head to head · open source
docsify vs jsdoc
docsify has 31,513 GitHub stars, 5,789 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped yesterday. jsdoc has 15,463 stars, 1,492 forks, 459 open issues and last shipped yesterday. docsify leads on adoption by 104% (31,513 vs 15,463 stars). docsify is written in JavaScript under MIT; jsdoc is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. docsify has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, jsdoc 10%. jsdoc was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (docs, 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
| docsify | jsdoc | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 15K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| 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 jsdoc if
- You want the jsdoc feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and jsdoc fits your workflow better
About docsify
Docsify is a client side documentation site generator that turns one or more Markdown files into a website with no build process, aimed at developers and maintainers who want to publish documentation from a static host such as GitHub Pages.
read the full docsify overview →
About jsdoc
JSDoc is an API documentation generator for JavaScript that reads annotations in source comments and produces a browsable documentation site, aimed at JavaScript developers and library maintainers who need reference documentation to stay in sync with code.
read the full jsdoc overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is docsify or jsdoc more popular?
docsify has 31,513 GitHub stars and jsdoc has 15,463. docsify has the larger community by that measure.
Are docsify and jsdoc free?
Both are open source. docsify is licensed under MIT and jsdoc under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docsify and jsdoc?
docsify is written in JavaScript and jsdoc in JavaScript. 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 jsdoc?
Choose docsify if you want the larger community (31,513 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose jsdoc if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.