head to head · open source
mkdocs-material vs Docs
mkdocs-material has 27,594 GitHub stars, 4,153 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Docs has 16,963 stars, 688 forks, 370 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mkdocs-material leads on adoption by 63% (27,594 vs 16,963 stars). mkdocs-material is written in Python under MIT; Docs is written in TypeScript under MIT. mkdocs-material has attracted 15% 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-material | Docs | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 17K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 688 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick mkdocs-material if
- You weight community size — 28K stars and counting
- You want the MIT 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-material
A powerful documentation framework on top of MkDocs Write your documentation in Markdown and create a professional static site for your Open Source or commercial project in minutes – searchable, customizable, more than 60 languages, for all devices. Check out the demo – squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs material . Silver sponsors Bronze sponsors <img src=" height="58"
read the full mkdocs-material 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-material or Docs more popular?
mkdocs-material has 27,594 GitHub stars and Docs has 16,963. mkdocs-material has the larger community by that measure.
Are mkdocs-material and Docs free?
Both are open source. mkdocs-material is licensed under MIT and Docs under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mkdocs-material and Docs?
mkdocs-material 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-material or Docs?
Choose mkdocs-material if you want the larger community (27,594 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Docs if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.