Eleventy vs Nanoc

Eleventy8.7Visit NNanoc8.4Visit

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

vs

N Nanoc #9 in Static Site Generators 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Nanoc

• Eleventy fits best

  Simple flexible static sites

• Nanoc fits best

  Mature Ruby projects

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Side by side

Feature	Eleventy 8.7/10 Visit ↗	NNanoc 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.7	8.4
Ranking	#6 in Static Site Generators	#9 in Static Site Generators
Best for	Simple flexible static sites	Mature Ruby projects
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Eleventy 3/4 · Nanoc 3/4
CMS integration	✓ (best)	—
Incremental builds	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Multilingual support	✓	✓
Local preview server	✓	✓
Specs
Content sources	Markdown	Database
Supported languages	HTML, Markdown, WebC, JavaScript, Liquid, Nunjucks, Handlebars, Mustache, EJS, Haml, Pug, TypeScript, JSX, MDX, Sass	Ruby
Our review
Pros	Zero-configuration setup with extensible configuration Supports Markdown and many templating languages Includes collections, data cascade, watch mode, and preview server	Dependency-aware and incremental compilation with cached content Multiple data sources, markup filters, templates, and Ruby helpers Live reload, multilingual guidance, issue checks, and deployment targets
Cons	Requires Node.js for local development CMS integration is guidance rather than a built-in CMS Internationalization relies on guidance and plugin support	Primarily supports macOS and Linux Requires Ruby and command-line-oriented local development No CMS integration is included
Our verdict	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 →	Nanoc is a free, open-source command-line static-site generator written in Ruby. It compiles content and layouts into deployable static files for websites ranging from personal blogs and portfolios to corporate sites. Its intended audience… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• 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

• Nanoc — where it wins

  • Dependency-aware and incremental compilation with cached content
  • Multiple data sources, markup filters, templates, and Ruby helpers
  • Live reload, multilingual guidance, issue checks, and deployment targets

  Where it doesn't

  • Primarily supports macOS and Linux
  • Requires Ruby and command-line-oriented local development
  • No CMS integration is included

• Eleventy8.7/10 · Free plan

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

  Visit EleventyFull verdict →
• NNanoc8.4/10 · Free plan

  A free, open-source choice for Ruby developers building compiled static sites.

  Visit NanocFull verdict →