Halo vs Quartz
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Halo | Quartz |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 75 · Good |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Java | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 39,879 | ★ 13,281 |
| First released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | Notion, Medium |
What are Halo and Quartz?
Halo
Halo is a modern open-source blogging and website platform written in Java. It offers a clean admin interface, a plugin and theme marketplace, and an extensible architecture.
- Modern admin interface
- Plugin and theme marketplace
- REST API
- Markdown editor
Quartz
Quartz is a static site generator that transforms Markdown notes, including Obsidian vaults, into a fast, searchable digital garden website. It supports backlinks, graph views, and full-text search out of the box.
- Digital garden publishing
- Backlinks and graph view
- Full-text search
- Obsidian compatible
Halo vs Quartz: key differences
Halo is written in Java, while Quartz is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Halo versus MIT for Quartz. Quartz is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Halo. Halo is the more established project (first released 2018), while Quartz arrived in 2021. Halo has the considerably larger community, at 39,879 GitHub stars versus 13,281. Halo lists first-class Docker deployment; Quartz does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Halo if…
- Polished modern UI
- Active development
Watch out for
- Higher memory needs from Java
- Docs strongest in Chinese
Choose Quartz if…
- Great for note publishing
- Fast static output
Watch out for
- Static-only
- Build step required
Frequently asked questions
Is Halo or Quartz better?
Neither is universally better. Halo has the larger community, while Quartz is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Halo and Quartz free and open-source?
Yes. Halo is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Quartz under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Halo and Quartz with Docker?
Halo: yes. Quartz: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Halo or Quartz?
Quartz has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Halo. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.