Grav vs Halo

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureGravHalo
CategoryContent Management SystemsBlogging Platforms
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPJava
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 15,620★ 39,485
First released20142018
ReplacesWordPress, SquarespaceWordPress, Medium

Why pick each one

Choose Grav if…

  • Trivial to back up and migrate
  • Quick to set up
Grav details

Choose Halo if…

  • Polished modern UI
  • Active development
Halo details

Frequently asked questions

Is Grav or Halo better?

Neither is universally better. Halo has the larger community, while Grav is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Grav and Halo free and open-source?

Yes. Grav is licensed under MIT and Halo under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Grav and Halo with Docker?

Grav: yes. Halo: yes.

Related comparisons