Fern vs Hygen
Fern
buildwithfern.comHygen
hygen.ecmascript.pizzaSide by side
| Figure | Fern | Hygen |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Code Generators | 9.0 (#2) | 8.7 (#5) |
| Integrations | Listed integrations include PostHog, Google Analytics, Segment, Mixpanel, FullStory, Intercom, Postman, and Context7. | The site presents Redux, Express.js, and React Native as Hygen use cases. |
| Security | Fern's trust center lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and CCPA and provides access requests for its SOC 2 report, penetration test summary, and information security policy. | The opened maker pages do not state security or compliance certifications. |
| Support | The Enterprise plan includes dedicated support and an uptime SLA. | The maker site links users to Stack Overflow as its community resource. |
| What it does | Fern turns API definitions and Markdown into hosted documentation sites, SDKs, and command-line tools. | Hygen is a scalable code generator that lives in a project and generates code from templates. |
Plans
In their own words
Hygen
Hygen is a free, open-source code generator that runs in a project and creates code from templates. Its generators are self-contained, with folder structure defining the commands, and it looks for a local `_templates` directory so templates can stay beside project code. Built-in scaffolds help create generators, including through prompts. Templates use EJS and frontmatter, where a `to` value can set the generated file destination. Generators accept command-line arguments, interactive or multi-step prompts, file creation, and content injection into existing files. Templates can also run shell commands, while actions can select matching files with strings or regular expressions. A documented `--dry` option supports test-running generators. Hygen was built for React, Redux, and Node.js boilerplate but can be used with any technology. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, is MIT licensed, and is distributed through Homebrew, npm, Yarn, npx, and standalone binaries.