Harp 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?
Harp
Static web server with built-in preprocessing
VS
Publii
Desktop CMS for building static blogs and sites
| Feature | Harp | Publii |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,995 | ★ 7,282 |
| First released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Jekyll | WordPress, Squarespace |
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 Publii better?
Neither is universally better. Publii has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Harp and Publii free and open-source?
Yes. Harp is licensed under MIT and Publii under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Harp and Publii with Docker?
Harp: check the project docs for container support. Publii: check the project docs for container support.