blogc vs Orchid
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | blogc | Orchid |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 6 · At risk | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | LGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Kotlin |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 192 | ★ 529 |
| First released | 2015 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, Hugo | Jekyll, GitBook |
What are blogc and Orchid?
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
Orchid
Orchid is a powerful and extensible static site generator built on the JVM that targets project documentation, wikis, and personal blogs. It bundles plugins for changelogs, presentations, and search.
- Plugin-driven generation
- Documentation themes
- Built-in search
- JVM ecosystem
blogc vs Orchid: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Orchid's repository is archived and no longer developed, while blogc is actively maintained. Blogc is written in C, while Orchid is built with Kotlin. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for blogc versus LGPL-3.0 for Orchid. Blogc is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Orchid. Blogc is the more established project (first released 2015), while Orchid arrived in 2017. Orchid has the considerably larger community, at 529 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 Orchid if…
- Released under the LGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Kotlin
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is blogc or Orchid better?
Neither is universally better. Orchid has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are blogc and Orchid free and open-source?
Yes. blogc is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Orchid under LGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run blogc and Orchid with Docker?
blogc: check the project docs for container support. Orchid: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, blogc or Orchid?
blogc has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Orchid. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.