Pick your static site generator — 40+ options, the take from someone who has shipped on six of these in production
Your next site needs an SSG. The directory has 38+ in one place — filter by language, category, or license. Every entry gives you a one-line summary, a concrete "best for", an honest "skip this if", and a paragraph of opinion. Star counts refreshed each quarter; the takes kept current.
12 SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISONS → TOP-5 DECISION HUB →Filter the list
Showing 38 of 38
Next.js
React framework. SSG via export, but the App Router is the default story.
Read the take →Hugo
The fastest SSG, full stop. Go binary, single-file install, builds 10k pages in seconds.
Read the take →Docusaurus
Meta's React-based docs framework. Best-in-class for software documentation.
Read the take →Nuxt
Vue's answer to Next.js. Static generation with `nuxi generate`, fully featured.
Read the take →Gatsby
decliningReact + GraphQL SSG. Pioneered the Jamstack movement; declining since 2023.
Read the take →Astro
Multi-framework, content-first, ships zero JS by default. The default for SEO-heavy sites.
Read the take →Jekyll
matureThe original SSG. Liquid templates, Ruby, Markdown. GitHub Pages' backbone.
Read the take →Hexo
matureNode-based blog SSG, popular in Asia. Mature, themed, blog-first.
Read the take →Slate
matureAPI documentation SSG. Single-page, three-column layout, Stripe-style docs.
Read the take →VuePress
decliningThe original Vue docs SSG. Maintained, but VitePress is the modern path.
Read the take →SvelteKit
Svelte's flagship framework. Static export via adapter-static, smaller bundle than Next.js.
Read the take →MkDocs
Python docs-first SSG, Material for MkDocs is the killer theme.
Read the take →Eleventy (11ty)
Zero-config JS-based SSG. Templates only, no client-side JS framework.
Read the take →Reflex / Static Studio
Modern Python web app builder; can output static. Niche.
Read the take →Zola
Rust binary, single file, Tera templates. Hugo's closest competitor.
Read the take →VitePress
Vue / Vite-based static docs framework. Fast, minimal, the default for Vue docs.
Read the take →Pelican
maturePython-based SSG, blog-first, mature. The Pythonic Jekyll.
Read the take →Fresh
Deno's flagship full-stack web framework. Islands architecture by default.
Read the take →TinaCMS
Git-backed CMS layered over Astro / Next.js / Hugo. SSG-adjacent, not strictly an SSG.
Read the take →Metalsmith
maturePlugin-based JS SSG. Treat everything as a transformation pipeline.
Read the take →Starlight
Astro's documentation theme. Framework-agnostic docs, with Astro's flexibility.
Read the take →Middleman
matureRuby SSG with Sprockets-style asset pipeline. Mature, niche.
Read the take →Publii
Desktop-app SSG. Non-technical content authors, GUI-first.
Read the take →SolidStart
SolidJS's meta-framework. Fine-grained reactivity, fast, small ecosystem.
Read the take →Sphinx
reStructuredText-first docs system. The official Python documentation tool.
Read the take →Quarto
Scientific publishing SSG. Markdown + Pandoc + Jupyter / R / Observable. Posit's tool.
Read the take →Fastpages (deprecated)
archivedJupyter notebook → Jekyll blog. fast.ai's tool. Deprecated, replaced by Quarto / Nikola.
Read the take →Wintersmith
decliningOld-school Node SSG. Mature, low-maintenance, niche.
Read the take →Hakyll
Haskell SSG. Pandoc-powered, programmable rules engine, niche.
Read the take →Jigsaw
PHP / Laravel-flavoured SSG. Blade templates, niche for Laravel teams.
Read the take →Lume
Deno-native SSG by Óscar Otero. Multi-template, lean, modern Deno ecosystem.
Read the take →Silverwind / Wyam
.NET-based SSG. Niche for .NET teams.
Read the take →Bridgetown
Ruby-based, Jekyll's ambitious successor with modern frontend integration.
Read the take →Antora
AsciiDoc-based docs SSG, best-in-class for multi-repo technical documentation.
Read the take →Cobalt
Rust SSG, Liquid-compatible. Niche, well-engineered.
Read the take →Soupault
Static site processor with HTML-rewriting plugins. Unique angle.
Read the take →Rocket
Modern SSG by Modern Web. Web Components-first, lit-html.
Read the take →Mintlify
Hosted developer docs platform. Closed-source, polished, expensive at scale.
Read the take →No SSGs match the current filters.
How this directory is curated
This is not a scraped list of every static site generator on GitHub. It is a curated directory of the SSGs worth knowing about in 2026, with one filter rule: would I either recommend it to a client or argue against it for a specific reason. Tools that nobody uses and nobody asks about are not listed.
Each entry has the same shape: a one-liner, a "best for" list, a "skip this if" paragraph, and a paragraph of honest opinion. Star counts are refreshed each quarter from each project's GitHub page. Status flags (declining, mature, archived) are updated when the trajectory changes. If you spot a project that should be here and is not, the email is on the homepage.
The companion comparison hub at /hub/static-site-generators/ picks the top 5 with editorial argument. The pillar comparison post is at /blog/static-site-generators-2026/.
The SSG choice is the easy half — your build is the hard one
Picking the framework is the easy half. The hard half is your build and your SEO transport. If you are migrating from WordPress or another CMS to a static stack, the 30-min call is the right starting place — describe your site and we will pick the SSG, the host, and the delivery window together.