Alternatives to Jekyll
The GitHub Pages classic
Jekyll ranks #4 of 8 in Static site generators, with an Alt Score of 68. It is licensed under MIT, free from Free and available on Windows, macOS and Linux. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Developers, technical writers, and bloggers comfortable with the command line who want to write content in Markdown and publish it as a fast, static website without managing a database or CMS.
Jekyll converts plain text (Markdown, Liquid templates, HTML, CSS) into a complete static site with no server-side processing required. It has first-class blogging support built in, including posts, pages, categories, tags, and permalinks. Because it produces static files, sites are simple to host, secure by default, and free of database or plugin-update maintenance. It integrates natively with GitHub Pages for free hosting and automatic builds.
You install Jekyll as a Ruby gem, scaffold a new site with `jekyll new`, and write content as Markdown files with front matter inside a defined folder structure. Running `bundle exec jekyll serve` builds the site and serves it locally for preview, and pushing the source to GitHub Pages (or running `jekyll build` elsewhere) produces the deployable static output.
Why people leave Jekyll
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Static site generators checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Static site generators checklist | Jekyll | Eleventy | Gatsby | Astro | Publii | Zola |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Build speed | ||||||
| Templating language | ||||||
| Content collections | ||||||
| Image optimization | ||||||
| i18n support | ||||||
| Plugin ecosystem | ||||||
| Markdown / MDX | ||||||
| Partial hydration / islands | ||||||
| CMS integrations | ||||||
| Learning curve |
Every fact and feature listed for Jekyll is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License MIT verified 2026-07-10
The MIT License (MIT)
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jekyll/jekyll/master/LICENSE -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-10
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jekyll/jekyll/master/LICENSE -
Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-10
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jekyll/jekyll/master/LICENSE -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux verified 2026-07-10
For detailed install instructions, follow the guide for your operating system. macOS Ubuntu FreeBSD Other Linux Windows
https://jekyllrb.com/docs/installation/ -
Status active verified 2026-07-10
dateModified":"2026-06-22T09:19:11-07:00"" — Docs updated 2026-06-22 (v4.4.1).
https://jekyllrb.com/docs/collections/ -
Build speed Partial verified 2026-07-10
Default Ruby Kramdown renderer is slower than C alternatives.
CommonMark is a rationalized version of Markdown syntax, implemented in C and thus faster than default Kramdown implemented in Ruby.
https://jekyllrb.com/docs/configuration/markdown/ -
Templating language Yes verified 2026-07-10
Jekyll uses the Liquid templating language to process templates.
https://jekyllrb.com/docs/liquid/ -
Content collections Yes verified 2026-07-10
Collections are a great way to group related content like members of a team or talks at a conference.
https://jekyllrb.com/docs/collections/ -
Image optimization Partial verified 2026-07-10
No built-in image pipeline; via third-party plugins.
Jekyll has a plugin system with hooks that allow you to create custom generated content specific to your site.
https://jekyllrb.com/docs/plugins/ -
i18n support Partial verified 2026-07-10
No built-in i18n; via third-party plugins.
Jekyll has a plugin system with hooks that allow you to create custom generated content specific to your site.
https://jekyllrb.com/docs/plugins/ -
Plugin ecosystem Yes verified 2026-07-10
Jekyll has a plugin system with hooks that allow you to create custom generated content specific to your site.
https://jekyllrb.com/docs/plugins/ -
Markdown / MDX Partial verified 2026-07-10
Markdown built-in; no MDX support.
Kramdown is the default Markdown renderer for Jekyll, and often works well with no additional configuration.
https://jekyllrb.com/docs/configuration/markdown/ -
Partial hydration / islands No verified 2026-07-10
Plain static HTML; no islands/hydration.
Jekyll takes your content, renders Markdown and Liquid templates, and spits out a complete, static website ready to be served by Apache, Nginx or another web server.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jekyll/jekyll/master/README.markdown -
CMS integrations Yes verified 2026-07-10
CloudCannon: The Cloud CMS for Jekyll Contentful: Content infrastructure for digital teams TinaCMS.io... Decap CMS... Siteleaf...
https://jekyllrb.com/resources/ -
Learning curve Partial verified 2026-07-10
Low-config but needs Ruby/gem toolchain.
Jekyll does what you tell it to do — no more, no less. It doesn't try to outsmart users by making bold assumptions, nor does it burden them with needless complexity and configuration.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jekyll/jekyll/master/README.markdown
FAQ
Yes. Eleventy, Gatsby and Astro have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Eleventy, Gatsby and Astro — every license claim links its source.