PaperMod vs Minimal Mistakes
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A fast, clean, responsive theme for the Hugo static site generator.
Open source · MIT
A two-column Jekyll theme for personal sites, blogs, docs, and portfolios.
The short answer
Choose PaperMod if you need…
- Bloggers who already use or want to use Hugo
- Personal portfolio sites with a simple, minimal look
- Multilingual sites that need a built-in language selector
- People who want a theme with little or no JavaScript build tooling
Choose Minimal Mistakes if you need…
- People who want a personal site or blog built with Jekyll
- Anyone publishing on GitHub Pages, which the README lists as compatible
- Developers who want to customize a theme with Jekyll's Sass/SCSS support
- Project documentation sites that need search and navigation options
Side-by-side
| PaperMod | Minimal Mistakes | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Other | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 14k | 13.6k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | See the README |
| Main language | HTML | HTML |
| Last code update | 12 days ago | 28 days ago |
What each one is
PaperMod
PaperMod is a theme, a set of templates and styles, for Hugo, a tool that turns text and Markdown files into a website. It gives a blog or portfolio a clean, responsive layout with light and dark modes, search, and built-in SEO metadata. It is aimed at people who want a polished site without writing much front-end code.
Minimal Mistakes
Minimal Mistakes is a Jekyll theme, a set of templates and styles that turns plain text files into a website. It has a two-column layout and is meant to be customized, so its styling is kept deliberately simple. People use it for personal sites, blogs, project documentation, and portfolios.
Best for
PaperMod
- Bloggers who already use or want to use Hugo
- Personal portfolio sites with a simple, minimal look
- Multilingual sites that need a built-in language selector
- People who want a theme with little or no JavaScript build tooling
Minimal Mistakes
- People who want a personal site or blog built with Jekyll
- Anyone publishing on GitHub Pages, which the README lists as compatible
- Developers who want to customize a theme with Jekyll's Sass/SCSS support
- Project documentation sites that need search and navigation options
Strengths
PaperMod
- Feature-rich, covering search, SEO metadata, dark mode, and multilingual support
- Documented through a wiki with installation, variables, and template override guides
- Built on Hugo's asset pipeline with no webpack or Node.js build step required
Minimal Mistakes
- Flexible two-column layout that is meant to be customized
- Compatible with GitHub Pages and distributed as a theme gem for easier installation and upgrades
- Released under the MIT license
Not ideal for
PaperMod
- People who do not want to use Hugo, since this theme only runs inside it
- Sites needing a heavily custom design, as the README centers on its existing layouts and customization options
- Anyone requiring a visual site builder with no command-line use
Minimal Mistakes
- People who do not want to work with Jekyll or Ruby-based tooling, since setup and customization assume that toolchain
- Users who need a site builder with no code or configuration, because the README describes a theme to be customized rather than a finished product
Trade-offs
PaperMod
- Depends on Hugo, and the README lists a minimum Hugo version of v0.158.0 or later
- Customizing beyond the provided options means learning Hugo templates and the wiki
- Release v8.0 is listed without binaries, so installation relies on Hugo and the repository
Minimal Mistakes
- Requires the jekyll-include-cache plugin in the Gemfile and in the plugins list of _config.yml, or the build fails with an 'Unknown tag' error
- Assumes familiarity with Jekyll; the README does not walk a beginner through a full setup
Getting started
PaperMod
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/adityatelange/hugo-PaperMod themes/PaperMod --depth=1Minimal Mistakes
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/mmistakes/minimal-mistakes.gitFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between PaperMod and Minimal Mistakes?
PaperMod: A fast, clean, responsive theme for the Hugo static site generator. Minimal Mistakes: A two-column Jekyll theme for personal sites, blogs, docs, and portfolios. PaperMod suits bloggers who already use or want to use hugo, while Minimal Mistakes suits people who want a personal site or blog built with jekyll.
Are PaperMod and Minimal Mistakes free?
PaperMod: Free and open source. Minimal Mistakes: Free and open source.
Is PaperMod or Minimal Mistakes more popular?
PaperMod has more GitHub stars (14k) than Minimal Mistakes (13.6k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to PaperMod and Minimal Mistakes?
Other options people compare them with include Windows Terminal, Chirpy.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.