Eleventy vs Pelican
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Eleventy
Simpler static site generator for fast websites
VS
Pelican
Static site generator for Python and Markdown lovers
| Feature | Eleventy | Pelican |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 19,929 | ★ 13,339 |
| First released | 2018 | 2010 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | WordPress, Blogger |
What are Eleventy and Pelican?
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
Pelican
Pelican is an open-source static site generator written in Python that builds blogs from Markdown or reStructuredText. It supports themes, plugins, and import from other blogging platforms.
- Markdown and reStructuredText
- Theme and plugin support
- Import from WordPress and others
- Atom and RSS feeds
Eleventy vs Pelican: key differences
Eleventy is written in JavaScript, while Pelican is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Eleventy versus AGPL-3.0 for Pelican. Pelican is the more established project (first released 2010), while Eleventy arrived in 2018.
Why pick each one
Choose Eleventy if…
- Very flexible templating
- Lean output
Watch out for
- No built-in admin
- Requires Node tooling
Choose Pelican if…
- Great for Python users
- Mature and stable
Watch out for
- No admin UI
- Python environment needed
Frequently asked questions
Is Eleventy or Pelican better?
Neither is universally better. Eleventy has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Eleventy and Pelican free and open-source?
Yes. Eleventy is licensed under MIT and Pelican under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Eleventy and Pelican with Docker?
Eleventy: check the project docs for container support. Pelican: check the project docs for container support.