Bridgetown vs Eleventy

Bridgetown8.8Visit Eleventy8.7Visit

Higher score Bridgetown #5 in Static Site Generators 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Bridgetown

vs

Eleventy #6 in Static Site Generators 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Eleventy

• Bridgetown fits best

  Ruby developers needing flexibility

• Eleventy fits best

  Simple flexible static sites

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Side by side

Feature	Bridgetown 8.8/10 Visit ↗	Eleventy 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	8.7
Ranking	#5 in Static Site Generators	#6 in Static Site Generators
Best for	Ruby developers needing flexibility	Simple flexible static sites
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Bridgetown 4/4 · Eleventy 3/4
CMS integration	✓	✓
Incremental builds	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Multilingual support	✓	✓
Local preview server	✓	✓
Specs
Content sources	Markdown	Markdown
Supported languages	Ruby, JavaScript	HTML, Markdown, WebC, JavaScript, Liquid, Nunjucks, Handlebars, Mustache, EJS, Haml, Pug, TypeScript, JSX, MDX, Sass
Our review
Pros	Markdown, layouts, components, collections, and front matter Optional SSR and dynamic routes through Roda Partial rebuilds, plugins, and integrated asset processing	Zero-configuration setup with extensible configuration Supports Markdown and many templating languages Includes collections, data cascade, watch mode, and preview server
Cons	Hosting and infrastructure costs are separate Dynamic functionality depends on adding Roda Ruby-focused workflows may not suit non-Ruby teams	Requires Node.js for local development CMS integration is guidance rather than a built-in CMS Internationalization relies on guidance and plugin support
Our verdict	Bridgetown is an open-source Ruby-powered site generator and full-stack web framework for developers, agencies, and teams building content-rich websites or web applications. It turns Markdown and other resources into deployable HTML, CSS,… Read the review →	Eleventy is an open-source static site generator that transforms directories of templates into pre-rendered HTML. It supports Markdown plus HTML, WebC, JavaScript, Liquid, Nunjucks, Handlebars, Mustache, EJS, Haml, Pug, TypeScript, JSX,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Bridgetown — where it wins

  • Markdown, layouts, components, collections, and front matter
  • Optional SSR and dynamic routes through Roda
  • Partial rebuilds, plugins, and integrated asset processing

  Where it doesn't

  • Hosting and infrastructure costs are separate
  • Dynamic functionality depends on adding Roda
  • Ruby-focused workflows may not suit non-Ruby teams

• Eleventy — where it wins

  • Zero-configuration setup with extensible configuration
  • Supports Markdown and many templating languages
  • Includes collections, data cascade, watch mode, and preview server

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires Node.js for local development
  • CMS integration is guidance rather than a built-in CMS
  • Internationalization relies on guidance and plugin support

• Bridgetown8.8/10 · Free plan

  A flexible Markdown-based generator for Ruby teams that need more than static pages.

  Visit BridgetownFull verdict →
• Eleventy8.7/10 · Free plan

  A flexible, framework-optional generator for Markdown and template-driven static sites.

  Visit EleventyFull verdict →