Docusaurus vs MkDocs
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Docusaurus
Documentation website generator built with React
VS
MkDocs
Documentation site generator for technical teams
| Feature | Docusaurus | MkDocs |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 65,862 | ★ 22,317 |
| First released | 2017 | 2014 |
| Replaces | GitBook, Confluence | Confluence, GitBook |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Docusaurus or MkDocs better?
Neither is universally better. Docusaurus has the larger community, while MkDocs is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Docusaurus and MkDocs free and open-source?
Yes. Docusaurus is licensed under MIT and MkDocs under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Docusaurus and MkDocs with Docker?
Docusaurus: check the project docs for container support. MkDocs: check the project docs for container support.