gatsby vs vitepress vs vuepress
Static Site Generators Comparison
1 Year
gatsbyvitepressvuepressSimilar Packages:
What's Static Site Generators?

Static site generators (SSGs) are tools that compile source files into static HTML files, which can be served directly to users. They are particularly useful for building fast, secure, and SEO-friendly websites. By pre-rendering pages at build time, SSGs eliminate the need for server-side processing on each request, resulting in improved performance and reduced server load. Each of the listed packages specializes in different aspects of static site generation, catering to various frameworks and user needs.

Package Weekly Downloads Trend
Github Stars Ranking
Stat Detail
Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
gatsby263,98855,7636.99 MB4072 months agoMIT
vitepress137,45214,1242.75 MB403a month agoMIT
vuepress48,16222,71314.5 kB6122 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: gatsby vs vitepress vs vuepress

Framework Integration

  • gatsby:

    Gatsby is tightly integrated with React, allowing developers to build dynamic and interactive UIs while leveraging React's component-based architecture. It supports GraphQL for querying data, enabling the use of various data sources seamlessly.

  • vitepress:

    VitePress is built on top of Vite and is designed specifically for Vue.js projects. It provides a straightforward way to create documentation sites with Vue components, making it easy to integrate Vue's reactivity and features into the documentation.

  • vuepress:

    VuePress is also Vue-based, allowing for easy integration of Vue components within markdown files. It is designed to work well with Vue's ecosystem, making it a suitable choice for Vue developers who want to create documentation or blogs.

Performance

  • gatsby:

    Gatsby optimizes performance by pre-rendering pages and using code splitting, which ensures that only the necessary JavaScript is loaded for each page. This results in fast load times and improved user experience.

  • vitepress:

    VitePress benefits from Vite's fast development server and optimized build process, leading to quick page loads and a smooth development experience. It is designed for speed, making it ideal for documentation sites that require rapid updates.

  • vuepress:

    VuePress generates static HTML files for each page, ensuring fast load times. It also supports lazy loading of components, which can enhance performance for larger documentation sites.

Customization

  • gatsby:

    Gatsby offers extensive customization options through its plugin system, allowing developers to add functionality and modify the build process easily. It supports a wide range of plugins for SEO, image optimization, and more.

  • vitepress:

    VitePress provides a simple configuration file for customization, allowing users to define themes and layouts easily. However, it is less extensible compared to Gatsby, focusing on simplicity and speed.

  • vuepress:

    VuePress allows for theme customization and plugin integration, but it is more opinionated than Gatsby. It provides a default theme that is easy to modify, making it suitable for users who want a quick setup.

Learning Curve

  • gatsby:

    Gatsby has a steeper learning curve due to its reliance on React and GraphQL. Developers need to be familiar with these technologies to fully leverage Gatsby's capabilities, which may require additional time for newcomers.

  • vitepress:

    VitePress is relatively easy to learn, especially for those familiar with Vue.js. Its straightforward setup and minimal configuration make it accessible for users looking to create documentation quickly.

  • vuepress:

    VuePress is also user-friendly for Vue developers, with a gentle learning curve. It allows users to write documentation in markdown while integrating Vue components, making it easy to get started.

Community and Ecosystem

  • gatsby:

    Gatsby has a large and active community, providing a wealth of resources, plugins, and themes. This strong ecosystem makes it easier for developers to find solutions and support for their projects.

  • vitepress:

    VitePress is newer and has a smaller community compared to Gatsby, but it is rapidly growing due to the popularity of Vite. It benefits from the broader Vite community and ecosystem.

  • vuepress:

    VuePress has a dedicated community, especially among Vue.js developers. While its ecosystem is not as extensive as Gatsby's, it still offers essential plugins and themes tailored for Vue projects.

How to Choose: gatsby vs vitepress vs vuepress
  • gatsby:

    Choose Gatsby if you are looking for a comprehensive static site generator that integrates seamlessly with React and offers a rich ecosystem of plugins and themes. It is ideal for building complex, data-driven websites and applications that require dynamic content sourcing from various APIs.

  • vitepress:

    Choose VitePress if you want a lightweight, fast, and modern documentation site generator that leverages Vite for development. It is particularly suited for projects that prioritize speed and simplicity, making it a great choice for technical documentation and blogs.

  • vuepress:

    Choose VuePress if you are working within the Vue.js ecosystem and need a static site generator that provides a simple way to create documentation and blogs. VuePress is designed for Vue-based projects and offers a default theme that is easy to customize.

README for gatsby

Gatsby

Gatsby

The future of web development is here.

Gatsby is a free and open source framework based on React that helps developers build blazing fast websites and apps.
It combines the control and scalability of dynamically rendered sites with the speed of static-site generation, creating a whole new web of possibilities.

