--- title: "API documentation tools: Which brands are most popular in search?" description: "Compare the api documentation tools teams use. Share of Search among Postman, Swagger, Mintlify, Redocly, ReadMe and Stoplight, the API documentation tools Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/api-documentation-tools" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # API documentation tools: Which brands are most popular in search? Compare the api documentation tools teams use. Share of Search among Postman, Swagger, Mintlify, Redocly, ReadMe and Stoplight, the API documentation tools Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Competitive set**: API documentation tools - **Market**: Global - **Brands compared**: 6 - **Month measured**: Aug 2026 - **Highest Share of Search**: Postman, 78.3% ## Which brand is most popular in search among API documentation tools worldwide? - In August 2026, Postman was the most searched among API documentation tools worldwide, with an estimated 846K branded searches and 78.3% estimated Share of Search within this set. - Swagger is in 2nd place, 59.7 percentage points behind at 18.6% Share of Search. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Postman’s estimated Share of Search among API documentation tools worldwide decreased from 81.5% to 78.3%. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Swagger’s estimated Share of Search among API documentation tools worldwide increased from 16% to 18.6%. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Mintlify’s estimated Share of Search among API documentation tools worldwide increased from 1.8% to 2.5%. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Postman’s estimated Share of Search among API documentation tools worldwide peaked at 81.5% in October 2025 and was lowest at 75.3% in January 2026. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Swagger’s estimated Share of Search among API documentation tools worldwide peaked at 22.1% in January 2026 and was lowest at 16% in October 2025. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Mintlify’s estimated Share of Search among API documentation tools worldwide peaked at 3.1% in June 2026 and was lowest at 1.7% in November 2025. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Redocly, ReadMe and Stoplight held steady: their estimated Share of Search among API documentation tools worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points. ## Compare search popularity between leading brands - [Postman vs Swagger: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/postman-vs-swagger): 78.3% against 18.6% Share of Search. - [Postman vs Mintlify: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/mintlify-vs-postman): 78.3% against 2.5% Share of Search. - [Swagger vs Mintlify: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/mintlify-vs-swagger): 18.6% against 2.5% Share of Search. ## How did search popularity change for API documentation tools worldwide in August 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for Stoplight worldwide fell 59% over 11 measured months, from 780 to 320 in August 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for ReadMe worldwide fell 47.6% over 11 measured months, from 1.3K to 660 in August 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Redocly worldwide fell 33.3% over 11 measured months, from 8.1K to 5.4K in August 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Postman worldwide fell 32.4% over 11 measured months, from 1.3M to 846K in August 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Swagger worldwide fell 18.3% over 11 measured months, from 246K to 201K in August 2026. ## Share of Search ranking | Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Postman | 78.3% | 846K | 0.0% | Postman | | 2 | Swagger | 18.6% | 201K | 0.0% | Swagger | | 3 | Mintlify | 2.5% | 27.3K | 0.0% | Mintlify | | 4 | Redocly | 0.5% | 5.4K | -0.4% | Redocly | | 5 | ReadMe | 0.06% | 660 | -19.5% | ReadMe | | 6 | Stoplight | 0.03% | 320 | -27.3% | Stoplight | ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Postman | 1.3M | 81.5% | 1 | | Oct 2025 | Swagger | 246K | 16% | 2 | | Oct 2025 | Mintlify | 27.2K | 1.8% | 3 | | Oct 2025 | Redocly | 8.1K | 0.53% | 4 | | Oct 2025 | ReadMe | 1.3K | 0.08% | 5 | | Oct 2025 | Stoplight | 780 | 0.05% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | Postman | 1M | 78.8% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | Swagger | 246K | 18.9% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | Mintlify | 22.3K | 1.7% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | Redocly | 6.6K | 0.51% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | ReadMe | 1.1K | 0.08% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | Stoplight | 640 | 0.05% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | Postman | 1M | 78.4% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | Swagger | 246K | 18.8% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | Mintlify | 27.2K | 2.1% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | Redocly | 6.6K | 0.51% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | ReadMe | 1K | 0.08% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | Stoplight | 570 | 0.04% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | Postman | 1M | 75.3% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | Swagger | 301K | 22.1% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | Mintlify | 27.2K | 2% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | Redocly | 6.6K | 0.49% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | ReadMe | 1.1K | 0.08% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | Stoplight | 670 | 0.05% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | Postman | 1M | 78.8% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | Swagger | 246K | 18.9% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | Mintlify | 22.3K | 1.7% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | Redocly | 6.6K | 0.51% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | ReadMe | 1.2K | 0.09% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | Stoplight | 710 | 0.05% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | Postman | 1M | 78.4% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | Swagger | 246K | 18.8% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | Mintlify | 27.3K | 2.1% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | Redocly | 8.1K | 0.62% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | ReadMe | 1.2K | 0.09% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | Stoplight | 740 | 0.06% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | Postman | 1M | 78.1% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | Swagger | 246K | 18.7% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | Mintlify | 33.3K | 2.5% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | Redocly | 6.6K | 0.5% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | ReadMe | 1K | 0.08% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | Stoplight | 620 | 0.05% | 6 | | May 2026 | Postman | 845K | 78.5% | 1 | | May 2026 | Swagger | 201K | 18.7% | 2 | | May 2026 | Mintlify | 22.4K | 2.1% | 3 | | May 2026 | Redocly | 6.6K | 0.62% | 4 | | May 2026 | ReadMe | 920 | 0.09% | 5 | | May 2026 | Stoplight | 610 | 0.06% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | Postman | 846K | 77.8% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | Swagger | 201K | 18.5% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | Mintlify | 33.3K | 3.1% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | Redocly | 5.4K | 0.5% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | ReadMe | 940 | 0.09% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | Stoplight | 530 | 0.05% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | Postman | 846K | 78.3% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | Swagger | 201K | 18.6% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | Mintlify | 27.3K | 2.5% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | Redocly | 5.4K | 0.5% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | ReadMe | 820 | 0.08% | 5 | | Jul 2026 | Stoplight | 440 | 0.04% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | Postman | 846K | 78.3% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | Swagger | 201K | 18.6% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | Mintlify | 27.3K | 2.5% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | Redocly | 5.4K | 0.5% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | ReadMe | 660 | 0.06% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | Stoplight | 320 | 0.03% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | Mintlify | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | Postman | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | ReadMe | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | Redocly | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | Stoplight | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | Swagger | — | — | — | ## What is being compared - **Mintlify**: Measured on the search terms “mintlify”, “mintlify app” and “mintlify com”, summed into one figure. - **Postman**: Measured on the search terms “api testing postman”, “postman”, “postman api” and “postman com”, summed into one figure. - **ReadMe**: Measured on the search terms “api documentation readme”, “readme api”, “readme api documentation”, “readme com” and “readme documentation”, summed into one figure. - **Redocly**: Measured on the search terms “redocly” and “redocly api documentation”, summed into one figure. - **Stoplight**: Measured on the search terms “stoplight api”, “stoplight api documentation”, “stoplight documentation” and “stoplight io”, summed into one figure. - **Swagger**: Measured on the search term “swagger”. - [Mintlify](/demand/global-en/brands/mintlify) - [Postman](/demand/global-en/brands/postman) - [ReadMe](/demand/global-en/brands/readme) - [Redocly](/demand/global-en/brands/redocly) - [Stoplight](/demand/global-en/brands/stoplight) - [Swagger](/demand/global-en/brands/swagger) ## Methodology - [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which brand is most popular in search among API documentation tools worldwide? In August 2026, Postman was the most searched among API documentation tools worldwide, with an estimated 846K branded searches and 78.3% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "API documentation tools: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/api-documentation-tools This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/api-documentation-tools. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.