JSDoc vs Scalar
JSDoc
jsdoc.app
Scalar
scalar.comSide by side
| Figure | JSDoc | Scalar |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $150/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 7 |
| Spec score · Documentation Generators | 7.2 (#27) | 8.9 (#2) |
| Spec score · API Documentation Tools | 7.3 (#21) | 8.8 (#2) |
| Spec score · Api Docs | 7.2 (#16) | 8.9 (#4) |
| Integrations | The project README lists community templates, Grunt and Gulp plugins, a GitHub Action, and a GitBook integration. | Scalar documents more than 35 framework integrations, including Express, Fastify, Hono, NestJS, Next.js, FastAPI, Django, Rails, Laravel, ASP.NET Core, Spring Boot, Go and Rust. |
| Plugins | Plugins can extend JSDoc, and the configuration documentation describes built-in Markdown and summarize plugins. | API Reference and API Client expose plugin APIs for lifecycle hooks, custom UI and response-body handlers, including URL-loaded ESM plugins. |
| Support | The project README directs users to the JSDoc Users mailing list and Stack Overflow questions tagged `jsdoc` for help. | Enterprise includes priority support, SLAs, migration services, and a dedicated Slack or Teams channel. |
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
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.