Gatsby is released under the MIT license. Current CircleCI build status. Current npm package version. Downloads per month on npm. Total downloads on npm. PRs welcome! Follow @GatsbyJS

Quickstart · Tutorial · Plugins · Starters · Showcase · Contribute
Support: Twitter, Discussions & Discord

Gatsby helps professional developers efficiently create maintainable, highly-performant, content-rich websites.

  • Load Data From Anywhere. Gatsby pulls in data from any data source, whether it’s Markdown files, a headless CMS like Contentful or WordPress, or a REST or GraphQL API. Use source plugins to load your data, then develop using Gatsby’s uniform GraphQL interface.

  • Go Beyond Static Websites. Get all the benefits of static websites with none of the limitations. Gatsby sites are fully functional React apps, so you can create high-quality, dynamic web apps, from blogs to e-commerce sites to user dashboards.

  • Choose your Rendering Options. You can choose alternative rendering options, namely Deferred Static Generation (DSG) and Server-Side Rendering (SSR), in addition to Static Site Generation (SSG) — on a per-page basis. This type of granular control allows you to optimize for performance and productivity without sacrificing one for the other.

  • Performance Is Baked In. Ace your performance audits by default. Gatsby automates code splitting, image optimization, inlining critical styles, lazy-loading, prefetching resources, and more to ensure your site is fast — no manual tuning required.

  • Use a Modern Stack for Every Site. No matter where the data comes from, Gatsby sites are built using React and GraphQL. Build a uniform workflow for you and your team, regardless of whether the data is coming from the same backend.

  • Host at Scale for Pennies. Gatsby sites don’t require servers, so you can host your entire site on a CDN for a fraction of the cost of a server-rendered site. Many Gatsby sites can be hosted entirely free on Gatsby Cloud and other similar services.

  • Use Gatsby's Centralized Data Layer Everywhere. With Gatsby's Valhalla Content Hub you can bring Gatsby's data layer to any project. Making it accessible via a unified GraphQL API for building content sites, eCommerce platforms, and both native and web applications.

Learn how to use Gatsby for your next project.

🚀 Ship your first Gatsby site in 5 Minutes

Click the link below to quickly try the workflow of developing, building, and deploying websites with Gatsby and Gatsby Cloud.

Deploy to Gatsby Cloud

At the end of this process, you'll have

  1. a site working on Gatsby Cloud
  2. a new repository that is linked to that new site
  3. as you push changes to your new repository, Gatsby Cloud will automatically rebuild and redeploy your site!

💻 Get started with Gatsby locally in 5 Minutes

You can get a new Gatsby site up and running on your local dev environment in 5 minutes with these four steps:

  1. Initialize a new project.

    npm init gatsby
    

    Give it the name "My Gatsby Site".

  2. Start the site in develop mode.

    Next, move into your new site’s directory and start it up:

    cd my-gatsby-site/
    npm run develop
    
  3. Open the source code and start editing!

    Your site is now running at http://localhost:8000. Open the my-gatsby-site directory in your code editor of choice and edit src/pages/index.js. Save your changes, and the browser will update in real time!

At this point, you’ve got a fully functional Gatsby website. For additional information on how you can customize your Gatsby site, see our plugins and the official tutorial.

🎓 Learning Gatsby

Full documentation for Gatsby lives on the website.

  • For most developers, we recommend starting with our in-depth tutorial for creating a site with Gatsby. It starts with zero assumptions about your level of ability and walks through every step of the process.

  • To dive straight into code samples head to our documentation. In particular, check out the “How-to Guides”, “Reference”, and “Conceptual Guides” sections in the sidebar.

We welcome suggestions for improving our docs. See the “how to contribute” documentation for more details.

Start Learning Gatsby: Follow the Tutorial · Read the Docs

🚢 Release Notes

Wondering what we've shipped recently? Check out our release notes for key highlights, performance improvements, new features, and notable bugfixes.

Also, read our documentation on version support to understand our plans for each version of Gatsby.

💼 Migration Guides

Already have a Gatsby site? These handy guides will help you add the improvements of Gatsby v5 to your site without starting from scratch!

❗ Code of Conduct

Gatsby is dedicated to building a welcoming, diverse, safe community. We expect everyone participating in the Gatsby community to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please read it. Please follow it. In the Gatsby community, we work hard to build each other up and create amazing things together. 💪💜

🤝 How to Contribute

Whether you're helping us fix bugs, improve the docs, or spread the word, we'd love to have you as part of the Gatsby community!

Check out our Contributing Guide for ideas on contributing and setup steps for getting our repositories up and running on your local machine.

A note on how this repository is organized

This repository is a monorepo managed using Lerna. This means there are multiple packages managed in this codebase, even though we publish them to NPM as separate packages.

📝 License

Licensed under the MIT License.

💜 Thanks

Thanks go out to all our many contributors creating plugins, starters, videos, and blog posts. And a special appreciation for our community members helping with issues and PRs, or answering questions on Discord and GitHub Discussions.

A big part of what makes Gatsby great is each and every one of you in the community. Your contributions enrich the Gatsby experience and make it better every day.