head to head · open source
docusaurus vs mapnik
docusaurus has 66,641 GitHub stars, 10,125 forks, 430 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mapnik has 3,973 stars, 839 forks, 730 open issues and last shipped yesterday. docusaurus leads on adoption by 1,577% (66,641 vs 3,973 stars). docusaurus is written in TypeScript under MIT; mapnik is written in C++ under LGPL-2.1. docusaurus has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, mapnik 21%. mapnik 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 | mapnik | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 67K | ★ 4.0K |
| License | MIT | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 839 |
| 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 mapnik if
- You want the mapnik feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and mapnik 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 mapnik
Mapnik is an open source toolkit for developing mapping applications. At the core is a C++ shared library providing algorithms and patterns for spatial data access and visualization. Mapnik is basically a collection of geographic objects like maps, layers, datasources, features, and geometries. The library doesn't rely on any OS specific "windowing systems" and it can be deployed to any server environment. It is intended to play fair in a multi threaded environment and is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at web based development. For further information see and also our wiki documentation. Installation See…
read the full mapnik overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is docusaurus or mapnik more popular?
docusaurus has 66,641 GitHub stars and mapnik has 3,973. docusaurus has the larger community by that measure.
Are docusaurus and mapnik free?
Both are open source. docusaurus is licensed under MIT and mapnik under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docusaurus and mapnik?
docusaurus is written in TypeScript and mapnik in C++. 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 mapnik?
Choose docusaurus if you want the larger community (66,641 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose mapnik if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.