Free and open first
Best Static Site Generators in 2026
Building a site from content files or structured sources involves choices about authoring, previewing, and producing pages. Compare supported languages and content sources, then consider CMS integration, multilingual support, and incremental builds. A local preview server may matter to your development process; free-plan availability and paid-from pricing offer further points to weigh. Hugo, Gatsby, and Cecil are among the entries shown. Match the listed capabilities to how your team manages content and publishes sites.
- 35 apps
- Research read 27 Sept 2026
- How the order is worked out
- 1
Hugo
Free plan Open source WindowsMacLinuxHugo combines Markdown publishing with taxonomy and asset-processing tools for several kinds of sites. It is free to use, though the listed pricing page is unavailable.
- 2
Jekyll
Free plan Open source LinuxMacSelf-hosted+2Jekyll provides a text-to-static-site workflow with blog features, themes, plugins, and multiple deployment options. Its installation dependencies are worth checking before choosing it.
- 3
Gatsby
Free plan APISelf-hostedWebGatsby combines React site building with several rendering approaches and a GraphQL data layer. Review the Free plan's monthly credit limit and the Gatsby 5 requirements before choosing it.
- 4
- 5
Nikola
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1Pick Nikola if you want a free, open-source generator for a blog or other static site and can work with generated HTML files.
- 6
- 7
- 8
Zola
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1Zola provides a free route from Markdown to static HTML, with built-in styling and highlighting tools. Note the PowerShell ISE limitation and the different licenses for newer and earlier code.
- 9
- 10
Metalsmith
by MetalsmithFree plan APILinuxMac+1Metalsmith offers a flexible, plugin-based approach to generating static output, with a choice of API or CLI.
- 11
Bridgetown
by BridgetownFree plan APILinuxMac+2Bridgetown combines static publishing tools with a Roda backend and frontend asset build system. Its installation requirements include GCC, Make, Ruby 3.3 or newer, and Node 22.21 or newer.
- 12
Lume
Free plan Self-hostedWebLume offers a free Deno-based route to static sites with extensible formats, processors and plugins. Its static-only output is an important constraint for projects that need interactive features.
- 13
Roq
Free plan LinuxMacWindowsChoose Roq if you want a free Java and Quarkus generator for Markdown-based sites, with live preview, an editor, and static publishing options.
- 14
VuePress
Free plan APISelf-hostedWebVuePress combines Markdown authoring with Vue components and static HTML output, with plugins, themes, and deployment guidance for several services.
- 15
Pelican
Free plan LinuxMacWindowsPelican offers a text-based route to static sites with multiple content formats and deployment options.
- 16
Stapy
Free plan LinuxWindowsStapy provides a modular Python workflow for generating and previewing static sites, with an optional web editor and publishing routes.
- 17
Statiq
Free plan LinuxMacWindowsStatiq provides a modular .NET approach to static sites and documentation, with templates, deployment options, and extensibility.
- 18
Astro Starlight
Free plan Self-hostedWebStarlight combines common documentation-site features with Astro integrations and flexible content options. Its beta status and recommendation to update regularly are worth considering.
- 19
Hakyll
Free plan LinuxMacWindowsChoose Hakyll if you use Haskell and want to build a static site through configurable rules, compilers, and templates.
- 20
Cobalt
Free plan LinuxMacWindowsCobalt provides a focused Rust-based workflow for creating, previewing, publishing, and building Markdown sites.
- 21
Middleman
Free plan LinuxMacWeb+1Middleman provides a Ruby-based workflow for creating static sites, with extensible templates, localization, build commands, and deployment tooling.
- 22
Franklin.jl
Free plan LinuxSelf-hostedWebFranklin.jl combines Julia-based static generation with tools aimed at math- and code-heavy publishing.
- 23
Jigsaw
Free plan Self-hostedChoose Jigsaw if you want a free static-site framework built around Laravel Blade, Markdown, and collections.
- 24
Nitro
Free plan LinuxSelf-hostedChoose Nitro if you want a Python-centered toolkit for generating static websites and value its CLI, UI library, and supporting utilities in one suite.
- 25
Harp
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+2Harp combines local serving, preprocessing, templating, and static compilation in one open-source tool.
#1Places #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 on this list can be bought by the makers of the software on it. See the price