7 Best Static Site Generators: Detailed Comparison

Static site generators are popularly used to create a website, especially for those who want a simple site that doesn’t require a lot of upkeep. It helps users quickly develop a static website without the need for custom coding and compiling each HTML webpage separately. However, it’s important to choose the right one for your project and preferences.

We have put together a list of the seven best static site generators, along with a detailed comparison to help you choose the best for your needs.

What Is a Static Site Generator?

A static website generator is a tool that helps you create a static website without the need for coding. It takes your content, which can be in the form of text, images, and videos, and generates HTML files for each page of your website.

Most online static site generators (SSG) come with built-in site templates so that you can create a website without the need to code each HTML file separately. 

Top Static Site Generators: Comparison Chart

SSG	Language	Template	Best for
Gatsby	JavaScript	React, Node.js. and GraphQL.	Building Small websites and landing pages
Jekyll	Ruby, Markdown	Liquid	Developing blogs
Next.js	JavaScript	Markdown and react	Large High traffic websites
Hugo	Go	Go	Websites with large number of pages
Docusaurus	JavaScript	React	Documentation websites
Nuxt	JavaScript	Vue.js	High speed progressive Websites
Eleventy	JavaScript	Multiple	Customized web pages from scratch.

Here are the best web generators along with their features, pros, and cons. 

• Gatsby: Best for Building Small Websites and Landing Pages

Gatsby is a react-based SSG that uses GraphQL data layer to help users pull data from anywhere, which is changed into a format that can be used by React components on a page. It also allows both progressive and responsive image loading and supports Accelerated Mobile Page (AMP) creation. 

Gatsby comes with a wide range of built-in features, such as server-side rendering, asset optimization, code splitting, and data prefetching. It also has a rich plugin ecosystem with plugins for analytics, type checking, internationalization, source control, and more.

Language Supported: JavaScript, React

Templates: React, Node.js. and GraphQL.

Gatsby Pricing: Custom Pricing as per the requirements.

Pros and Cons of Gatsby

• Jekyll: Best for Developing Blog Pages

Jekyll is a powerful free and open source static site generator that helps users quickly change plain text into static web pages. It comes with a built-in templating system with thousands of community-contributed templates.

The website generator is written in Ruby and is blog-aware, which means that it is designed to work well with blog content. It also has a large community and a wide range of plugins that you can use to extend its functionality.

Language Supported: Ruby, Markdown

Template:  Liquid

Jekyll Pricing: Free and Open source

Pros and Cons of Jekyll

Suggested Read: 17 Best Free & Open-Source Web Design Software

• Next.js: Best for Creating High Traffic Websites

Next.js is a react-based static site generator that allows users to create server-rendered react webpages. It comes with features such as automatic code splitting, smart bundling, file-system-based routing, CSS-in-JS, and prefetching. It also has a plugin and extended API system that lets you extend its functionality.

The SSG has built-in caching and server-side rendering that makes it easy to create performant React applications. It also comes with zero-configuration typescript support and Material-UI integration. This enables instant build image optimization, built-in Typescript & CSS support, and supports internationalization though subdomain routing and automated language detection.

Language Supported: JavaScript

Templates: Markdown and React

Next.js Pricing: Free. However, if you want to deploy Next on Vercel, the starting price is Rs 1604 per user.

Pros and Cons of Next.js

• Hugo: Best for Websites with Large Number of Pages

Hugo is designed to be a fast, efficient, and easy-to-use website generator. It comes with a built-in templating system and supports multiple content types, such as articles, blog posts, talks, and slideshows. It also has comprehensive documentation that makes it easy to learn and use.

It has an efficient CMS that supports API-driven content and multiple taxonomies without any plugins. It also features short codes providing greater flexibility than Markdown syntax. It enables web developers to generate output in multiple format other like HTML, JSON and AMP.

Language Supported: Go

Template: Go

Hugo Pricing: Free and Open Source.

Pros and Cons of Hugo

• Docusaurus: Best for Documentation Websites

Docusaurus is designed especially for documentation websites. It comes with features such as versioning, translations, search, and multilingual support. This SSG also has a live-reload development server, which makes it easy to preview changes. 

Docusaurus has an easy-to-use theme system that allows you to customize the look and feel of your website. The static website generator also features a plugin system that lets you add new features and functionalities. Moreover, it supports i18n and has a built-in search engine. 

Language Supported: JavaScript 

Template: React 

Docusaurus Pricing: Free and Open Source

Pros and Cons of Docusaurus

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• Nuxt: For Developing Progressive Frontend Frameworks

Nuxt is a Vue.js-based static website generator. It has a folder-based manifest file that makes it easy to keep track of your pages and their dependencies. The website generator also has a modular structure that allows you to divide your web application into smaller chunks. Nuxt also supports async data and CSS-in-JS.

Nuxt supports both on-demand server rendering and static site generation. The static website generator also provides strong directory conventions and structure for better collaboration and teamwork. Developers can easily import components with smart-code and fetch web content from any source easily. 

Language Supported: JavaScript

Template:  Vue.js

Nuxt Pricing: Free

Pros and Cons of Nuxt

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• Eleventy (11ty): Best for Building Customized Web Pages from Scratch

Eleventy is a JavaScript-based static website generator that comes with features such as support for multiple template languages, data files, and electrode static sites. It also has a simple folder structure that makes it easy to work with.

Users can quickly develop web-applications with an extremely high number of pages using 11ty. One of the best parts about 11ty is that even people with little or no knowledge of JavaScript can use it to generate a static site. Developers can simply change the output of the file to non-HTML format by editing the permalink.

Language Supported: JavaScript

Template: Multiple

Eleventy Pricing: Free and open source

Pros and Cons of Eleventy

Why Use Static Site Generator

Coding every web page of a static website is not possible for any developer. Here is why every developer should use SSG.

• Eliminates Manual Coding and Compiling

If you are not using a static site generator, you will have to code every web page of your site manually. This is a time-consuming process. And, you will also have to compile your HTML files every time you make a change to your site.

With a static site generator, you can quickly generate the HTML/JSON files for your website. This eliminates the need to code each web page manually and compile the HTML files every time you make a change.

• Reusing Template

Another advantage of using a static site generator is that you can reuse templates. For instance, if you want to create a blog, you can use a template for the blog page and reuse it for every post. This saves a lot of time as you don’t have to code the same page again and again.

• Faster Development

Static site generators help you quickly develop a website as you don’t have to code each page separately. As the generator takes care of the repetitive tasks, you can focus on other aspects of development, such as design and content

Related Categories: Website Design Software | Testing Automation Software | Content Management Software

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