Documentation · head to head
Fumadocs vs Starlight
Fumadocs
Documentation
Documentation framework for Next.js that treats the docs site as an application rather than a static export
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Starlight
Documentation
Documentation site framework built on Astro that ships no JavaScript to the reader by default
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Fumadocs it is a library rather than a finished theme, so the initial setup is meaningfully longer than a generator that ships a working site from one command.; Starlight there is no editing interface, so every correction requires a git client, a Node install and a CI run, which puts documentation changes out of reach for anyone who does not already work in a repository.
- They diverge on capability: Fumadocs covers Next.js App Router native, Starlight covers File based routing.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fumadocs and Starlight actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, macOS, Windows, Linux), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Documentation).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Fumadocs
- Next.js App Router native
- Multiple content sources
- OpenAPI page generation
- Built in search
- Headless and styled layers
- Type safe frontmatter
- Code and content colocation
Only in Starlight
- File based routing
- Pagefind search
- Internationalisation
- Component overrides
- Zero client JavaScript
- Expressive Code blocks
- Auto generated sidebar
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Fumadocs
- Documentation that must sit behind login and show different content to different customer plansnot Starlight
- A Next.js product team that wants docs to deploy in the same pipeline as the applicationnot Starlight
- API reference pages generated from an OpenAPI document alongside hand written guides in one navigation treenot Starlight
- A design system site where the component documentation must render the live components from the same codebasenot Starlight
Starlight
- A developer tool whose docs live in the same repository as the code and are reviewed in the same pull requestnot Fumadocs
- A team that already runs Astro for its marketing site and wants one build pipeline for bothnot Fumadocs
- Documentation that must be served from a CDN or an air gapped static host with no search backendnot Fumadocs
- A multilingual open source project that needs per locale content trees and untranslated page fallbacknot Fumadocs
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Fumadocs
- It is a library rather than a finished theme, so the initial setup is meaningfully longer than a generator that ships a working site from one command.
- Maintenance is concentrated in a very small group, so an unresponsive week is a blocked upgrade and there is no support contract to escalate to.
- It only targets Next.js, so adopting it commits the documentation to that framework and a later migration means rewriting the site rather than swapping a theme.
- Breaking changes have arrived across minor versions during rapid development, so pinning versions and reading migration notes is a recurring cost rather than a one off.
- Running docs inside the application means docs traffic hits your application infrastructure and shares its failure modes, where a separate static site would have stayed up.
Starlight
- There is no editing interface, so every correction requires a git client, a Node install and a CI run, which puts documentation changes out of reach for anyone who does not already work in a repository.
- Starlight versions track Astro versions, so an Astro major release becomes a documentation site migration on someone else timeline rather than yours.
- Pagefind builds the whole search index at compile time, so build duration and index size grow with page count and large documentation sets pay for it on every deploy.
- There is no analytics, no feedback widget and no page level rating built in, so measuring which pages fail readers means wiring a third party script yourself.
- Component overrides are limited to the slots the theme exposes, and anything outside those slots means forking the theme and inheriting the merge burden on every upgrade.
Pricing, plan by plan
Fumadocs
Free- Open sourceFree
- MIT licence
- All packages included
- Self hosted or deployed with your Next.js application
Starlight
Free- Open sourceFree
- MIT licence
- All features included
- Self hosted on any static host
Which should you pick?
Choose Fumadocs if
- You need next.js app router native.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux.
- You also want multiple content sources.
Choose Starlight if
- You need file based routing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux.
- You also want pagefind search.
Questions people ask
- Is Fumadocs or Starlight better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fumadocs starts at Free and Starlight at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fumadocs or Starlight?
- Fumadocs starts at Free and Starlight at Free.
- Does Fumadocs or Starlight run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Fumadocs for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Fumadocs best used for?
- Fumadocs is most often used for documentation that must sit behind login and show different content to different customer plans, a next.js product team that wants docs to deploy in the same pipeline as the application, api reference pages generated from an openapi document alongside hand written guides in one navigation tree, a design system site where the component documentation must render the live components from the same codebase. Of those, documentation that must sit behind login and show different content to different customer plans and a next.js product team that wants docs to deploy in the same pipeline as the application are not what Starlight is typically brought in for.
- What can Fumadocs do that Starlight cannot?
- Fumadocs covers Next.js App Router native, Multiple content sources, OpenAPI page generation, Built in search. Starlight covers File based routing, Pagefind search, Internationalisation, Component overrides.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Fumadocs: Can I put documentation behind authentication?
Yes. Pages are Next.js server components, so the same session and authorisation checks the rest of the application uses apply.
Starlight: Can a non technical writer publish a page without help?
No. There is no content management interface. Every change is a commit, a pull request and a build.
Fumadocs: Does it work outside Next.js?
No. The UI layer depends on the Next.js App Router.
Starlight: Do I need to know Astro to use it?
Not for basic use. Markdown files and a config file are enough until you want custom components, at which point Astro knowledge becomes mandatory.
Fumadocs: Can it generate pages from an OpenAPI spec?
Yes, including operation pages, schema rendering and an interactive request playground.
Starlight: Is search included or do I pay for it?
Included and free. Pagefind builds a static index at compile time. Algolia DocSearch is optional if you want hosted search instead.
Fumadocs: Who maintains it and is that a risk?
A very small maintainer group. For a long lived commercial documentation set, treat the low bus factor as a real risk and budget for owning a fork.
Starlight: What happens when Astro releases a major version?
Starlight follows it, and your site needs a migration. Read the upgrade guide before pinning a version for a long lived project.
Fumadocs: Do I still need a separate docs deployment?
No, and avoiding one is the main reason to choose it. The cost is that docs share your application uptime.
Starlight: Can I self host with no external services?
Yes. The output is static HTML, CSS and a search index. Nothing calls out at runtime unless you add it.
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