SHSelfHostIndex

Grav vs Metalsmith

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?
GR Grav Fast flat-file CMS with no database required VS ME Metalsmith Extremely simple pluggable static site generator
FeatureGravMetalsmith
CategoryContent Management SystemsBlogging Platforms
LicenseMITMIT
LanguagePHPJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcesource, binary
GitHub stars★ 15,620★ 7,822
First released20142014
ReplacesWordPress, SquarespaceWordPress, Jekyll

Why pick each one

Choose Grav if…

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

Choose Metalsmith if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Mature project with 7.8k GitHub stars
  • Written in JavaScript
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Metalsmith details

Frequently asked questions

Is Grav or Metalsmith better?

Grav is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Metalsmith if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Grav and Metalsmith free and open-source?

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

Can I run Grav and Metalsmith with Docker?

Grav: yes. Metalsmith: check the project docs for container support.

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