head to head · open source
mkdocs vs Docs
mkdocs has 22,532 GitHub stars, 2,658 forks, 192 open issues and last shipped 1.0 years ago. Docs has 16,963 stars, 688 forks, 370 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mkdocs leads on adoption by 33% (22,532 vs 16,963 stars). mkdocs is written in Python under BSD-2-Clause; Docs is written in TypeScript under MIT. mkdocs has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Docs 4%. Docs was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (documentation), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| mkdocs | Docs | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 23K | ★ 17K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2025-10-20 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 688 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick mkdocs if
- You weight community size — 23K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Docs if
- You want the Docs feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Docs fits your workflow better
About mkdocs
MkDocs Project documentation with Markdown [![PyPI Version][pypi v image]][pypi v link] [![Build Status][GHAction image]][GHAction link] [![Coverage Status][codecov image]][codecov link] MkDocs is a fast , simple and downright gorgeous static site generator that's geared towards building project documentation. Documentation source files are written in Markdown, and configured with a single YAML configuration file. It is designed to be easy to use and can be extended with third party themes, plugins, and Markdown extensions. Please see the [Documentation][mkdocs] for an introductory tutorial and a full user…
read the full mkdocs overview →
About Docs
Chat on Matrix • Documentation • Try Docs • Contact us La Suite Docs: Collaborative Text Editing Docs, where your notes can become knowledge through live collaboration. Docs is an open source collaborative editor that helps teams write, organize, and share knowledge together in real time. What is Docs? Docs is an open source alternative to tools like Notion or Google Docs, focused on: Real time collaboration Clean, structured documents Knowledge organization Data ownership & self hosting Built for public organizations, companies, and open communities. Why use Docs? Writing Rich text & Markdown editing Slash…
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Frequently asked questions
Is mkdocs or Docs more popular?
mkdocs has 22,532 GitHub stars and Docs has 16,963. mkdocs has the larger community by that measure.
Are mkdocs and Docs free?
Both are open source. mkdocs is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Docs under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mkdocs and Docs?
mkdocs is written in Python and Docs in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, mkdocs or Docs?
Choose mkdocs if you want the larger community (22,532 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose Docs if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.