blogc vs Cobalt
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Cobalt
Static site generator written in Rust
| Feature | blogc | Cobalt |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 6 · At risk | 81 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | C | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 192 | ★ 1,538 |
| First released | 2015 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, Hugo | Jekyll, Hugo |
What are blogc and Cobalt?
blogc
blogc is a blog compiler written in C that builds static websites from template and source files. It is paired with blogc-make to handle building entire blogs with feeds and pagination.
- Fast static site compiler in C
- Atom feed and pagination support
- Minimal dependencies
- Template-based rendering
Cobalt
Cobalt is a static site generator written in Rust that builds blogs and websites from Markdown and Liquid templates. It produces fast, self-contained static output and ships as a single binary.
- Single-binary tool
- Liquid templating
- Markdown content
- Fast builds
blogc vs Cobalt: key differences
Blogc is written in C, while Cobalt is built with Rust. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for blogc versus MIT for Cobalt. Blogc is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 64 MB for Cobalt. Cobalt has the considerably larger community, at 1,538 GitHub stars versus 192.
Why pick each one
Choose blogc if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Choose Cobalt if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is blogc or Cobalt better?
Cobalt is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider blogc if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are blogc and Cobalt free and open-source?
Yes. blogc is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Cobalt under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run blogc and Cobalt with Docker?
blogc: check the project docs for container support. Cobalt: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, blogc or Cobalt?
blogc has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 64 MB for Cobalt. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.