Eleventy vs Marmite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Eleventy | Marmite |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 19,929 | ★ 875 |
| First released | 2018 | 2024 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | Medium |
What are Eleventy and Marmite?
Eleventy
Eleventy is a flexible open-source static site generator written in JavaScript that works with many templating languages. It is popular for blogs and documentation due to its simplicity and speed.
- Supports many template languages
- Fast incremental builds
- Zero client-side JavaScript by default
- Flexible data cascade
Marmite
Marmite is a static site generator focused on blogs that turns a folder of Markdown files into a complete website with zero configuration. It supports tags, RSS feeds, and themes while keeping setup effortless.
- Zero configuration
- Markdown to blog
- Tags and RSS
- Single fast binary
Eleventy vs Marmite: key differences
Eleventy is written in JavaScript, while Marmite is built with Rust. Marmite is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Eleventy. Eleventy is the more established project (first released 2018), while Marmite arrived in 2024. Eleventy has the considerably larger community, at 19,929 GitHub stars versus 875.
Why pick each one
Choose Eleventy if…
- Very flexible templating
- Lean output
Watch out for
- No built-in admin
- Requires Node tooling
Frequently asked questions
Is Eleventy or Marmite better?
Neither is universally better. Eleventy has the larger community, while Marmite is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Eleventy and Marmite free and open-source?
Yes. Eleventy is licensed under MIT and Marmite under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Eleventy and Marmite with Docker?
Eleventy: check the project docs for container support. Marmite: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Eleventy or Marmite?
Marmite has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Eleventy. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.