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Hugo vs Gatsby
Compare Hugo and Gatsby to find the best tool for your needs.
Hugo
The world's fastest framework for building static websites, with rich content management capabilities.
See all detailsVS
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
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
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 | Hugo | Gatsby |
|---|---|---|
| Core Features | ||
| SEO | Yes Built-in SEO features including meta tags, canonical URLs, Open Graph, and JSON-LD | Yes Strong SEO support through gatsby-plugin-react-helmet and other official plugins |
| Sitemap | Yes Built-in sitemap generation without plugins | Via plugin Available through gatsby-plugin-sitemap |
| RSS Feed | Yes Built-in RSS/Atom feed generation without plugins | Via plugin Available through gatsby-plugin-feed |
| Theming system | Yes Powerful theming system with theme inheritance and module capabilities | Yes Supports themes through gatsby-theme architecture with component shadowing |
| Plugin system | Partial Uses 'modules' rather than plugins, with a different architectural approach than traditional plugins | Yes Extensive plugin ecosystem with thousands of plugins available |
| Content Management | ||
| Emoji | Yes Native emoji support with several rendering options | Via plugin Supported through gatsby-remark-emoji or other emoji plugins |
| Image optimization | Yes Built-in image processing with resize, crop, filter capabilities and image optimization | Yes Advanced image optimization with gatsby-plugin-sharp, gatsby-image, and built-in responsive images |
| Taxonomies | Yes Powerful built-in taxonomy system with support for custom taxonomies | Via GraphQL Custom taxonomies can be implemented through GraphQL queries and data structures |
| Pagination | Yes Built-in pagination for list pages with customizable options | Via API Pagination available through createPage API and GraphQL queries |
| Table of contents | Yes Built-in table of contents generation for markdown content | Via plugin Supported through gatsby-remark-table-of-contents or similar plugins |
| Comments | Via integration Integration with Disqus, Commento, Utterances or other comment systems via templates | Via integration Integration with Disqus, Commento, Utterances via React components |
| Integrations | ||
| Social media integration | Yes Built-in support for social cards, sharing, and integration via templates | Via plugin Social sharing, cards, and integrations available through various plugins |
| Analytics | Via integration Easy integration with most analytics platforms via themes or templates | Via plugin Easy integration with Google Analytics, Plausible, Fathom through official plugins |
| Newsletter | Via integration Third-party services can be integrated via templates or partials | Via integration Can be integrated through React components for services like Mailchimp, ConvertKit |
| Search | Via integration Options include built-in JSON index, Algolia, Lunr.js, or other client-side search solutions | Via plugin Options include Algolia (gatsby-plugin-algolia), Lunr.js, Elasticsearch integrations |
| Headless CMS integration | Yes Excellent support for most headless CMS platforms including Contentful, Forestry, NetlifyCMS, Strapi | Yes First-class support for most headless CMS platforms with official plugins for Contentful, WordPress, Sanity, Strapi, etc. |
| Advanced Features | ||
| Multilingual | Yes First-class support for multilingual sites with i18n capabilities | Via plugin i18n support through plugins like gatsby-plugin-intl or gatsby-plugin-i18n |
| AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) | Via templates Can be implemented using custom output formats and templates | Via plugin Available through gatsby-plugin-amp or custom implementation |
| PWA (Progressive Web App) | Via integration Requires custom configuration or theme with PWA support | Yes First-class PWA support through gatsby-plugin-manifest and gatsby-plugin-offline |
| Specialized Content | ||
| PlantUML | Via shortcode Customizable shortcodes can be created for PlantUML integration | Via plugin Can be integrated through custom components or markdown remark plugins |
| Mermaid | Via shortcode Official shortcode available for Mermaid diagrams | Via plugin Can be used with gatsby-remark-mermaid plugin |
| KaTeX (math) | Via integration Support through either KaTeX or MathJax via templates or theme integration | Via plugin Supported through gatsby-remark-katex or other math rendering plugins |
| GitHub Gists integration | Via shortcode Can be implemented via custom shortcodes | Via plugin Can be implemented with gatsby-remark-embed-gist |