, while GitBook Assistant answers questions using documentation and connected sources. Teams can set tiered permissions and restrict documentation to authenticated users. The Free plan is free, includes one user, and limits GitBook Agent to 10 messages per week. Premium is $65 a month billed per site annually, plus $12 per user/month; Ultimate is $249 a month billed per site annually, plus $12 per user/month. Annual billing includes two months free, and a 14-day trial is available. Published documentation traffic is not limited.