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Docusaurus is open source and free to use. Meta built it, released it under the MIT license, and thousands of projects run on it without paying a dime for the software itself. For a full feature breakdown, see our Docusaurus review.
But software cost and total cost are different things. Docusaurus requires hosting, engineering time for setup, and ongoing maintenance. Here’s what it actually costs to run.
Docusaurus Software: Genuinely Free
| Component | Cost |
|---|---|
| Docusaurus software | $0 |
| Algolia DocSearch | $0 (for open source) |
| Themes and plugins | $0 |
| Updates and upgrades | $0 |
Docusaurus itself costs nothing. You download it, build your docs, and deploy. The software is MIT licensed with no usage restrictions, no feature gates, no enterprise tiers.
This is real. No asterisks on the software itself.
Hosting Costs: $0 to $100+/month
You need somewhere to deploy your built documentation site. Options range from free to expensive:
Free Hosting Options
| Provider | Free Tier Limits | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Pages | Unlimited for public repos | Open source projects |
| Vercel | 100GB bandwidth, hobby use | Small documentation sites |
| Netlify | 100GB bandwidth, 300 build mins | Small to medium sites |
| Cloudflare Pages | Unlimited bandwidth, 500 builds | High-traffic static sites |
For most documentation sites, free hosting works fine. GitHub Pages is the default choice for open-source projects; Vercel and Netlify work well for private documentation.
Paid Hosting Options
| Provider | Starting Price | When You Need It |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel Pro | $20/month | Team features, more bandwidth |
| Netlify Pro | $19/month | Team features, form submissions |
| AWS/GCP/Azure | $10-100+/month | Custom infrastructure requirements |
| VPS (DigitalOcean, etc.) | $5-20/month | Full control, custom setup |
High-traffic sites or those requiring enterprise features (SSO, audit logs, SLAs) will need paid hosting.
Realistic hosting budget:
- Small/medium sites: $0/month
- Enterprise or high-traffic: $20-100/month
The Hidden Cost: Engineering Time
This is where “free” breaks down. Docusaurus requires technical work:
Initial Setup (8-40 hours)
| Task | Time Estimate |
|---|---|
| Installing and configuring | 2-4 hours |
| CI/CD pipeline setup | 2-8 hours |
| Algolia search integration | 2-4 hours |
| Theme customization | 2-16 hours |
| Versioning configuration | 1-4 hours |
| Testing and debugging | 2-8 hours |
A straightforward setup takes 8-16 hours. Significant customization pushes toward 40+ hours.
Ongoing Maintenance (2-10 hours/month)
| Task | Monthly Time |
|---|---|
| Docusaurus version updates | 1-2 hours |
| Dependency updates | 1-2 hours |
| Build issue troubleshooting | 0-4 hours |
| Infrastructure monitoring | 0-2 hours |
Maintenance requirements vary. Some months need minimal attention; others require debugging build failures or handling breaking changes in dependencies.
Customization (Varies)
| Customization Level | Time Required |
|---|---|
| CSS changes (colors, fonts) | 1-4 hours |
| Component modifications | 4-16 hours |
| Custom React components | 8-40 hours |
| Plugin development | 20-80+ hours |
Docusaurus uses React, so customization requires React expertise. Non-trivial changes can consume significant engineering time.
Total Cost of Ownership
Here’s what Docusaurus actually costs at different scales:
Solo Developer / Open Source Project
| Cost Component | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Software | $0 |
| Hosting (GitHub Pages) | $0 |
| Maintenance time | 2-4 hours |
| Total | $0 + your time |
If your time is free (hobby project, volunteer work), Docusaurus is genuinely cost-effective.
Startup Team (3-5 people)
| Cost Component | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Software | $0 |
| Hosting (Vercel free) | $0 |
| Setup (amortized) | ~$100-300 (first year) |
| Maintenance | 4-8 hours × $100/hr = $400-800 |
| Total | $400-1,100/month effective |
At startup engineering rates, “free” software costs $400-1,100/month in labor.
