Bridgetown vs Gatsby
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Gatsby
React-based static site and blog generator
| Feature | Bridgetown | Gatsby |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,366 | ★ 55,942 |
| First released | 2020 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, WordPress | WordPress, Medium |
What are Bridgetown and Gatsby?
Bridgetown
Bridgetown is a Ruby-based static site generator and full-stack web framework that grew out of the Jekyll ecosystem. It supports component-based design, plugins, and optional dynamic rendering for blogs and websites.
- Component-based design
- Plugin ecosystem
- Front-end bundling
- Static and hybrid rendering
Gatsby
Gatsby is an open-source React-based framework for building fast static websites and blogs. It pulls content from many sources via a GraphQL data layer and produces highly optimized output.
- React-powered sites
- GraphQL data layer
- Rich plugin ecosystem
- Performance-optimized output
Bridgetown vs Gatsby: key differences
Bridgetown is written in Ruby, while Gatsby is built with JavaScript. Bridgetown is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Gatsby. Gatsby is the more established project (first released 2015), while Bridgetown arrived in 2020. Gatsby has the considerably larger community, at 55,942 GitHub stars versus 1,366.
Why pick each one
Choose Bridgetown if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Ruby
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Gatsby if…
- Great for React developers
- Pulls content from many sources
Watch out for
- Heavier build process
- Steeper learning curve
Frequently asked questions
Is Bridgetown or Gatsby better?
Neither is universally better. Gatsby has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bridgetown and Gatsby free and open-source?
Yes. Bridgetown is licensed under MIT and Gatsby under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bridgetown and Gatsby with Docker?
Bridgetown: check the project docs for container support. Gatsby: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Bridgetown or Gatsby?
Bridgetown has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Gatsby. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.