Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Hakyll VS GatsbyJS

Compare Hakyll VS GatsbyJS and see what are their differences

Hakyll logo Hakyll

Hakyll - A Static Site Generator in Haskell.

GatsbyJS logo GatsbyJS

Blazing-fast static site generator for React
  • Hakyll Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-15
  • GatsbyJS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-12

Hakyll features and specs

  • Flexibility
    Hakyll provides a lot of flexibility in customizing website generation with Haskell. Users can create custom rules and templates for content generation.
  • Static Typing
    Static typing in Haskell helps catch errors at compile time, improving code reliability and reducing runtime errors.
  • High Customization
    Users can configure and customize their sites extensively, leveraging Haskell's libraries and functionality to create unique features.
  • Performance
    Static sites generated by Hakyll tend to be fast and efficient because they don't require server-side processing.
  • Ease of Source Control
    With Hakyll, version control is simplified because all the content and code can be stored in a plain text format.

Possible disadvantages of Hakyll

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For users unfamiliar with Haskell, there can be a significant learning curve involved in understanding both the language and Hakyll's architecture.
  • Complex Setup
    Initial setup and configuration can be complex, requiring more time and effort compared to other static site generators.
  • Limited Community Support
    Compared to more popular static site generators like Jekyll or Hugo, Hakyll may have limited community and resources.
  • Fewer Plugins and Themes
    Hakyll does not have as many pre-built plugins or themes available, which could mean extra work to create custom solutions.
  • Haskell Dependency
    Since Hakyll is based on Haskell, there is a reliance on the Haskell ecosystem, which might not be ideal for those not already invested in it.

GatsbyJS features and specs

  • 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 of GatsbyJS

  • 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.

Hakyll videos

No Hakyll videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

GatsbyJS videos

The Great Gatsby - Movie Review by Chris Stuckmann

More videos:

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Hakyll and GatsbyJS)
Blogging
14 14%
86% 86
CMS
11 11%
89% 89
Blogging Platform
19 19%
81% 81
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Hakyll and GatsbyJS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Hakyll and GatsbyJS

Hakyll Reviews

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

GatsbyJS Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
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 images using lazy loading, and more.
Source: solguruz.com
Top 10 Next.js Alternatives You Can Try
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 to build web pages more smoothly. Moreover, using Gatsby as an alternative to Next.Js provides you with a complete learning guide to enhance your developing...
20 Next.js Alternatives Worth Considering
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’. That’s Gatsby for you. Inside its engine, it’s got GraphQL superpowers, making data dancing across your pages a breeze.
10 Best Next.js Alternatives to Consider Today
A React-based framework, Gatsby excels in crafting static websites renowned for their exceptional performance. Leveraging GraphQL, Gatsby efficiently pulls data from diverse sources, empowering developers to build dynamic, data-driven websites effortlessly. Its expansive plugin ecosystem allows seamless integration with various data providers, content management systems...
20 Best JavaScript Frameworks For 2023
Gatsby lets users pull data from any data source imaginable – CMS like WordPress, Drupal, Netlify, Contentful, etc., or APIs, databases, or simple markdown. Unlike Next.js, which we discussed above, Gatsby does not perform server-side rendering. Instead, it generates HTML content on the client side during build time. As a result, Gatsby delivers blazing-fast performance,...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GatsbyJS should be more popular than Hakyll. It has been mentiond 16 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Hakyll mentions (6)

  • Ask HN: Looking for lightweight personal blogging platform
    Others have mentioned static site generators. I like Hakyll [1] because it can tightly integrate with Pandoc [2] and allows you to develop custom solutions if your needs ever grow. [1]: https://jaspervdj.be/hakyll/ [2]: https://pandoc.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • I want to make a website for myself
    Honestly, I've had a great experience with Hakyll for static site generation. There's a bit of a learning curve to effectively use the library/framework, but in my opinion the learning curve is much lower than Yesod/Fay. If all you need is to build static website pages, I'd suggest Hakyll. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • State of the Web: Static Site Generators
    Love SSGs too! Came here to share praise for Hakyll[1], for people with an FP leaning. Predictably, it's not easy to get started, but once you're into it the power of building your own arbitrary content "compilers" (and template extensions etc etc) is pretty impressive. [1] https://jaspervdj.be/hakyll/. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • I did a thing : Hakyll with Internationalization;
    Hi there. A friend of mine wanted to publish a blog/site at both French and English. I told him about static generators and Hakyll from u/jaspervdj but the internationalization piece was missing. Of course there are other generators with internationalization but... Well here is one for Hakyll. * Generator source code * Use case and its source code --- If it already exists, ‏‏‎ please hide that fact from me. If not... Source: over 3 years ago
  • About GitLab and Pages by Safely Dysfunctional
    This info is relevant because Hakyll application requires to be complied before it generates the pages, and the compilation process of Haskell is a pretty expensive (computationally saying). Although, the executable is incredible fast, due to great work made by the compiler. This processing cost will be discussed soon. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
View more

GatsbyJS mentions (16)

  • 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 / about 2 months 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 / 10 months 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 Gatsby site styled and running, publishing blog posts is fairly trivial:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Build a Documentation Website with Gatsby in 10 Mins
    Smooth DOC is a ready-to-use Gatsby theme to create a documentation website. Creating a pro-quality website like this one takes weeks. Smooth DOC saves you time and lets you focus on the content. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Where to begin?
    I'd start with learning HTML and CSS first, then Javascript after those. There are a lot of free online resources for learning those. For websites, I use jekyll which is a great way to start off because there are a lot of community website templates that you can customize, which is great for beginners and learning. Then I'd recommend learning/moving to React. The Gatsby website generator would be good for React... Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

Jekyll - Jekyll is a simple, blog aware, static site generator.

Hugo - Hugo is a general-purpose website framework for generating static web pages.

Pelican - A static site generator, written in Python, that requires no database or server-side logic

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

MiddleMan - A static site generator using all the shortcuts and tools in modern web development

Hexo - A fast, simple & powerful blog framework, powered by Node.js