Eleventy vs Publii
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
Publii
Desktop CMS for building static blogs and sites
| Feature | Eleventy | Publii |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 19,929 | ★ 7,318 |
| First released | 2018 | 2017 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | WordPress, Squarespace |
What are Eleventy and Publii?
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
Publii
Publii is an open-source desktop application for building fast, secure static websites and blogs. It provides a friendly graphical interface and publishes the generated site to hosting or Git.
- Desktop GUI for static sites
- One-click publishing
- Built-in themes
- No server runtime needed
Eleventy vs Publii: key differences
Eleventy is written in JavaScript, while Publii is built with HTML. Licensing differs — MIT for Eleventy versus GPL-3.0 for Publii. Eleventy is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Publii. Eleventy has the considerably larger community, at 19,929 GitHub stars versus 7,318.
Why pick each one
Choose Eleventy if…
- Very flexible templating
- Lean output
Watch out for
- No built-in admin
- Requires Node tooling
Choose Publii if…
- Very approachable for non-developers
- Secure static output
Watch out for
- Single-author workflow
- Desktop app required to edit
Frequently asked questions
Is Eleventy or Publii better?
Neither is universally better. Eleventy has the larger community, while Publii is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Eleventy and Publii free and open-source?
Yes. Eleventy is licensed under MIT and Publii under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Eleventy and Publii with Docker?
Eleventy: check the project docs for container support. Publii: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Eleventy or Publii?
Eleventy has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Publii. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.