head to head · open source
docsify vs mkdocs-material
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars, 5,785 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. mkdocs-material has 27,594 stars, 4,153 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. docsify leads on adoption by 14% (31,575 vs 27,594 stars). docsify is written in JavaScript under MIT; mkdocs-material is written in Python under MIT. docsify has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, mkdocs-material 15%. docsify 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
| docsify | mkdocs-material | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 28K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 4.2K |
| 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 mkdocs-material if
- You want the mkdocs-material feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and mkdocs-material 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 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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is docsify or mkdocs-material more popular?
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars and mkdocs-material has 27,594. docsify has the larger community by that measure.
Are docsify and mkdocs-material free?
Both are open source. docsify is licensed under MIT and mkdocs-material under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docsify and mkdocs-material?
docsify is written in JavaScript and mkdocs-material in Python. 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 mkdocs-material?
Choose docsify if you want the larger community (31,575 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose mkdocs-material if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.