I like that Hugo ships in a single binary and has a security model around themes.

But I found Hugo’s template language to have the most unusual/unintuitive template language of any SSG I tried.

In the end, it comes down to personal preference:

Are you going to build your own templates or use a canned theme? If DIY, make sure you like the template language, otherwise make sure you can find a theme you like. This ruled out Hugo for me because I didn’t like the template language.

Do you think you’ll need to write code to perfect your workflow? If so, use one in a language you’re familiar with. Otherwise, just make sure you can tolerate the install/setup process. This ruled out Jekyll/Pelican for me.

If you’re using an SSG with a plug-in architecture, what’s the security model and are you comfortable with it? Security concerns around huge dependency trees pushed me away from Metalsmith.

Thanks!