The Best Static Site Generators in 2026
We researched static site generators from official websites, including pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. Rankings consider each tool’s core job—generating static websites—alongside value for money and verified features such as content sources, build workflows, integrations and deployment flexibility.
Our top picks
-
Top ranked
Gatsby#1 of 359.4/10A broad React framework for static, dynamic, multilingual, and CMS-connected sites.
Free plan
-
Runner-up
Hugo#2 of 359.2/10A free, flexible choice for fast, content-rich websites across major desktop platforms.
Free plan
-
Top-ranked free plan
Publii#3 of 359.0/10A free desktop CMS for bloggers who want visual editing and static hosting flexibility.
Free plan
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 35 tools, best first
-
Best forCMS-heavy React sites
A broad React framework for static, dynamic, multilingual, and CMS-connected sites.
- Incremental builds
- CMS integration
- Multilingual support
9.4/10★★★★★Visit Gatsby -
Best forFast, content-rich sites
A free, flexible choice for fast, content-rich websites across major desktop platforms.
- Multilingual support
- Local preview server
9.2/10★★★★★Visit Hugo -
Best forNontechnical bloggers
A free desktop CMS for bloggers who want visual editing and static hosting flexibility.
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit Publii -
Best forPHP static sites
A focused, open-source choice for PHP teams building multilingual static sites.
- Incremental builds
- Multilingual support
- Local preview server
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Cecil -
Best forRuby developers needing flexibility
A flexible Markdown-based generator for Ruby teams that need more than static pages.
- Incremental builds
- CMS integration
- Multilingual support
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit Bridgetown -
Best forSimple flexible static sites
A flexible, framework-optional generator for Markdown and template-driven static sites.
- CMS integration
- Multilingual support
- Local preview server
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Eleventy -
Best forFeature-rich publishing sites
A broad static publishing toolkit for teams comfortable managing their own site.
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit Nikola -
Best forDocumentation teams
A free, docs-as-code framework with search, versioning, i18n, and flexible UI integrations.
8.5/10★★★★☆Try Astro Starlight -
Best forMature Ruby projects
A free, open-source choice for Ruby developers building compiled static sites.
- Incremental builds
- Multilingual support
- Local preview server
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Nanoc -
Best forRust developers building content-driven sites
A focused, free static site generator for Rust developers building content-driven sites.
- Multilingual support
- Local preview server
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Zola -
Best forVue-powered documentation sites
A free, open-source choice for Vue-centered documentation and static sites.
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit VuePress -
Best forGitHub Pages publishers
A flexible, repository-driven choice for Markdown sites published through GitHub Pages.
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Jekyll -
Best forPython publishing workflows
A flexible, open-source choice for Python teams building file-based websites.
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Pelican -
Best forDeno-based sites
A capable open-source choice for developers building Deno-based content sites.
- CMS integration
- Multilingual support
- Local preview server
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Lume -
Best forPlugin-driven JavaScript builds
A free, plugin-driven JavaScript generator for flexible static builds.
- Incremental builds
- CMS integration
- Multilingual support
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit Metalsmith -
Best forHaskell developers needing dependency-aware builds
A dependency-aware static site generator for developers who want Haskell-defined builds.
- Incremental builds
- Local preview server
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Hakyll -
Best forRust blog sites
A free Rust-based generator for Markdown blogs with practical publishing workflows.
- Local preview server
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit Cobalt -
Best forSmall Python sites with hosted deployment
A free, open-source choice for small Python sites with flexible publishing workflows.
- Local preview server
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit Stapy -
Best forJava and Quarkus users
Roq brings Java, Quarkus, and developer-focused publishing workflows to static sites.
- Local preview server
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit Roq -
Best forJulia technical sites
A focused, open-source choice for Julia technical sites with code-aware authoring.
- Local preview server
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit Franklin.jl -
Best forRuby multilingual sites
A focused Ruby framework for multilingual static sites, blogs, and frontend workflows.
- Multilingual support
- Local preview server
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit Middleman -
Best forPHP teams using Blade and Vite
A focused static generator for PHP teams that prefer Blade, Markdown, and Vite.
- Local preview server
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit Jigsaw -
Best for.NET documentation teams
A flexible .NET static site toolkit for teams building documentation with custom pipelines.
- Local preview server
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit Statiq -
Best forSvelte CMS-backed sites
A focused open-source choice for Svelte sites powered by CMS and structured data.
- CMS integration
- Local preview server
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit JungleJS -
Best forPython component sites
A focused open-source choice for building static sites with Python throughout.
