Read the Docs vs. Netlify comparison

Netlify is fantastic for deploying modern web applications and static sites. However, when it comes to technical documentation and developer-focused content, Read the Docs is the purpose-built solution.

Discover why Read the Docs is the better choice for your documentation projects.


Build your site on the cloud Generate your site's content on the cloud
Deploy previews Solve style issues before deploying
Static hosting Publish any static content
Custom 404 pages Style 404 pages with context-related information
Redirects Redirect users to the right page
Custom theme Style the documentation as you like
Documentation tool agnostic Use the documentation tool your team prefers (Sphinx, MkDocs, Docusaurus, etc)
Page analytics Understand how people browse your documentation
Advanced collaboration Unlimited users
Search Always find what you are looking for
Multiple versions Publish multiple versions of your documentation
Translations Serve translated versions of your docs
Visual diff on deploy previews Visualize differences directly on the rendered version
Search analytics Explore what people search for in your docs
Private documention Give access only to trusted people
Unlimited builds per month Trigger as many builds as you need
Open Source No lock in and contribute back

Try it out

.readthedocs.yaml

version: 2

# Set the OS, Python version and other tools you might need
build:
  os: ubuntu-24.04
  tools:
    python: "3.12"
    nodejs: "20"
    # You can also specify other tool versions:
    # rust: "1.70"
    # golang: "1.20"

  # Support any tool with custom build commands
  commands:
    # Install dependencies
    - cd docs/ && npm install
    # Build the site
    - cd docs/ && npm run build
    # Copy generated files into Read the Docs directory
    - mkdir --parents $READTHEDOCS_OUTPUT/html/
    - cp --recursive docs/build/* $READTHEDOCS_OUTPUT/html/

Netlify excels at deploying modern web applications, but documentation requires specialized features like search, versioning, and analytics. Read the Docs is the all-in-one solution built specifically for technical documentation, providing everything you need without the complexity of building documentation features yourself.

Get started for free

Read the Docs is the all-in-one solution for your documentation

Upgrade your documentation with Read the Docs

Still not convinced? Try it yourself