Software Alternatives & Startups

EJS VS GatsbyJS

Compare EJS VS GatsbyJS and see what are their differences

EJS

An open source JavaScript Template library.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
GatsbyJS

Blazing-fast static site generator for React

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, EJS should be more popular than GatsbyJS. It has been mentioned 26 times since March 2021.

social mentions
26 vs 16
Javascript UI Libraries popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
157 vs 236

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

EJS
EJS
GatsbyJS
Website ejs.co gatsbyjs.com
Pricing
Open source
Open source Official pricing
Company — Startup from the United States
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

EJS
EJS 6 features
GatsbyJS 5 features
  • Simplicity
    EJS is easy to learn and use, especially for developers who are already familiar with JavaScript. The syntax is straightforward, making it a good choice for quick application development.
  • JavaScript Integration
    Since EJS templates are JavaScript files, you can seamlessly integrate JavaScript code, making it easy to manipulate data and use familiar JavaScript functions.
  • Lightweight
    EJS is a lightweight template engine, which makes it an optimal choice for applications where performance and simplicity are critical.
  • Flexibility
    Allows for the embedding of plain JavaScript within the templates, giving developers the flexibility to add logic directly in their HTML.
  • Partial Templates
    Supports partials, which help to reuse code snippets across different views, promoting DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) principles.
  • Server-Side Rendering
    Supports server-side rendering, which can improve performance by reducing the amount of client-side processing needed.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Functionality
    Compared to more feature-rich template engines like Handlebars or Pug, EJS offers limited functionalities which might be a drawback for large, complex projects.
  • Debugging
    Debugging EJS templates can sometimes be challenging. Errors within templates can often be vague, making it difficult to trace the root cause.
  • Maintenance
    Embedding a lot of JavaScript within templates can make the code harder to read and maintain, especially as the complexity of the application grows.
  • Performance Overhead
    For very large and complex templates, EJS can introduce a performance overhead compared to more optimized template engines designed for high performance.
  • Community and Support
    While EJS has a reasonable user base, the community and support may not be as extensive as more popular alternatives like React or Vue.js.
  • Performance
    GatsbyJS pre-builds your site into static files for fast load times and instantaneous page loads thanks to features like code splitting, PRPL pattern, and Asset Optimization.
  • SEO-Friendly
    GatsbyJS generates static HTML, which helps search engines to index your site more effectively. Additionally, you have fine-grained control over metadata and other SEO optimizations.
  • Rich Plugin Ecosystem
    GatsbyJS boasts an extensive plugin ecosystem that covers a wide array of functionalities such as sourcing data from CMSs, adding analytics, integrating with various APIs, and much more.
  • Strong Community Support
    Gatsby has a robust and active community that provides ample documentation, tutorials, and support to help you get started and troubleshoot issues.
  • Secure and Scalable
    Since Gatsby sites are static, they are inherently more secure against traditional web-based vulnerabilities and can be scaled easily by deploying to a CDN.

Possible disadvantages

  • Build Time
    For larger sites, build times can become noticeably long as Gatsby rebuilds the entire site. This can be a bottleneck for frequent updates.
  • Less Suitable for Dynamic Content
    Since Gatsby generates static pages, it's less suited for applications that require real-time data updates or dynamic content unless they are integrated with client-side JS or third-party services.
  • Initial Setup Complexity
    Getting started with Gatsby can be complex for beginners unfamiliar with React and GraphQL, as it requires knowledge of these technologies.
  • GraphQL Learning Curve
    A significant part of customizing and extending Gatsby sites involves GraphQL queries, which can be a barrier for developers who are not yet familiar with GraphQL.
  • Plugin Quality Variability
    While Gatsby has a rich plugin ecosystem, the quality and maintenance of plugins can vary, requiring developers to vet the plugins they choose to integrate into their projects.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

EJS
EJS
GatsbyJS

Overall verdict

  • Yes, EJS is considered good, particularly for projects where developers want ease of use and flexibility with JavaScript templating. It is lightweight, easy to learn, and integrates well with Express, a popular Node.js web application framework.

Why this product is good

  • EJS (Embedded JavaScript Templating) is popular because it provides a simple way to generate HTML markup with plain JavaScript. It allows for the embedding of JavaScript logic within your HTML templates, making it straightforward to use for those familiar with JavaScript. It's known for its efficiency in rendering templates and ease of integration with Node.js applications.

Recommended for

    EJS is recommended for developers building server-side web applications using Node.js and those looking for a simple, yet effective, templating solution. It is particularly suitable for small to medium-sized projects where dynamic content generation is needed and for teams that prioritize simplicity and performance.

No analysis of GatsbyJS yet.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

EJS
EJS 2 videos + Add
GatsbyJS 3 videos + Add

Kane Creek - Bestop Trail Review at EJS 2019

More videos

  • - JavaScript Templating Tutorial | Introduction To EJS

The Great Gatsby - Movie Review by Chris Stuckmann

More videos

  • - The Great Gatsby movie review
  • - The Ultimate Gatsby Moving Rubber Review!

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
EJS
EJS
GatsbyJS
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
CMS
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using EJS and GatsbyJS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Log in or Post with

Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

EJS
EJS no reviews yet
GatsbyJS no reviews yet

We have no reviews of EJS yet. Be the first one to post

  • Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
    solguruz.com · Nov 2024

    Gatsby JS is a free, open-source, React-based framework that is used to create static websites. It has a great ecosystem of plugins that serve various needs like sourcing data from CMSs, integrating tools, managing...

  • Top 10 Next.js Alternatives You Can Try
    www.zegocloud.com · Apr 2024

    Gatsby allows you to add plugins with versatile functions and customization to increase your efficiency when developing websites. Here, you can use multiple styling approaches like Sass and CSS-in-JS library solutions...

  • 20 Next.js Alternatives Worth Considering
    tms-outsource.com · Apr 2024

    A React-based maestro, Gatsby transforms the way sites come to life by hooking into a rich set of data sources. Picture this: a web that’s blazing fast, where your creations go live almost before you hit ‘publish’....

View more

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

EJS
EJS 26 mentions
GatsbyJS 16 mentions
  • Next.js vs Express: What to Choose in 2025?
    Express does not provide SEO benefits by default and would require additional configuration with tools like EJS (Embedded JavaScript) or Handlebars for server-side rendering. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Chapter 7: HTML part two
    For a more robust approach, we'd probably need to install a templating language of some kind, such as Twig, EJS, Handlebars, Pug or Mustache (this is not a complete list!). Reading the documentation for posthtml-modules, you'll notice it... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Web Components and SSR - 2024 Edition
    Server-side Framework SSR is when you use a framework that runs the HTML templating logic entirely on the server to compose the HTML that will be rendered in the browser. These are frameworks like Ruby on Rails, ASP.Net, PHP, or even... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago

View more

  • React SEO: How to Build Search-Friendly Pages in React
    The most famous frameworks for developing SSR applications are Gatsby and Next.js. Although there are differences between them, their main goal is similar: to allow next-generation web applications to remain blazing-fast. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • External content for GatsbyJS
    If you enjoy React and want a standard-compliant and high performance web, you should look at GatsbyJS. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Replatforming from Gatsby to Zola!
    Since around 2019 I have used Gatsby as my static site generator. Its plugin system makes it super feature extensible. It uses React under the hood which makes components easy to write and has tons of community support. Once I had a... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago

View more

Alternatives to EJS and GatsbyJS

When comparing EJS and GatsbyJS, you can also consider the following products.