head to head · open source
mkdocs vs liam
mkdocs has 22,533 GitHub stars, 2,660 forks, 192 open issues and last shipped 1.0 years ago. liam has 5,161 stars, 242 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mkdocs leads on adoption by 337% (22,533 vs 5,161 stars). mkdocs is written in Python under BSD-2-Clause; liam is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. mkdocs has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, liam 5%. liam 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
| mkdocs | liam | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 23K | ★ 5.2K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2025-10-20 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 242 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick mkdocs if
- You weight community size — 23K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick liam if
- You want the liam 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 liam fits your workflow better
About mkdocs
MkDocs Project documentation with Markdown [![PyPI Version][pypi v image]][pypi v link] [![Build Status][GHAction image]][GHAction link] [![Coverage Status][codecov image]][codecov link] MkDocs is a fast , simple and downright gorgeous static site generator that's geared towards building project documentation. Documentation source files are written in Markdown, and configured with a single YAML configuration file. It is designed to be easy to use and can be extended with third party themes, plugins, and Markdown extensions. Please see the [Documentation][mkdocs] for an introductory tutorial and a full user…
read the full mkdocs overview →
About liam
Automatically generates beautiful and easy to read ER diagrams from your database. Website • Documentation • Roadmap What's Liam ERD? Liam ERD generates beautiful, interactive ER diagrams from your database. Whether you're working on public or private repositories, Liam ERD helps you visualize complex schemas with ease. Beautiful UI & Interactive : A clean design and intuitive features (like panning, zooming, and filtering) make it easy to understand even the most complex databases. Simple Reverse Engineering : Seamlessly turn your existing database schemas into clear, readable diagrams. Effortless Setup : Get…
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Frequently asked questions
Is mkdocs or liam more popular?
mkdocs has 22,533 GitHub stars and liam has 5,161. mkdocs has the larger community by that measure.
Are mkdocs and liam free?
Both are open source. mkdocs is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and liam under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mkdocs and liam?
mkdocs is written in Python and liam 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, mkdocs or liam?
Choose mkdocs if you want the larger community (22,533 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose liam if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.