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Gridsome vs Publii

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?
GR Gridsome Vue.js static site generator with a GraphQL data layer VS PU Publii Desktop CMS for building static blogs and sites
FeatureGridsomePublii
Deploy effortRead-the-docs projectRead-the-docs project
Health score29 · At risk91 · Excellent
CategoryBlogging PlatformsBlogging Platforms
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguageJavaScriptHTML
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentsource, binarybinary, source
GitHub stars★ 8,464★ 7,318
First released20182017
ReplacesGatsby, WordPressWordPress, Squarespace

What are Gridsome and Publii?

Gridsome

Gridsome is a free and open-source Vue.js-powered framework for building static generated websites and apps that are fast by default. It pulls data from any source into a unified GraphQL layer for use in pages and templates.

  • Unified GraphQL data layer
  • Vue single-page experience
  • Plugin sources
  • Static prerendering

Publii

Publii is an open-source desktop application for building fast, secure static websites and blogs. It provides a friendly graphical interface and publishes the generated site to hosting or Git.

  • Desktop GUI for static sites
  • One-click publishing
  • Built-in themes
  • No server runtime needed

Read the full Publii guide →

Gridsome vs Publii: key differences

Gridsome is written in JavaScript, while Publii is built with HTML. Licensing differs — MIT for Gridsome versus GPL-3.0 for Publii.

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
Gridsome details

Choose Publii if…

  • Very approachable for non-developers
  • Secure static output

Watch out for

  • Single-author workflow
  • Desktop app required to edit
Publii details

Frequently asked questions

Is Gridsome or Publii better?

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

Are Gridsome and Publii free and open-source?

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

Can I run Gridsome and Publii with Docker?

Gridsome: check the project docs for container support. Publii: check the project docs for container support.

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