Stoplight

Visual API design and documentation platform powered by Markdown and OpenAPI.

About Stoplight

Stoplight (a SmartBear company) is an API design and documentation platform that provides both visual editors and code-based environments for building OpenAPI specifications. It focuses on making API design accessible to non-developers while still providing the robust tools required by engineers, facilitating collaboration across the entire API lifecycle.

The platform excels at generating beautiful, interactive developer portals using Stoplight Elements. It allows teams to combine OpenAPI references seamlessly with Markdown guides, tutorials, and architectural overviews, creating a cohesive documentation experience for end-users.

Key Features

Visual API Designer: Form-based visual editor for creating OpenAPI specs without writing code.
Stoplight Studio: Desktop and web-based IDE for API design and markdown writing.
Interactive Documentation: Generates clean, interactive API references via Stoplight Elements.
Markdown & MDX Support: Easily mixes narrative guides with technical endpoint documentation.
Style Guides: Enforces API design consistency with automated linting (Spectral).
Mock Servers: Generates instant mock endpoints (Prism) for parallel frontend development.

Pricing

Free: $0 / month
Includes 1 project and basic access for individual evaluation.
Basic: $56 / month (or $44 / month billed annually)
Includes 3 users. Features include the OpenAPI/JSON Schema visual designer, interactive docs, and instant mock servers. Additional users cost ~$14/mo.
Startup: $147 / month (or $113 / month billed annually)
Includes 8 users. Adds private projects, multi-branch support, custom domains, theming, favicon, and Google Analytics integration. Additional users cost ~$14/mo.
Pro Team: $453 / month (or $362 / month billed annually)
Designed for organization-wide API governance. Adds shared style guides, up to 20 teams, workspace groups, branding removal, self-hosted Git providers, activity logs, LDAP/SAML SSO, and Component Libraries. Additional users cost ~$27/mo.
Enterprise: Custom Pricing
Includes unlimited projects and teams, custom payment terms, invoicing, and priority support.

Note: Stoplight's plans do not carry metered API request quotas or throughput limits since it provides developer tooling and design-first portals rather than a metered API gateway.

Pricing last updated: November 3, 2026 at 12:00 AM

Use Cases

Visual OpenAPI design for non-technical users
Publishing comprehensive developer portals
Mixing markdown guides with API references
Enforcing API linting rules with Spectral

Pros & Cons

Pros:

Excellent visual editor lowers the barrier to API design
Documentation portals look modern and are easy to navigate
Strong suite of underlying open-source tools (Spectral, Prism)

Cons:

Acquired by SmartBear, raising questions about overlap with Swagger Studio
Project organization can become cluttered in large workspaces

Integrations

GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, Slack

FAQ

Does Stoplight require knowing OpenAPI syntax?

No, Stoplight Studio includes a visual designer that allows you to build APIs using forms and UI controls, automatically generating the underlying OpenAPI code.