Enterprise Team (10+ people)
| Cost Component | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Software | $0 |
| Hosting (enterprise) | $50-200 |
| Setup (amortized) | ~$200-500 (first year) |
| Maintenance | 8-16 hours × $150/hr = $1,200-2,400 |
| Total | $1,450-3,100/month effective |
Enterprise deployments with custom infrastructure and dedicated maintenance easily cost $1,500-3,000/month.
When “Free” Actually Makes Sense
Docusaurus is cost-effective when:
Engineering time is already allocated: If developers maintain documentation as part of their workflow (docs-as-code), the incremental time for Docusaurus is minimal.
Customization requirements are extreme: If you need documentation that hosted platforms can’t deliver, the engineering investment may be justified.
You’re an open-source project: Volunteer contributors and free GitHub Pages hosting make Docusaurus genuinely free.
Budget is zero but time is available: For projects where $50/month is impossible but 10 hours/month of work is fine, Docusaurus wins.
When “Free” Is Actually Expensive
Docusaurus costs more than alternatives when:
Engineering time is expensive: At $100-200/hour rates, 5-10 hours of monthly maintenance costs $500-2,000. That’s more than any hosted documentation platform.
Setup time matters: If you need documentation live quickly, spending 20-40 hours on Docusaurus setup delays other work.
Non-developers will write content: Docusaurus requires Markdown files, Git workflows, and terminal commands. Non-technical writers struggle.
You need features Docusaurus lacks: AI-powered search, automatic updates, embedded widgets, and analytics all require additional tools and integration work.
Docusaurus vs Paid Alternatives
| Tool | Monthly Cost (5-person team) | Engineering Time Required |
|---|---|---|
| Docusaurus | $0-50 + 5-10 hrs/month | High |
| Ferndesk | $99 | None |
| GitBook | $113 | Low |
| HelpDocs | $99-129 | Low |
| ProProfs KB | $245 | Low |
| Mintlify | $300+ | Medium (Git-based) |
At $100/hour engineering cost:
- Docusaurus: $0-50 + $500-1,000 labor = $500-1,050/month
- Ferndesk: $99/month total (zero engineering time)
- GitBook: $113/month total
- HelpDocs: $99-129/month total
The “free” tool costs 4-10x more than paid alternatives when you account for engineering labor.
How Ferndesk Compares
| Feature | Docusaurus | Ferndesk |
|---|---|---|
| Software cost | $0 | $39-99/month |
| Hosting | Self-managed | Included |
| Setup time | 8-40 hours | Minutes |
| Maintenance | 2-10 hours/month | None |
| AI-powered search | No (Algolia optional) | Yes, included |
| Auto content updates | No | Yes (from codebase) |
| Non-technical editing | No (Markdown/Git required) | Yes (WYSIWYG editor) |
| Total cost (realistic) | $500-1,500/month effective | $39-99/month |
Different tools for different situations:
Docusaurus gives you complete control over your documentation infrastructure. If you have engineering resources and need that control, it’s a solid foundation.
Ferndesk eliminates infrastructure work entirely. No hosting to manage, no builds to debug, no dependencies to update. The AI agent (Fern) handles content maintenance automatically.
The math:
At $100/hour engineering cost, 5 hours of monthly Docusaurus maintenance = $500.
Ferndesk Scale costs $99/month total, includes AI-powered codebase sync and support ticket analysis, and requires zero engineering time.
You save $400/month and gain features Docusaurus doesn’t offer.
Bottom Line
Docusaurus is genuinely free software. The MIT license means no fees, no restrictions, no gotchas.
But running Docusaurus requires hosting (usually free), setup time (8-40 hours), and ongoing maintenance (2-10 hours/month). At professional engineering rates, those costs exceed what you’d pay for a hosted documentation platform.
The “free” tool makes sense for open-source projects, hobby work, or situations where engineering time is already budgeted for documentation infrastructure.
For everyone else, the total cost of ownership tells a different story. A $50-100/month hosted solution that requires zero engineering time is often cheaper than “free” software that demands regular attention. See our best free knowledge base software guide for alternatives, or compare open-source knowledge base software options.
If you want documentation without the infrastructure overhead, Ferndesk starts at $39/month with AI-powered automation, codebase sync, and zero maintenance required. Try it free and redirect those engineering hours toward building product.
