head to head · open source
mkdocs-material vs schemaspy
mkdocs-material has 27,598 GitHub stars, 4,153 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. schemaspy has 3,736 stars, 357 forks, 303 open issues and last shipped 8 months ago. mkdocs-material leads on adoption by 639% (27,598 vs 3,736 stars). mkdocs-material is written in Python under MIT; schemaspy is written in HTML under LGPL-3.0. mkdocs-material has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, schemaspy 10%. mkdocs-material 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-material | schemaspy | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 3.7K |
| License | MIT | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-03-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 357 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick mkdocs-material if
- You weight community size — 28K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick schemaspy if
- You want the schemaspy feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and schemaspy fits your workflow better
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 →
About schemaspy
SchemaSpy is a database metadata analyzer. It helps your database administrators and developers visualize, navigate and understand your data model. With an easy to use HTML based report, traversing the entity relationship diagram has never been simpler. Our product showcase is available at Installation SchemaSpy is a standalone application without GUI. Just download the latest JAR file or Docker image and you're ready to go! To use SchemaSpy from Maven, please see the Maven chapter below. For unreleased bug fixes and features in progress, download our snapshot JAR or use Docker tag snapshot Maven SchemaSpy…
read the full schemaspy overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mkdocs-material or schemaspy more popular?
mkdocs-material has 27,598 GitHub stars and schemaspy has 3,736. mkdocs-material has the larger community by that measure.
Are mkdocs-material and schemaspy free?
Both are open source. mkdocs-material is licensed under MIT and schemaspy under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mkdocs-material and schemaspy?
mkdocs-material is written in Python and schemaspy in HTML. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, mkdocs-material or schemaspy?
Choose mkdocs-material if you want the larger community (27,598 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose schemaspy if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.