compare
mdBook vs MkDocs
The same facts for both, read from GitHub every night, and the relation a person reviewed.
| Fact | mdBook | MkDocs |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Rust | Python |
| Licence | MPL-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Stars | 22k | 22k |
| Latest | v0.5.4 | 1.6.1 |
| Last push | 2026-10-05 | 2025-10-20 |
| Release cadence | about 35 days between releases | about 90 days between releases |
| Active contributors | 23 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days | 0 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days |
| Flags | none | none |
How they relate
Both replace GitBook. Alternatives to GitBook →
Full replacementmdBookBuilds a book from Markdown files and a SUMMARY.md, as the original GitBook did.
Full replacementMkDocsDocumentation site built from Markdown and a YAML config in your repository.
mdBook
- v0.5.42026-07-06See for a complete list of changes.
- v0.5.32026-05-19See for a complete list of changes.
- v0.5.22025-12-11See for a complete list of changes.
- v0.5.12025-11-20See for a complete list of changes.
- v0.5.02025-11-17The 0.5.0 release is the next major release of mdBook, containing over 130 PRs since 0.4.52! The primary focus for this…
MkDocs
- 1.6.12024-08-30Fix build error when environment variable SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH=0 is set. #3795
- 1.6.02024-04-20mkdocs serve no longer locks up the browser when more than 5 tabs are open. This is achieved by closing the polling con…
- 1.5.32023-09-18Fix mkdocs serve sometimes locking up all browser tabs when navigating quickly (#3390)
- 1.5.22023-08-02Bugfix (regression in 1.5.0): Restore functionality of --no-livereload. (#3320)
- 1.5.12023-07-27Bugfix (regression in 1.5.0): Make it possible to treat ExtraScriptValue as a path. This lets some plugins still work d…
mdBook
✓ signed The latest release, v0.5.4, carries a signature GitHub verified.
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MkDocs
✓ signed The latest release, 1.6.1, carries a signature GitHub verified.
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