# Starlight review (2026): is it any good? > Documentation theme for the Astro framework Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Starlight is a documentation theme built on top of the Astro framework. A new project gives you site navigation, search, internationalization, code highlighting and dark mode, with pages written in Markdown, Markdoc or MDX. It is open source under the MIT License and the output is a static site you host yourself. - **Category:** Docs & Wikis - **Made by:** Astro contributors - **Website:** https://starlight.astro.build - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you don't want to use a command line, as projects start from it. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Starlight is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** Free and open source under the MIT License; you pay only for wherever you host the output. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Open source | $0 | Free under the MIT License. You build the site with Astro and host the output yourself. | Read from https://github.com/withastro/starlight/blob/main/LICENSE on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Starlight before buying. ## Key features - **Built-in site search:** Sites include full-text search powered by Pagefind by default; Algolia DocSearch is documented as an alternative. - **Markdown, Markdoc and MDX:** Pages can be written in any of the three formats, with frontmatter validated with TypeScript types. - **Internationalization:** Multilingual docs are supported, and the interface itself is translated into a list of languages shown on the site. - **Built-in components:** Cards, asides, tabs, steps, file trees, badges and icons can be used in pages, and components can be overridden. - **Astro integrations and UI frameworks:** Extend the site with Astro integrations, or add components from React, Vue, Svelte, Solid and others. ## Good for - Developers who want a docs site on Astro - Open-source projects that need multilingual documentation - Teams that want a docs site with no per-seat or hosting fee from the tool itself ## Worth knowing - It is a developer tool: you create a project from the command line and write pages as files. - There is no hosted editor, user accounts or comments; you build and host the static site yourself. - It requires an Astro project, so the site is tied to that framework. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Starlight is a documentation theme for Astro with built-in search, translations and MDX support. It needs an Astro project and a command line, and there's no hosted editor, accounts or comments, so the site is yours to build and host. - **Value for money: A.** Free and open source under the MIT License; you pay only for the hosting. A program anyone can download and run is graded as free and substantial. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Free outright, with no plan or cap. The only cost is wherever you host the output. - **Features: C.** Site search, Markdown, Markdoc and MDX, translations and components. It stops at building a static site, with no editor or comments. - **Ease of use: D.** It's a developer tool run from the command line with files you write yourself. No store rating on record. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web output only, with Astro, Pagefind, Algolia DocSearch and React, Vue, Svelte and Solid links. No app or hosted service. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Starlight's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among docs and wiki tools - Starlight's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 47 of the 86 other docs and wiki tools we grade, and level with 17. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 61 of 86) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - Starlight has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/docs-wikis ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Starlight is free, so making your own would save you nothing. - You could make: Markdown, documents and templates: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Astro, Pagefind and Algolia DocSearch among them. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Astro, Pagefind, Algolia DocSearch, React, Vue, Svelte, Solid **Tags:** Markdown, Documents, Open source, Templates ## Alternatives - [VitePress](https://toolgpa.com/tools/vitepress): Markdown-to-docs static site generator built on Vite and Vue. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/starlight-vs-vitepress) - [Docusaurus](https://toolgpa.com/tools/docusaurus): Open-source static site generator for documentation. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/docusaurus-vs-starlight) - [Nextra](https://toolgpa.com/tools/nextra): Next.js and MDX framework for docs sites and blogs. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nextra-vs-starlight) - [MkDocs](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mkdocs): Static site generator for Markdown project documentation. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mkdocs-vs-starlight) - [Fumadocs](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fumadocs): React documentation framework that works with several frameworks. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fumadocs-vs-starlight) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://starlight.astro.build - https://starlight.astro.build/getting-started/ - https://starlight.astro.build/guides/site-search/ - https://github.com/withastro/starlight/blob/main/LICENSE Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/starlight Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).