Dotclear vs Zola
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
| Feature | Dotclear | Zola |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 46 | ★ 17,308 |
| First released | 2003 | 2017 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Blogger | WordPress, Medium |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Dotclear or Zola better?
Neither is universally better. Zola has the larger community, while Dotclear is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dotclear and Zola free and open-source?
Yes. Dotclear is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Zola under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dotclear and Zola with Docker?
Dotclear: yes. Zola: check the project docs for container support.