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Hexo vs Hugo
Compare Hexo and Hugo to find the best tool for your needs.
Hexo
A fast, simple & powerful blog framework powered by Node.js, popular in the developer community.
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Hugo
The world's fastest framework for building static websites, with rich content management capabilities.
See all detailsQuick overview
Pricing
Free (open source)
Free (open source)
Pros & Cons
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
Hugo
Pros
- Extremely fast build times
- No dependencies required
- Live reload for instant preview
- Flexible content management
Cons
- Steeper learning curve for templating
- Less plugins than older generators
- Requires command line usage
- Go templates can be challenging
Features comparison
| Feature | Hexo | Hugo |
|---|---|---|
| Core Features | ||
| SEO | Via plugin Available through hexo-seo plugin or custom configuration | Yes Built-in SEO features including meta tags, canonical URLs, Open Graph, and JSON-LD |
| Sitemap | Via plugin Available through hexo-generator-sitemap | Yes Built-in sitemap generation without plugins |
| RSS Feed | Via plugin Available through hexo-generator-feed | Yes Built-in RSS/Atom feed generation without plugins |
| Theming system | Yes Robust theming system with many available themes | Yes Powerful theming system with theme inheritance and module capabilities |
| Plugin system | Yes Extensive plugin ecosystem with many available plugins | Partial Uses 'modules' rather than plugins, with a different architectural approach than traditional plugins |
| Content Management | ||
| Emoji | Via plugin Support through hexo-filter-github-emojis or similar plugins | Yes Native emoji support with several rendering options |
| Image optimization | Via plugin Available through hexo-filter-responsive-images or similar plugins | Yes Built-in image processing with resize, crop, filter capabilities and image optimization |
| Taxonomies | Partial Built-in support for categories and tags; custom taxonomies require additional configuration | Yes Powerful built-in taxonomy system with support for custom taxonomies |
| Pagination | Yes Built-in pagination for post listings | Yes Built-in pagination for list pages with customizable options |
| Table of contents | Yes Built-in table of contents generation | Yes Built-in table of contents generation for markdown content |
| Comments | Yes Built-in support for Disqus; other systems supported via themes | Via integration Integration with Disqus, Commento, Utterances or other comment systems via templates |
| Integrations | ||
| Social media integration | Via theme Most themes include social media integration options | Yes Built-in support for social cards, sharing, and integration via templates |
| Analytics | Via integration Most themes support analytics integration | Via integration Easy integration with most analytics platforms via themes or templates |
| Newsletter | Via integration Can be added through theme customization | Via integration Third-party services can be integrated via templates or partials |
| Search | Via plugin Options include hexo-generator-search or Algolia integration | Via integration Options include built-in JSON index, Algolia, Lunr.js, or other client-side search solutions |
| Headless CMS integration | Via plugin Integration possible with various headless CMS platforms | Yes Excellent support for most headless CMS platforms including Contentful, Forestry, NetlifyCMS, Strapi |
| Advanced Features | ||
| Multilingual | Yes Built-in i18n support | Yes First-class support for multilingual sites with i18n capabilities |
| AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) | Via plugin Can be implemented with hexo-generator-amp | Via templates Can be implemented using custom output formats and templates |
| PWA (Progressive Web App) | Via plugin Available through hexo-pwa or similar solutions | Via integration Requires custom configuration or theme with PWA support |
| Specialized Content | ||
| PlantUML | Via plugin Can be added with hexo-filter-plantuml or similar plugins | Via shortcode Customizable shortcodes can be created for PlantUML integration |
| Mermaid | Via plugin Available through hexo-filter-mermaid-diagrams or similar plugins | Via shortcode Official shortcode available for Mermaid diagrams |
| KaTeX (math) | Via plugin Available through hexo-renderer-markdown-it-katex or similar plugins | Via integration Support through either KaTeX or MathJax via templates or theme integration |
| GitHub Gists integration | Via plugin Can be implemented through custom tags or plugins | Via shortcode Can be implemented via custom shortcodes |