Astro vs Middleman
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Astro | Middleman |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 62,777 | ★ 7,111 |
| First released | 2021 | 2009 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | Jekyll, WordPress |
What are Astro and Middleman?
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
Middleman
Middleman is a static site generator using all the shortcuts and tools in modern web development, including templating, asset pipelines, and helpers. Its blogging extension turns it into a full static blog engine.
- Asset pipeline
- Blogging extension
- Helpers and partials
- Static output
Astro vs Middleman: key differences
Astro is written in TypeScript, while Middleman is built with Ruby. Middleman is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Astro. Middleman is the more established project (first released 2009), while Astro arrived in 2021. Astro has the considerably larger community, at 62,777 GitHub stars versus 7,111.
Why pick each one
Choose Astro if…
- Excellent performance
- Flexible component model
Watch out for
- No admin UI
- Requires Node tooling
Choose Middleman if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 7.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Ruby
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Astro or Middleman 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 Middleman free and open-source?
Yes. Astro is licensed under MIT and Middleman under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Astro and Middleman with Docker?
Astro: check the project docs for container support. Middleman: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Astro or Middleman?
Middleman has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Astro. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.