Compare software

MkDocs vs Sphinx: catalog facts
MkDocs	Sphinx
Free The open-source application is available without a license fee.	Free Free and open source under the BSD 2-Clause licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
One YAML file and a folder of Markdown produce a complete site Built-in live-reload server while writing	Strong cross-referencing, including across projects Outputs HTML, PDF via LaTeX, ePub and Texinfo
Output is static, so search and versioning depend on the theme and plugins	reStructuredText has a learning curve Requires a Python environment
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: BSD-2-Clause	License: BSD-2-Clause
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.