head to head · open source
docsify vs markdoc
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars, 5,785 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. markdoc has 8,520 stars, 263 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. docsify leads on adoption by 271% (31,575 vs 8,520 stars). docsify is written in JavaScript under MIT; markdoc is written in TypeScript under MIT. docsify has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, markdoc 3%. docsify was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (documentation, markdown), 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 | markdoc | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 8.5K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 263 |
| 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 markdoc if
- You want the markdoc feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and markdoc 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 markdoc
A powerful, flexible, Markdown based authoring framework. Markdoc is a Markdown based syntax and toolchain for creating custom documentation sites and experiences. We designed Markdoc to power Stripe's public docs, our largest and most complex content site. Installation To get started with Markdoc, first install the library: or and import it in your app: or if you are using ESM then use Markdoc in your app or tool: Check out our docs for more guidance on how to use Markdoc. TypeScript This is the minimal tsconfig.json required to use Markdoc in your TypeScript project: React If you are using React, install…
read the full markdoc overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is docsify or markdoc more popular?
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars and markdoc has 8,520. docsify has the larger community by that measure.
Are docsify and markdoc free?
Both are open source. docsify is licensed under MIT and markdoc under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docsify and markdoc?
docsify is written in JavaScript and markdoc 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 markdoc?
Choose docsify if you want the larger community (31,575 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose markdoc if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.