head to head · open source
mkdocs vs persepolis
mkdocs has 22,533 GitHub stars, 2,660 forks, 192 open issues and last shipped 1.0 years ago. persepolis has 7,490 stars, 711 forks, 317 open issues and last shipped 1.1 years ago. mkdocs leads on adoption by 201% (22,533 vs 7,490 stars). mkdocs is written in Python under BSD-2-Clause; persepolis is written in Python under GPL-3.0. mkdocs has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, persepolis 9%. mkdocs was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (python), 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 | persepolis | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 23K | ★ 7.5K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2025-10-20 | 2025-10-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 711 |
| 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 persepolis if
- You want the persepolis feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and persepolis 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 persepolis
Persepolis Download Manager Content About How to install PersepolisDM FAQ Screenshots Credits About Persepolis is a download manager written in Python. Persepolis is a sample of free and open source software. It's developed for GNU/Linux distributions, BSDs, macOS, and Microsoft Windows. Features Multi segment downloading (64 connections) Scheduling downloads Download queuing Downloading videos from Youtube and ... and many more! Demonstration clip: How to install PersepolisDM? Please checkout the Persepolis wiki FAQ Where does the name come from? From Wikipedia: Persepolis (Greek: Περσέπολις Persépolis; "the…
read the full persepolis overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mkdocs or persepolis more popular?
mkdocs has 22,533 GitHub stars and persepolis has 7,490. mkdocs has the larger community by that measure.
Are mkdocs and persepolis free?
Both are open source. mkdocs is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and persepolis under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mkdocs and persepolis?
mkdocs is written in Python and persepolis 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, mkdocs or persepolis?
Choose mkdocs if you want the larger community (22,533 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose persepolis if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.