blogc vs Pencil
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | blogc | Pencil |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 6 · At risk | 62 · Good |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | C | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 192 | ★ 5 |
| First released | 2015 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, Hugo | Jekyll |
What are blogc and Pencil?
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
Pencil
Pencil is a static site generator library and tool written in Haskell that compiles Markdown and templates into a static website. It gives developers a programmatic way to define site structure and content transformations.
- Haskell library API
- Markdown rendering
- Template inheritance
- Static output
blogc vs Pencil: key differences
Blogc is written in C, while Pencil is built with Haskell. Blogc is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 64 MB for Pencil. Blogc is the more established project (first released 2015), while Pencil arrived in 2017. Blogc has the considerably larger community, at 192 GitHub stars versus 5.
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 Pencil if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Written in Haskell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is blogc or Pencil better?
blogc is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Pencil if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are blogc and Pencil free and open-source?
Yes. blogc is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Pencil under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run blogc and Pencil with Docker?
blogc: check the project docs for container support. Pencil: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, blogc or Pencil?
blogc has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 64 MB for Pencil. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.