Eleventy vs Nanoc
Eleventy
11ty.devNanoc
nanoc.denisdefreyne.comSide by side
| Figure | Eleventy | Nanoc |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Static site generators | 8.9 (#2) | 8.7 (#6) |
| CMS integration | Yes | No |
| Content sources | markdown | database |
| Founded | 2017 | 2007 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| License | The official documentation repository is marked as MIT licensed. | Nanoc is licensed under the MIT license. |
| Multilingual support | Yes | Yes |
| Local preview server | Yes | Yes |
| Runtime | Eleventy recommends Node.js version 18 or newer. | Nanoc requires Ruby 3.1 or higher and the CRuby implementation for guaranteed support. |
| Supported languages | HTML,Markdown,WebC,JavaScript,Liquid,Nunjucks,Handlebars,Mustache,EJS,Haml,Pug,TypeScript,JSX,MDX,Sass | Ruby |
| What it does | Eleventy is a simpler static site generator that compiles templates into HTML. | Nanoc is a flexible static-site generator that transforms content such as Markdown or AsciiDoc into HTML. |
Plans
In their own words
Eleventy
Eleventy is a free static site generator that compiles templates into HTML. It starts with zero configuration and also allows flexible configuration as project needs change. Content can come from Markdown, and templates can use HTML, JavaScript, WebC, Liquid, Nunjucks, Handlebars, Mustache, EJS, Haml, Pug, TypeScript, JSX, MDX, Sass, and custom formats. Eleventy does not require a JavaScript framework and produces zero client-side JavaScript by default. It can fit into an existing directory structure, letting teams convert selected templates rather than an entire site. The tool includes a local preview server, CMS integration, and multilingual support. It requires JavaScript and recommends Node.js version 18 or newer; quick-start commands are provided for macOS, Linux, and Windows, and for npm, pnpm, and Yarn. Its documentation says it probably is not the right tool for single-page applications, given its defaults and full-page navigation. Eleventy supports self-hosted use and is marked MIT licensed. The homepage reports a build time of 1.93 seconds for 4,000 Markdown files.
Nanoc
Nanoc is a free static-site generator that turns content such as Markdown or AsciiDoc into HTML. It is a command-line application for local site development and generating finished sites for deployment, not a CMS; content is usually managed on the filesystem. Its scope ranges from personal blogs to corporate websites. Free-form metadata lets pages take different roles, and markup options include Markdown, AsciiDoc and Textile, with eRuby, Haml and Mustache among its template languages. Users can write custom filters and helpers or bring in data from databases and web APIs. Nanoc supports incremental builds, multilingual sites and a local preview server. Deployment integrations include Git, rsync, GitHub Pages, Bitbucket, GitLab Pages and Netlify, and the tool can run checks before deployment. Ruby 3.1 or later is required, with CRuby needed for guaranteed support. macOS and Linux are officially supported; Windows has limitations and is not officially supported. Nanoc is MIT-licensed.