Astro vs Hexo Admin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Astro | Hexo Admin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 20 · At risk |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 62,756 | ★ 1,788 |
| First released | 2021 | 2014 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | WordPress |
What are Astro and Hexo Admin?
Astro
Astro is an open-source web framework for building fast, content-focused websites and blogs. It ships zero JavaScript by default and supports components from React, Vue, Svelte, and more.
- Zero JavaScript by default
- Use any UI framework
- Content collections for blogs
- Fast static output
Hexo Admin
Hexo Admin is a plugin that adds a web-based editing dashboard to the Hexo static blog generator, allowing posts to be written and managed through a browser. It brings a CMS-like workflow to an otherwise file-based generator.
- Browser-based editor
- Live preview
- Image uploads
- Hexo integration
Astro vs Hexo Admin: key differences
Astro is written in TypeScript, while Hexo Admin is built with JavaScript. Hexo Admin is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Astro. Hexo Admin is the more established project (first released 2014), while Astro arrived in 2021. Astro has the considerably larger community, at 62,756 GitHub stars versus 1,788.
Why pick each one
Choose Astro if…
- Excellent performance
- Flexible component model
Watch out for
- No admin UI
- Requires Node tooling
Choose Hexo Admin if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Astro or Hexo Admin better?
Neither is universally better. Astro has the larger community, while Hexo Admin is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Astro and Hexo Admin free and open-source?
Yes. Astro is licensed under MIT and Hexo Admin under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Astro and Hexo Admin with Docker?
Astro: check the project docs for container support. Hexo Admin: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Astro or Hexo Admin?
Hexo Admin has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Astro. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.