Harp vs Middleman
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Harp | Middleman |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 66 · Good | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,995 | ★ 7,111 |
| First released | 2013 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Jekyll | Jekyll, WordPress |
What are Harp and Middleman?
Harp
Harp is a static web server and site generator that serves Jade, Markdown, EJS, CoffeeScript, Sass, LESS, and Stylus as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript without any configuration. It can compile a project to a deployable static site.
- Zero-config preprocessing
- Built-in web server
- Compiles to static site
- Multiple template languages
Middleman
Middleman is a static site generator using all the shortcuts and tools in modern web development, including templating, asset pipelines, and helpers. Its blogging extension turns it into a full static blog engine.
- Asset pipeline
- Blogging extension
- Helpers and partials
- Static output
Harp vs Middleman: key differences
Harp is written in JavaScript, while Middleman is built with Ruby. Harp is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Middleman. Middleman is the more established project (first released 2009), while Harp arrived in 2013.
Why pick each one
Choose Harp if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (5k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
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 Harp or Middleman better?
Neither is universally better. Middleman has the larger community, while Harp is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Harp and Middleman free and open-source?
Yes. Harp is licensed under MIT and Middleman under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Harp and Middleman with Docker?
Harp: check the project docs for container support. Middleman: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Harp or Middleman?
Harp has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Middleman. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.