Gridsome vs Middleman
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Gridsome
Vue.js static site generator with a GraphQL data layer
VS
Middleman
Ruby static site generator with modern tooling
| Feature | Gridsome | Middleman |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,476 | ★ 7,113 |
| First released | 2018 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Gatsby, WordPress | Jekyll, WordPress |
Why pick each one
Choose Gridsome if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 8.5k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Middleman if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 7.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Ruby
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Gridsome or Middleman better?
Neither is universally better. Gridsome has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Gridsome and Middleman free and open-source?
Yes. Gridsome is licensed under MIT and Middleman under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gridsome and Middleman with Docker?
Gridsome: check the project docs for container support. Middleman: check the project docs for container support.