Comparison of Gatsby vs Jekyll vs Hugo

Performance

CategoryGatsbyJekyllHugoDelivery OptimizationBuild your site as static files which can be deployed without a server.Cache your site on a CDN distributed throughout the globe.Use Google’s AMP’s static page format, which enables faster loads and are privileged in Google search results.Payload optimizationLoad images progressively by displaying a blurry placeholder image before loading the full heavyweight asset, thus preventing pages from appearing incomplete.Enable modern browsers to load the right size of image assets given viewport size through responsive images.Inline CSS within your rendered HTML in order to prevent blocking page load as occurs in the case of a separate CSS file.Host fonts on your own server so you can load them from your local filesystem so that a page load-blocking request to external servers does not occur.Progressive Web App (PWA)Provide offline access via service workers in Progressive Web Apps so that users on spotty connections can access your site.Prefetch all the content needed to load the next link you click in the background while you browse the page as it loads.Allow browsers to serve content locally without an extra network call when a user visits a previously visited page by fingerprinting static resources that aren’t expected to change.Fetch only the code for the loaded page on page load as opposed to the code needed to run the entire application.

Developer Experience

CategoryGatsbyJekyllHugoMaintainability and debuggabilityReduce operations overhead by using serverless hosting that doesn’t require security or framework upgrades or accessing a live production server.Click a Preview button or refresh the page to preview what your content looks like while writing or editing a piece of content.See UI changes without refreshing the page in your local development environment browser while editing content.See UI changes without refreshing the page in your local development environment browser while editing code.Declarative renderingPlug and play internal or external third-party components from a shared codebase or component library.Use a unidirectional data flow without complex interdependencies that are present in other data flow approaches like MVC in order to build complex front-end components.Use declarative queries in GraphQL that are colocated with your components to retrieve only certain data in a certain shape. Gatsby also pulls data into the GraphQL API so you can query it in your local IDE or query constructor.Use a hierarchical UI approach by declaratively passing properties down child trees in React, with faster debug cycles through the DevTools extension and element-by-element state comparisons.Modern development practicesUse asset pipelines, the compilers of the web stack, to transform images and discrete code into minified, raw HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that browsers can parse.Use languages like Sass and LESS and libraries like Glamor and Aphrodite to colocate CSS with JavaScript and HTML in React in order to solve common problems in vanilla CSS like global namespacing, nondeterminism, dead code elimination, and minification.Access modern JavaScript features including syntactic sugar, new language features, new data structures and types, and modularity.

Governance

CategoryGatsbyJekyllHugoSecurityProtect your application from cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities that could expose your site to attackers.Enable access control through cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) to prevent unwanted access through vectors such as distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.Use environment variables so you can deploy configuration to hosting services without exposing them in your codebase.Provide user authentication through an authentication provider that will permit access to sensitive areas of your application.DesignUse tools like Typography.js to make it easier to programmatically design your site by generating CSS that adheres to a certain intended design.Export application components for use in other applications such as Sketch, which has integrations like react-sketchapp for React components.Leverage component libraries in other applications like Sketch with integrations like react-sketchapp to accelerate the articulation of your style guide.

Accessibility

CategoryGatsbyJekyllHugoAccessible markupProvide a baseline of progressive enhancement where all sites can be accessed as static HTML and CSS and where all fundamental functionality is preserved without JavaScript being enabled.Leverage ARIA landmarks to provide semantic markers that indicate certain page elements for users of assistive and accessible technologies such as screen readers.Introduce meaning to HTML to reinforce desired semantics and to aid the navigation of your site by users of assistive and accessible technologies such as screen readers.Accessible defaultsProvide focus management on each page change through libraries such as @reach/router, an accessible routing library.Leverage a framework with a clear and robust accessibility statement explaining its position on accessibility and that it is a first-class consideration.Leverage a framework with full compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Gatsby is partially compliant.

Documentation

CategoryGatsbyJekyllHugoTutorials and guidesRead an introductory tutorial with a step-by-step process to help new users get started quickly.Read a guide with a step-by-step process to help you source data from a data source such as a CMS.Read a guide with a set of instructions to incorporate a CSS preprocessor such as Sass, LESS, or Stylus; and CSS-in-JS libraries like Glamor, or Aphrodite.Development guidesRead a guide with a set of instructions to perform routing and route management in the framework.Read a guide with a set of instructions to perform testing and quality assurance such as linting within a development workflow.Read a guide with a set of instructions to perform debugging and troubleshooting within a development workflow.Read a guide with a set of instructions to improve performance benchmarks within the framework.Feature addition guidesRead a guide with a set of instructions to add media assets such as image and video to your application.Read a guide with a set of instructions to add search capabilities and indexing to your application.Read a guide with a set of instructions to add analytics integration and segmentation to your application.Read a guide with a set of instructions to add authentication providers to gate access to your application.Read a guide with a set of instructions to perform search engine optimization for your application.

Ecosystem

CategoryGatsbyJekyllHugoEcosystemLeverage an existing component ecosystem such as React’s, which includes out-of-the-box component libraries and curated sets such as JSCoach.Plug your application into static hosts such as Netlify, Render, or surge.sh. WordPress and Squarespace include built-in hosting.Leverage a theme ecosystem with various options for your application to take on a custom look and feel. Jekyll has themes, and WordPress and Squarespace offer default theme selection.IntegrationsLeverage a framework that has integrations off the shelf with more than 20 other systems.Leverage a framework that has integrations off the shelf with more than 50 other systems.CommunityCollaborate with other developers on an individual basis in a community that offers a pairing program for mentorship.Purchase items from a swag store to express your support of the framework community.Feel welcome and empowered to contribute within a community that has an official code of conduct governing all interactions.Understand how to contribute to a community with a clear section in documentation for new contributors.