Gatsby vs Pelican
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Gatsby
React-based static site and blog generator
VS
Pelican
Static site generator for Python and Markdown lovers
| Feature | Gatsby | Pelican |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 96 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 55,942 | ★ 13,339 |
| First released | 2015 | 2010 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | WordPress, Blogger |
What are Gatsby and Pelican?
Gatsby
Gatsby is an open-source React-based framework for building fast static websites and blogs. It pulls content from many sources via a GraphQL data layer and produces highly optimized output.
- React-powered sites
- GraphQL data layer
- Rich plugin ecosystem
- Performance-optimized output
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
Gatsby vs Pelican: key differences
Gatsby is written in JavaScript, while Pelican is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Gatsby versus AGPL-3.0 for Pelican. Pelican is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Gatsby. Pelican is the more established project (first released 2010), while Gatsby arrived in 2015. Gatsby has the considerably larger community, at 55,942 GitHub stars versus 13,339.
Why pick each one
Choose Gatsby if…
- Great for React developers
- Pulls content from many sources
Watch out for
- Heavier build process
- Steeper learning curve
Choose Pelican if…
- Great for Python users
- Mature and stable
Watch out for
- No admin UI
- Python environment needed
Frequently asked questions
Is Gatsby or Pelican better?
Neither is universally better. Gatsby has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Gatsby and Pelican free and open-source?
Yes. Gatsby is licensed under MIT and Pelican under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gatsby and Pelican with Docker?
Gatsby: check the project docs for container support. Pelican: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Gatsby or Pelican?
Pelican has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Gatsby. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.