- Incremental builds
- Local preview server
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Nitro -
Best forSvelte starter sites
A focused Svelte starter for Markdown sites and static hosting.
- Local preview server
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit Statue -
Best forJavaScript bloggers
A flexible local static-site generator for JavaScript bloggers who prefer code-driven publishing.
6.6/10★★★☆☆Visit Hexo -
Best forSimple Node.js sites with preprocessing
A focused open-source choice for Node.js sites that need preprocessing and static output.
- Local preview server
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit Harp -
Best forSwift teams building structured content pipelines
A Swift-based generator for structured Markdown sites with configurable builds and previews.
- CMS integration
- Multilingual support
- Local preview server
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit Toucan -
Best forGroovy or Java static sites
A flexible open-source choice for Groovy or Java static sites.
- Local preview server
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit Grain -
Best forReact sites driven by CMS data
A focused open-source choice for React sites powered by CMS content.
- CMS integration
- Local preview server
6.2/10★★★☆☆Visit React Static -
Best forPHP blog sites
A focused open-source choice for developers building PHP-based blog sites.
- Local preview server
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit Tapestry -
Best forSymfony-oriented PHP sites
A free, extensible PHP generator for Symfony-oriented static sites.
- Local preview server
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit Sculpin -
Best forSimple static sites with asset tooling
A focused Node.js toolkit for building, optimizing, previewing, and deploying static sites.
- Local preview server
5.9/10★★★☆☆Visit site -
Best forLegacy JavaScript build-pipeline projects
A flexible, free generator for developers maintaining template-driven Node.js projects.
5.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Assemble
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Content sources | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gatsby | Yes | Free | Api | 9.4 |
| 2 | Hugo | Yes | Free | Markdown | 9.2 |
| 3 | Publii | Yes | Free | 9.0 | |
| 4 | Cecil | Yes | Free | Markdown | 8.9 |
| 5 | Bridgetown | Yes | Free | Markdown | 8.8 |
| 6 | Eleventy | Yes | Free | Markdown | 8.7 |
| 7 | Nikola | Yes | Free | 8.6 | |
| 8 | Astro Starlight | Yes | Free | 8.5 | |
| 9 | Nanoc | Yes | Free | Database | 8.4 |
| 10 | Zola | Yes | Free | Markdown | 8.3 |
| 11 | VuePress | Yes | Free | 8.2 | |
| 12 | Jekyll | Free | 8.1 | ||
| 13 | Pelican | Yes | Free | 8.0 | |
| 14 | Lume | Yes | Free | Markdown | 7.9 |
| 15 | Metalsmith | Yes | Free | Markdown | 7.8 |
| 16 | Hakyll | Yes | Free | Markdown | 7.7 |
| 17 | Cobalt | Yes | Free | Markdown | 7.6 |
| 18 | Stapy | Yes | Free | 7.5 | |
| 19 | Roq | Yes | Free | Markdown | 7.4 |
| 20 | Franklin.jl | Yes | Free | Markdown | 7.3 |
| 21 | Middleman | Yes | Free | Markdown | 7.2 |
| 22 | Jigsaw | Yes | Free | Markdown | 7.1 |
| 23 | Statiq | $50/user one-time | Database | 7.0 | |
| 24 | JungleJS | Yes | Free | Markdown | 6.9 |
| 25 | Nitro | Yes | Free | 6.8 | |
| 26 | Statue | Yes | Free | Markdown | 6.7 |
| 27 | Hexo | Free | 6.6 | ||
| 28 | Harp | Yes | Free | Markdown | 6.5 |
| 29 | Toucan | Yes | Free | Markdown | 6.4 |
| 30 | Grain | Yes | Free | Markdown | 6.3 |
| 31 | React Static | Yes | Free | Cms | 6.2 |
| 32 | Tapestry | Yes | Free | Markdown | 6.1 |
| 33 | Sculpin | Yes | Free | Markdown | 6.0 |
| 34 | Static Site Boilerplate | Yes | Free | 5.9 | |
| 35 | Assemble | Yes | Free | Markdown | 5.8 |
Head-to-head All 27 comparisons →
- Gatsby vs Hugo
- Gatsby vs Publii
- Gatsby vs Cecil
- Gatsby vs Bridgetown
- Gatsby vs Eleventy
- Gatsby vs Nikola
- Hugo vs Publii
- Hugo vs Cecil
- Hugo vs Bridgetown
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How we rank static site generators
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update