head to head · open source
docusaurus vs fern
docusaurus has 66,641 GitHub stars, 10,125 forks, 430 open issues and last shipped yesterday. fern has 3,830 stars, 372 forks, 343 open issues and last shipped yesterday. docusaurus leads on adoption by 1,640% (66,641 vs 3,830 stars). docusaurus is written in TypeScript under MIT; fern is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. docusaurus has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, fern 10%. fern was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| docusaurus | fern | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 67K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 372 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick docusaurus if
- You weight community size — 67K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick fern if
- You want the fern feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and fern fits your workflow better
About docusaurus
Docusaurus Introduction Docusaurus is a project for building, deploying, and maintaining open source project websites easily. Short on time? Check out our 5 minute tutorial ⏱️! Tip : use docusaurus.new to test Docusaurus immediately in a playground. Simple to Start Docusaurus is built in a way so that it can get running in as little time as possible. We've built Docusaurus to handle the website build process so you can focus on your project. Localizable Docusaurus ships with localization support via CrowdIn. Empower and grow your international community by translating your documentation. Customizable While…
read the full docusaurus overview →
About fern
🌿 What is Fern? Fern is a platform that transforms your API definitions into production ready SDKs and beautiful documentation in minutes. With Fern, you can offer your users: 🧩 Type safe SDKs in multiple languages, including TypeScript, Python, Java, Go, Ruby, PHP, and C 📘 Developer documentation featuring an interactive UI and auto generated API + SDK references ✨ AI Search powered by an assistant trained on your docs, APIs, and SDKs that can instantly answer a developer's questions Fern supports leading API specifications including OpenAPI (REST, Webhooks), AsyncAPI (WebSockets), Protobuf (gRPC), and…
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Frequently asked questions
Is docusaurus or fern more popular?
docusaurus has 66,641 GitHub stars and fern has 3,830. docusaurus has the larger community by that measure.
Are docusaurus and fern free?
Both are open source. docusaurus is licensed under MIT and fern under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docusaurus and fern?
docusaurus is written in TypeScript and fern 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, docusaurus or fern?
Choose docusaurus if you want the larger community (66,641 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose fern if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.