Bashblog vs Pelican
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Bashblog | Pelican |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 76 · Good | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,931 | ★ 13,339 |
| First released | 2012 | 2010 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Blogger | WordPress, Blogger |
What are Bashblog and Pelican?
Bashblog
Bashblog is an extremely minimal blog engine implemented as a single Bash script. It generates static HTML pages from posts written in a terminal, ideal for hackers who want the simplest possible blog.
- Single Bash script
- Static HTML output
- Terminal-based authoring
- Zero dependencies beyond Bash
Pelican
Pelican is an open-source static site generator written in Python that builds blogs from Markdown or reStructuredText. It supports themes, plugins, and import from other blogging platforms.
- Markdown and reStructuredText
- Theme and plugin support
- Import from WordPress and others
- Atom and RSS feeds
Bashblog vs Pelican: key differences
Bashblog is written in Shell, while Pelican is built with Python. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Bashblog versus AGPL-3.0 for Pelican. Bashblog is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Pelican. Pelican is the more established project (first released 2010), while Bashblog arrived in 2012. Pelican has the considerably larger community, at 13,339 GitHub stars versus 1,931.
Why pick each one
Choose Bashblog if…
- Incredibly minimal
- No runtime to maintain
Watch out for
- Very bare-bones
- No admin interface
Choose Pelican if…
- Great for Python users
- Mature and stable
Watch out for
- No admin UI
- Python environment needed
Frequently asked questions
Is Bashblog or Pelican better?
Neither is universally better. Pelican has the larger community, while Bashblog is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Bashblog and Pelican free and open-source?
Yes. Bashblog is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Pelican under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bashblog and Pelican with Docker?
Bashblog: check the project docs for container support. Pelican: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Bashblog or Pelican?
Bashblog has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Pelican. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.