CMS
Hosting
Tools
Community
Eleventy (11ty) vs Hexo
Compare Eleventy (11ty) and Hexo to find the best tool for your needs.
Eleventy (11ty)
A simpler static site generator focused on flexibility and performance.
See all detailsVS
Hexo
A fast, simple & powerful blog framework powered by Node.js, popular in the developer community.
See all detailsQuick overview
Pricing
Free (open source)
Free (open source)
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
Hexo
Pros
- Blazing fast generation
- Markdown support
- One-command deployment
- Extensive plugin system
Cons
- Less active community than some alternatives
- Documentation can be incomplete
- Limited themes for non-technical blogs
- Some plugins aren't maintained
Features comparison
| Feature | Eleventy (11ty) | Hexo |
|---|---|---|
| Core Features | ||
| SEO | Via integration Requires custom implementation or adding meta tags in templates | Via plugin Available through hexo-seo plugin or custom configuration |
| Sitemap | Via plugin Can be added with plugins like eleventy-plugin-sitemap | Via plugin Available through hexo-generator-sitemap |
| RSS Feed | Via plugin Available through plugins like eleventy-plugin-rss | Via plugin Available through hexo-generator-feed |
| Theming system | Partial No formal theming system, but flexible templating allows for theme-like structures | Yes Robust theming system with many available themes |
| Plugin system | Yes Extensible through JavaScript plugins and custom shortcodes | Yes Extensive plugin ecosystem with many available plugins |
| Content Management | ||
| Emoji | Via plugin Can be implemented through markdown-it plugins | Via plugin Support through hexo-filter-github-emojis or similar plugins |
| Image optimization | Via plugin Available through eleventy-img or similar plugins | Via plugin Available through hexo-filter-responsive-images or similar plugins |
| Taxonomies | Via integration Can be implemented through custom collections and tags | Partial Built-in support for categories and tags; custom taxonomies require additional configuration |
| Pagination | Yes Built-in pagination API | Yes Built-in pagination for post listings |
| Table of contents | Via plugin Can be implemented through markdown-it plugins or custom functions | Yes Built-in table of contents generation |
| Comments | Via integration Can integrate with services like Disqus, Utterances, etc. through template includes | Yes Built-in support for Disqus; other systems supported via themes |
| Integrations | ||
| Social media integration | Via integration Requires custom implementation in templates | Via theme Most themes include social media integration options |
| Analytics | Via integration Easy to add through template includes | Via integration Most themes support analytics integration |
| Newsletter | Via integration Can be added through template includes | Via integration Can be added through theme customization |
| Search | Via integration Options include Algolia, Lunr.js, or custom client-side implementation | Via plugin Options include hexo-generator-search or Algolia integration |
| Headless CMS integration | Yes Good support for various headless CMS options through data fetching | Via plugin Integration possible with various headless CMS platforms |
| Advanced Features | ||
| Multilingual | Via integration Possible through directory structure and custom collections | Yes Built-in i18n support |
| AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) | Via integration Can be implemented through custom output formats | Via plugin Can be implemented with hexo-generator-amp |
| PWA (Progressive Web App) | Via integration Can be implemented through custom service worker and manifest files | Via plugin Available through hexo-pwa or similar solutions |
| Specialized Content | ||
| PlantUML | Via plugin Can be implemented through markdown-it plugins or custom shortcodes | Via plugin Can be added with hexo-filter-plantuml or similar plugins |
| Mermaid | Via plugin Can be implemented through custom shortcodes or markdown-it plugins | Via plugin Available through hexo-filter-mermaid-diagrams or similar plugins |
| KaTeX (math) | Via plugin Can be implemented using eleventy-plugin-katex or similar solutions | Via plugin Available through hexo-renderer-markdown-it-katex or similar plugins |
| GitHub Gists integration | Via integration Can be implemented through custom shortcodes | Via plugin Can be implemented through custom tags or plugins |