Harp vs Pelican
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?
Harp
Static web server with built-in preprocessing
VS
Pelican
Static site generator for Python and Markdown lovers
| Feature | Harp | Pelican |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,995 | ★ 13,331 |
| First released | 2013 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Jekyll | WordPress, Blogger |
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
Frequently asked questions
Is Harp or Pelican better?
Neither is universally better. Pelican 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 Pelican free and open-source?
Yes. Harp is licensed under MIT and Pelican under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Harp and Pelican with Docker?
Harp: check the project docs for container support. Pelican: check the project docs for container support.