Astro vs Metalsmith
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Astro | Metalsmith |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 68 · Good |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 62,777 | ★ 7,822 |
| First released | 2021 | 2014 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | WordPress, Jekyll |
What are Astro and Metalsmith?
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
Metalsmith
Metalsmith is a static site generator that treats every site as a series of plugins manipulating files, making it suitable for blogs, project pages, and documentation. All functionality, including Markdown rendering and templating, is provided by plugins.
- Everything is a plugin
- Pipeline architecture
- Markdown and templating plugins
- Static output
Astro vs Metalsmith: key differences
Astro is written in TypeScript, while Metalsmith is built with JavaScript. Metalsmith is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Astro. Metalsmith is the more established project (first released 2014), while Astro arrived in 2021. Astro has the considerably larger community, at 62,777 GitHub stars versus 7,822.
Why pick each one
Choose Astro if…
- Excellent performance
- Flexible component model
Watch out for
- No admin UI
- Requires Node tooling
Choose Metalsmith if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 7.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Astro or Metalsmith better?
Neither is universally better. Astro has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Astro and Metalsmith free and open-source?
Yes. Astro is licensed under MIT and Metalsmith under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Astro and Metalsmith with Docker?
Astro: check the project docs for container support. Metalsmith: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Astro or Metalsmith?
Metalsmith 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.