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Eleventy (11ty) vs Gatsby
Compare Eleventy (11ty) and Gatsby to find the best tool for your needs.
Eleventy (11ty)
A simpler static site generator focused on flexibility and performance.
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Gatsby
A React-based static site generator with powerful data layer and plugin ecosystem.
See all detailsQuick overview
Pricing
Free (open source)
Free (open source), paid Gatsby Cloud services
Pros & Cons
Eleventy (11ty)
Pros
- Zero client-side JavaScript by default
- Extremely flexible templating
- Fast builds
- Easy to learn and use
Cons
- Smaller ecosystem than Gatsby/Hugo
- Less built-in features
- Documentation can be sparse
- Requires some technical knowledge
Gatsby
Pros
- React-based architecture
- GraphQL data layer
- Large plugin ecosystem
- Progressive image loading
Cons
- Requires React knowledge
- Steep learning curve
- Build time can be slow for large sites
- Complex for simple projects
Features comparison
| Feature | Eleventy (11ty) | Gatsby |
|---|---|---|
| Core Features | ||
| SEO | Via integration Requires custom implementation or adding meta tags in templates | Yes Strong SEO support through gatsby-plugin-react-helmet and other official plugins |
| Sitemap | Via plugin Can be added with plugins like eleventy-plugin-sitemap | Via plugin Available through gatsby-plugin-sitemap |
| RSS Feed | Via plugin Available through plugins like eleventy-plugin-rss | Via plugin Available through gatsby-plugin-feed |
| Theming system | Partial No formal theming system, but flexible templating allows for theme-like structures | Yes Supports themes through gatsby-theme architecture with component shadowing |
| Plugin system | Yes Extensible through JavaScript plugins and custom shortcodes | Yes Extensive plugin ecosystem with thousands of plugins available |
| Content Management | ||
| Emoji | Via plugin Can be implemented through markdown-it plugins | Via plugin Supported through gatsby-remark-emoji or other emoji plugins |
| Image optimization | Via plugin Available through eleventy-img or similar plugins | Yes Advanced image optimization with gatsby-plugin-sharp, gatsby-image, and built-in responsive images |
| Taxonomies | Via integration Can be implemented through custom collections and tags | Via GraphQL Custom taxonomies can be implemented through GraphQL queries and data structures |
| Pagination | Yes Built-in pagination API | Via API Pagination available through createPage API and GraphQL queries |
| Table of contents | Via plugin Can be implemented through markdown-it plugins or custom functions | Via plugin Supported through gatsby-remark-table-of-contents or similar plugins |
| Comments | Via integration Can integrate with services like Disqus, Utterances, etc. through template includes | Via integration Integration with Disqus, Commento, Utterances via React components |
| Integrations | ||
| Social media integration | Via integration Requires custom implementation in templates | Via plugin Social sharing, cards, and integrations available through various plugins |
| Analytics | Via integration Easy to add through template includes | Via plugin Easy integration with Google Analytics, Plausible, Fathom through official plugins |
| Newsletter | Via integration Can be added through template includes | Via integration Can be integrated through React components for services like Mailchimp, ConvertKit |
| Search | Via integration Options include Algolia, Lunr.js, or custom client-side implementation | Via plugin Options include Algolia (gatsby-plugin-algolia), Lunr.js, Elasticsearch integrations |
| Headless CMS integration | Yes Good support for various headless CMS options through data fetching | Yes First-class support for most headless CMS platforms with official plugins for Contentful, WordPress, Sanity, Strapi, etc. |
| Advanced Features | ||
| Multilingual | Via integration Possible through directory structure and custom collections | Via plugin i18n support through plugins like gatsby-plugin-intl or gatsby-plugin-i18n |
| AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) | Via integration Can be implemented through custom output formats | Via plugin Available through gatsby-plugin-amp or custom implementation |
| PWA (Progressive Web App) | Via integration Can be implemented through custom service worker and manifest files | Yes First-class PWA support through gatsby-plugin-manifest and gatsby-plugin-offline |
| Specialized Content | ||
| PlantUML | Via plugin Can be implemented through markdown-it plugins or custom shortcodes | Via plugin Can be integrated through custom components or markdown remark plugins |
| Mermaid | Via plugin Can be implemented through custom shortcodes or markdown-it plugins | Via plugin Can be used with gatsby-remark-mermaid plugin |
| KaTeX (math) | Via plugin Can be implemented using eleventy-plugin-katex or similar solutions | Via plugin Supported through gatsby-remark-katex or other math rendering plugins |
| GitHub Gists integration | Via integration Can be implemented through custom shortcodes | Via plugin Can be implemented with gatsby-remark-embed-gist |