Harp vs Saaze
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Harp | Saaze |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 66 · Good | 0 · At risk |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Blade |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,995 | ★ 52 |
| First released | 2013 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Jekyll | Jekyll, WordPress |
What are Harp and Saaze?
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
Saaze
Saaze is a lightweight flat-file CMS and static site generator built with PHP. It can serve content dynamically or export a fully static site, using YAML and Markdown files for content.
- Dynamic or static site modes
- Flat-file content storage
- Blade templating engine
- Markdown and YAML content
Harp vs Saaze: key differences
Harp is written in JavaScript, while Saaze is built with Blade. Saaze is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Harp. Harp is the more established project (first released 2013), while Saaze arrived in 2021. Harp has the considerably larger community, at 4,995 GitHub stars versus 52.
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 Saaze if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Blade
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Harp or Saaze better?
Neither is universally better. Harp has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Harp and Saaze free and open-source?
Yes. Harp is licensed under MIT and Saaze under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Harp and Saaze with Docker?
Harp: check the project docs for container support. Saaze: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Harp or Saaze?
Saaze has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Harp. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.