Gatsby vs Metalsmith
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Gatsby
React-based static site and blog generator
VS
Metalsmith
Extremely simple pluggable static site generator
| Feature | Gatsby | Metalsmith |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 55,939 | ★ 7,822 |
| First released | 2015 | 2014 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | WordPress, Jekyll |
Why pick each one
Choose Metalsmith if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 7.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Gatsby or Metalsmith 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 Gatsby and Metalsmith free and open-source?
Yes. Gatsby is licensed under MIT and Metalsmith under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gatsby and Metalsmith with Docker?
Gatsby: check the project docs for container support. Metalsmith: check the project docs for container support.