Gatsby
Gatsby is an open-source, React-based framework designed for building high-performance websites and web applications.
Our verdict
Who it's for
Build fast, secure, and powerful web experiences with a React-based, open-source framework.
Who should look elsewhere
Build times scale poorly as a site grows because every content source is pulled through Gatsby's GraphQL data layer, so sites with thousands of pages or images can take many minutes to rebuild, and the incremental-build feature that mitigated this was tied to the now-discontinued Gatsby Cloud.
Pros
- +Builds extremely fast, accessible, and responsive websites.
- +Simplifies data integration from various sources using GraphQL.
- +Offers flexibility in rendering and deployment options.
- +Provides a robust developer experience with stable and intuitive functionality.
- +Strong documentation and a supportive ecosystem.
Cons
- −Build times scale poorly as a site grows because every content source is pulled through Gatsby's GraphQL data layer, so sites with thousands of pages or images can take many minutes to rebuild, and the incremental-build feature that mitigated this was tied to the now-discontinued Gatsby Cloud.
- −Gatsby routes even simple content through a mandatory GraphQL data layer, adding boilerplate and a real learning curve that competing React frameworks like Next.js let you skip with more direct data fetching.
- −Since Netlify acquired Gatsby and folded Gatsby Cloud into its own hosting platform, the framework's momentum has stalled, with the last release shipping in February 2025 and nothing since, while Next.js has become the default choice for new React projects.
- −Gatsby relies heavily on third-party plugins for sourcing data and processing images, and version mismatches between plugins and the core framework are a common source of broken builds during upgrades.
Key features
- ✓React-based framework
- ✓Open-source
- ✓GraphQL data layer for content and API integration
- ✓Server-Side Rendering (SSR)
- ✓Deferred Static Generation (DSG)
- ✓Cloud Functions support
- ✓High performance site builds
- ✓Developer experience focus
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | month | Build and deploy free forever; Deploy any framework: Deploy from AI, Git, or API; Unlimited deploy previews |
| Personal | $9 | month | Everything in Free; Smart secret detection; 7-day analytics & metrics |
| Pro | $20 | month | Everything in Personal; Private organization repos; Shared env variables |
| Enterprise | — | month | Everything in Pro; 99.99% SLA; Enterprise network tier |