Gatsby vs Quartz
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
VS
Quartz
Publish a digital garden from Markdown notes
| Feature | Gatsby | Quartz |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 96 · Excellent | 75 · Good |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 55,942 | ★ 13,281 |
| First released | 2015 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | Notion, Medium |
What are Gatsby and Quartz?
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
Quartz
Quartz is a static site generator that transforms Markdown notes, including Obsidian vaults, into a fast, searchable digital garden website. It supports backlinks, graph views, and full-text search out of the box.
- Digital garden publishing
- Backlinks and graph view
- Full-text search
- Obsidian compatible
Gatsby vs Quartz: key differences
Gatsby is written in JavaScript, while Quartz is built with TypeScript. Quartz 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 Quartz arrived in 2021. Gatsby has the considerably larger community, at 55,942 GitHub stars versus 13,281.
Why pick each one
Choose Gatsby if…
- Great for React developers
- Pulls content from many sources
Watch out for
- Heavier build process
- Steeper learning curve
Choose Quartz if…
- Great for note publishing
- Fast static output
Watch out for
- Static-only
- Build step required
Frequently asked questions
Is Gatsby or Quartz better?
Neither is universally better. Gatsby has the larger community, while Quartz is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Gatsby and Quartz free and open-source?
Yes. Gatsby is licensed under MIT and Quartz under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gatsby and Quartz with Docker?
Gatsby: check the project docs for container support. Quartz: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Gatsby or Quartz?
Quartz 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.