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Hugo vs Hexo
Compare Hugo and Hexo to find the best tool for your needs.
Hugo
The world's fastest framework for building static websites, with rich content management capabilities.
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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
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
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 | Hugo | Hexo |
|---|---|---|
| Core Features | ||
| SEO | Yes Built-in SEO features including meta tags, canonical URLs, Open Graph, and JSON-LD | Via plugin Available through hexo-seo plugin or custom configuration |
| Sitemap | Yes Built-in sitemap generation without plugins | Via plugin Available through hexo-generator-sitemap |
| RSS Feed | Yes Built-in RSS/Atom feed generation without plugins | Via plugin Available through hexo-generator-feed |
| Theming system | Yes Powerful theming system with theme inheritance and module capabilities | Yes Robust theming system with many available themes |
| Plugin system | Partial Uses 'modules' rather than plugins, with a different architectural approach than traditional plugins | Yes Extensive plugin ecosystem with many available plugins |
| Content Management | ||
| Emoji | Yes Native emoji support with several rendering options | Via plugin Support through hexo-filter-github-emojis or similar plugins |
| Image optimization | Yes Built-in image processing with resize, crop, filter capabilities and image optimization | Via plugin Available through hexo-filter-responsive-images or similar plugins |
| Taxonomies | Yes Powerful built-in taxonomy system with support for custom taxonomies | Partial Built-in support for categories and tags; custom taxonomies require additional configuration |
| Pagination | Yes Built-in pagination for list pages with customizable options | Yes Built-in pagination for post listings |
| Table of contents | Yes Built-in table of contents generation for markdown content | Yes Built-in table of contents generation |
| Comments | Via integration Integration with Disqus, Commento, Utterances or other comment systems via templates | Yes Built-in support for Disqus; other systems supported via themes |
| Integrations | ||
| Social media integration | Yes Built-in support for social cards, sharing, and integration via templates | Via theme Most themes include social media integration options |
| Analytics | Via integration Easy integration with most analytics platforms via themes or templates | Via integration Most themes support analytics integration |
| Newsletter | Via integration Third-party services can be integrated via templates or partials | Via integration Can be added through theme customization |
| Search | Via integration Options include built-in JSON index, Algolia, Lunr.js, or other client-side search solutions | Via plugin Options include hexo-generator-search or Algolia integration |
| Headless CMS integration | Yes Excellent support for most headless CMS platforms including Contentful, Forestry, NetlifyCMS, Strapi | Via plugin Integration possible with various headless CMS platforms |
| Advanced Features | ||
| Multilingual | Yes First-class support for multilingual sites with i18n capabilities | Yes Built-in i18n support |
| AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) | Via templates Can be implemented using custom output formats and templates | Via plugin Can be implemented with hexo-generator-amp |
| PWA (Progressive Web App) | Via integration Requires custom configuration or theme with PWA support | Via plugin Available through hexo-pwa or similar solutions |
| Specialized Content | ||
| PlantUML | Via shortcode Customizable shortcodes can be created for PlantUML integration | Via plugin Can be added with hexo-filter-plantuml or similar plugins |
| Mermaid | Via shortcode Official shortcode available for Mermaid diagrams | Via plugin Available through hexo-filter-mermaid-diagrams or similar plugins |
| KaTeX (math) | Via integration Support through either KaTeX or MathJax via templates or theme integration | Via plugin Available through hexo-renderer-markdown-it-katex or similar plugins |
| GitHub Gists integration | Via shortcode Can be implemented via custom shortcodes | Via plugin Can be implemented through custom tags or plugins |