Gatsby

Gatsby is an open-source framework for React developers building websites such as stores, marketing sites, blogs and documentation. It is best for JavaScript teams that need varied rendering options and a common data layer across content and APIs. The framework is free, but hosted plans meter usage in credits and can pause projects at their limits.

Overview

Gatsby combines content, APIs and services through a GraphQL data layer, where pages and StaticQuery components declare the data they need. That shared approach suits sites drawing from multiple sources; it brings more structure than a simple site with little need to unify content.

Teams can choose Static Site Generation, Deferred Static Generation or Server-Side Rendering. Code-splitting, image optimization, lazy-loading and webpack are included, along with Deferred Static Generation. Together, these features make Gatsby a flexible option for React projects, though its requirements—Gatsby 5 needs Node 18 and React 18—are worth checking against an existing stack.

Key features

Content and delivery

The Plugin Library has 3,269 results across CMS, CSS and UI, analytics, e-commerce, payments, authentication and search. Official CMS integrations include Contentful, Sanity, Drupal, Strapi and WordPress; hosting integrations include Azure, Amazon Web Services S3, Fastly, Firebase, Google Storage, Netlify and Vercel. This breadth can help teams extend an established stack without changing frameworks, while the GraphQL layer provides a consistent way for page components to request data.

Gatsby supports CMS integration, API content sources, incremental builds, multilingual sites and a local preview server. These capabilities address common needs for content-led sites, rather than restricting the framework to static pages.

Hosting, security and collaboration

Gatsby is now powered by the Gatsby community and Gatsby, the company; Gatsby Inc. joined Netlify, with Gatsby Cloud to be incorporated into Netlify’s platform. Platform features include custom domains with SSL on the Free plan, private-by-default new projects on credit-based accounts, one-time-password authentication apps, and team roles and permissions. Teams can collaborate across multiple teams, and repository integrations include GitHub Enterprise Server, self-managed GitLab and Bitbucket; a Netlify app for Slack is also included.

Gatsby says its security program is SOC 2 Type 2 certified for Security, Availability and Confidentiality, and that it adheres to GDPR. Netlify describes its platform as SOC 2 certified. Gatsby does not operate a formal bug bounty program or pay monetary rewards for vulnerability reports. Anyone can open an issue and ask a question, and the project team says it will respond.

Serverless functions

Gatsby Cloud Serverless Functions on the free plan have a limit of 100,000 invocations per month, 128MB of memory and a 15-second timeout. That is a defined allowance for modest function workloads, but teams with heavier use need to account for the cap.

Pricing

Gatsby separates its free open-source framework from paid hosting plans. The key constraint on credit-based accounts is operational: projects pause when monthly usage limits are reached, and resume with the next billing cycle.

PlanPriceWhat it includesBest fitGatsby open sourcefreeOpen-source framework; always free.Developers who want the framework without a paid hosting plan.Freefree$0 forever; 300 credits / month, unlimited deploy previews, custom domains with SSL.Small projects or evaluation, provided a monthly cap and pause behavior are acceptable.Personal$9 a month1,000 credits / month, priority email support, 1-day observability.Individual projects that need more monthly credits and priority email support.Pro$20 a monthUnlimited members, 3+ concurrent builds, 30-day analytics and metrics, monthly credits from plan.Teams needing concurrent builds, longer analytics retention and shared access.EnterpriseCustom pricing99.99% SLA, enterprise network tier, SSO and SCIM, 24/7 dedicated support.Organizations requiring an SLA and dedicated support.The Free plan gives generous deploy previews and domain support, but its 300-credit monthly limit makes it less suitable for production workloads that cannot tolerate a pause. Personal raises the allowance to 1,000 credits and adds priority email support, but retains a finite monthly quota. Pro is the step for teams: it includes unlimited members and at least three concurrent builds, though its monthly credits still make usage limits relevant. Enterprise is the option for contractual service assurance and dedicated support, at custom pricing.

Platforms

Gatsby supports API, self-hosted and web platforms. Its supported languages are JavaScript and Node.js, and Gatsby 5 requires Node 18 and React 18.

Who it's for

Gatsby is a good fit for React developers building content-rich or commerce sites that draw on multiple sources and benefit from choosing among static, deferred and server-side rendering. Its integrations and built-in performance features are useful when a project needs more than a minimal static-site generator. It is less suitable for a team seeking a very small framework footprint or a hosted plan without metered usage limits.

Pros and cons

Flexible rendering: SSG, DSG and SSR offer different delivery approaches within one React framework.

Unified data access: GraphQL gives page components a common way to request data from content, APIs and services.

Broad extension options: The plugin library and official CMS and hosting integrations cover a wide range of common stacks.

Useful free hosting features: Unlimited deploy previews and custom domains with SSL are included alongside the 300-credit monthly allowance.

Usage can interrupt service: Projects pause at monthly limits, so Free and Personal users must manage credits, and Pro users should not assume unlimited usage.

Framework requirements: Gatsby 5 requires Node 18 and React 18, which may not fit older projects.

Function caps: The free-plan serverless allowance is limited to 100,000 invocations monthly, 128MB memory and a 15-second timeout.

Alternatives

For other options, see Static site generators.

Choose Cecil if you want free software for Linux, macOS or Windows distributed under the EUPL-1.2 license.

Choose Eleventy for a free, MIT-licensed, self-hosted static-site generator across Linux, macOS, Windows and self-hosted environments.

Bridgetown is another free option.

Choose Nanoc if a free-of-charge passion project for desktop platforms suits your needs.

Choose Hugo for an open-source, free-to-use option on Windows, macOS or Linux.

Choose Metalsmith for MIT/(L)GPL-licensed software across API, Linux, macOS and Windows platforms.

Choose Lume if you want a free static-site generator for Deno.

Publii is another free option for Windows, macOS or Linux.

Verdict

Choose Gatsby if your React team needs a shared GraphQL layer, broad integrations and a choice of rendering strategies in one framework. The open-source framework and Free plan make it possible to start without a subscription, but credit caps and automatic pauses are the main reason to look elsewhere if uninterrupted hosted usage matters more than Gatsby’s flexibility.