Franklin vs Lume
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Franklin | Lume |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 73 · Good | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Julia | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,069 | ★ 2,284 |
| First released | 2019 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, Hugo | Jekyll, Hugo |
What are Franklin and Lume?
Franklin
Franklin is a simple, customizable static site generator written in Julia with built-in support for live evaluation of Julia code in pages. It is well suited to technical blogs and documentation sites.
- Julia code evaluation
- Markdown extensions
- Live preview server
- Static output
Lume
Lume is a fast and flexible static site generator for the Deno runtime that supports many template engines and file formats out of the box. It is used to build blogs, documentation, and websites with minimal configuration.
- Built on Deno
- Many template engines
- Plugin system
- Fast static builds
Franklin vs Lume: key differences
Franklin is written in Julia, while Lume is built with TypeScript. Lume is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Franklin. Franklin is the more established project (first released 2019), while Lume arrived in 2021. Lume has the considerably larger community, at 2,284 GitHub stars versus 1,069.
Why pick each one
Choose Franklin if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Julia
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Lume if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Franklin or Lume better?
Lume is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Franklin if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Franklin and Lume free and open-source?
Yes. Franklin is licensed under MIT and Lume under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Franklin and Lume with Docker?
Franklin: check the project docs for container support. Lume: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Franklin or Lume?
Lume has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Franklin. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.