DocPad 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 | DocPad | Gatsby |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 23 · At risk | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | CoffeeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,046 | ★ 55,942 |
| First released | 2012 | 2015 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Jekyll | WordPress, Medium |
What are DocPad and Gatsby?
DocPad
DocPad is a content management and static site generation system that renders documents through a flexible plugin pipeline. It supports many templating and markup languages and can produce blogs and full websites.
- Plugin pipeline
- Many markup languages
- Live regeneration
- Static output
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
DocPad vs Gatsby: key differences
DocPad is written in CoffeeScript, while Gatsby is built with JavaScript. DocPad is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Gatsby. DocPad is the more established project (first released 2012), while Gatsby arrived in 2015. Gatsby has the considerably larger community, at 55,942 GitHub stars versus 3,046.
Why pick each one
Choose DocPad if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
- Written in CoffeeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 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 DocPad 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 DocPad and Gatsby free and open-source?
Yes. DocPad is licensed under MIT and Gatsby under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run DocPad and Gatsby with Docker?
DocPad: check the project docs for container support. Gatsby: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, DocPad or Gatsby?
DocPad has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Gatsby. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.