Gridsome vs Jekyll
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Jekyll
Simple, blog-aware static site generator
| Feature | Gridsome | Jekyll |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 29 · At risk | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,464 | ★ 51,683 |
| First released | 2018 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Gatsby, WordPress | WordPress, Blogger |
What are Gridsome and Jekyll?
Gridsome
Gridsome is a free and open-source Vue.js-powered framework for building static generated websites and apps that are fast by default. It pulls data from any source into a unified GraphQL layer for use in pages and templates.
- Unified GraphQL data layer
- Vue single-page experience
- Plugin sources
- Static prerendering
Jekyll
Jekyll is a popular open-source static site generator that transforms Markdown and Liquid templates into static blogs and websites. It pioneered the modern static-site approach and integrates with GitHub Pages.
- Blog-aware by design
- Markdown and Liquid templating
- Large plugin ecosystem
- GitHub Pages support
Gridsome vs Jekyll: key differences
Gridsome is written in JavaScript, while Jekyll is built with Ruby. Jekyll is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Gridsome. Jekyll is the more established project (first released 2008), while Gridsome arrived in 2018. Jekyll has the considerably larger community, at 51,683 GitHub stars versus 8,464.
Why pick each one
Choose Gridsome if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 8.5k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Jekyll if…
- Mature and well documented
- Great for personal blogs
Watch out for
- Slower builds on large sites
- Ruby toolchain required
Frequently asked questions
Is Gridsome or Jekyll better?
Neither is universally better. Jekyll has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Gridsome and Jekyll free and open-source?
Yes. Gridsome is licensed under MIT and Jekyll under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gridsome and Jekyll with Docker?
Gridsome: check the project docs for container support. Jekyll: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Gridsome or Jekyll?
Jekyll has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Gridsome. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.