head to head · open source
docsify vs compodoc
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars, 5,785 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. compodoc has 4,117 stars, 416 forks, 45 open issues and last shipped yesterday. docsify leads on adoption by 667% (31,575 vs 4,117 stars). docsify is written in JavaScript under MIT; compodoc is written in TypeScript under MIT. docsify has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, compodoc 10%. compodoc was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (documentation, documentation-tool), 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
| docsify | compodoc | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 4.1K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 416 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick docsify if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick compodoc if
- You want the compodoc feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and compodoc fits your workflow better
About docsify
A magical documentation site generator. Gold Sponsor via Open Collective Docsify turns one or more Markdown files into a Website, with no build process required. Features No statically built HTML files Simple and lightweight Smart full text search plugin Multiple themes Useful plugin API Emoji support Quick Start Get going fast by using a static web server or GitHub Pages with this ready to use Docsify Template, review the quick start tutorial or jump right into a CodeSandbox example site with the button below. Showcase A large collection of showcase projects are included in awesome docsify. Links Documentation…
read the full docsify overview →
About compodoc
The missing documentation tool for your Angular application. Live Demo A live demo is available — [see it in action][demo] ! The demo features documentation generated for a simple [TodoMVC application]. [demo]: [todomvc application]: Features Modern Angular support — Documents standalone APIs, signal inputs and aliases, styleUrl , injectable metadata, and inheritance details. Standalone aware routing — Generates route and dependency graphs for provideRouter , lazy routes, default export route files, and classic NgModule routing. Complete project documentation — Covers components, directives, pipes, modules…
read the full compodoc overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is docsify or compodoc more popular?
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars and compodoc has 4,117. docsify has the larger community by that measure.
Are docsify and compodoc free?
Both are open source. docsify is licensed under MIT and compodoc under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docsify and compodoc?
docsify is written in JavaScript and compodoc 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, docsify or compodoc?
Choose docsify if you want the larger community (31,575 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose compodoc if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.