GitBook vs Typemill

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.

Typemill is a lightweight, self-hosted flat-file CMS for creating product documentation, software manuals, user guides, websites, and eBooks from Markdown. It provides both a WYSIWYG-style editor with drag-and-drop blocks and a raw Markdown editor. Content can be arranged in hierarchical navigation, divided into separate projects, and published in multiple languages. Its eBook plugin can generate PDFs and EPUBs, while the same content can also be published as a website. Typemill stores content in Markdown files and configuration in YAML, without requiring a database. Roles include Administrator, Editor, Author, and Member, and access can be restricted to a whole site or individual pages. Plugins and themes extend it; the Kixote connector works with OpenAI-compatible services and Anthropic’s Claude API, including ChatGPT, Claude, Ollama, and LM Studio. The maker says installation requires Apache or Nginx and PHP 8.1 or higher. Community is free; Maker costs $22 a year, billed 22 € + VAT/Year, for one instance and production domain.