Comparison

Sphinx vs Starlight

On the evidence we track, Sphinx leads this comparison with a composite score of 69/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Sphinx69
Starlight60
Score
Vioscale score
Sphinx69 / 100medium · 71%updating
Starlight60 / 100high · 77%updating
Pricing
Free tier
Sphinx
Starlight
Model
Starlight
Price level
Sphinxfree
Starlight
Transparent
Sphinx
Starlight
Integrations
Count
Sphinx
Starlight4
Adoption
Dependent repos
Sphinx68,751
Starlight35
Github stars
Sphinx7,989
Starlight9,131
Package downloads weekly
Starlight845,041
Activity
Commits last 30d
Sphinx2
Starlight38
Release
Cadence days
Sphinx1
Starlight5
History
Sphinx20 items
Starlight20 items
License
Spdx
Sphinx
StarlightMIT
Language
Primary
SphinxPython
StarlightTypeScript

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for documentation tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
Tool kind
SphinxStatic-site generator
StarlightStatic-site generator
Engine / language
SphinxPython
StarlightAstro
Authoring
Authoring format
Sphinx-
Starlight-
API docs
API reference from OpenAPI / code
Sphinx
Starlight-
Content
Multi-version docs
Sphinx-
Starlight-
Internationalisation
Sphinx
Starlight
Discovery
Search
Sphinx-
StarlightBuilt-in
Design
Theming / custom design
Sphinx
Starlight
Workflow
Edit-in-Git / WYSIWYG round-trip
Sphinx-
Starlight-
Deployment
Self-hostable
Sphinx
Starlight
Official managed host
Sphinx
Starlight-
Insight
Built-in usage analytics
Sphinx-
Starlight-

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Sphinx

Leader

Converts reStructuredText and Markdown into multiple output formats including HTML, PDF, and ePub, with support for automatic API documentation, customizable themes, and internationalization.

Independently observed

Starlight

An open-source documentation platform that provides built-in navigation, search, internationalization, and dark mode. Supports Markdown, Markdoc, and MDX authoring with extensibility via React, Vue, Svelte, and Solid components.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Sphinx

Leader
Open source
as of verify ↗

Starlight

Pricing not documented yet.

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Sphinx
Starlight
CLI
Sphinx
Starlight
Deployment
Self-hosted
Sphinx
Starlight

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Sphinx

Leader

Not documented yet.

Starlight

4 total
  • React
  • Vue
  • Svelte
  • Solid
Independently observed

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.