Harp vs Soupault
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Harp | Soupault |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 66 · Good | 64 · Good |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | OCaml |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,995 | ★ 430 |
| First released | 2013 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Jekyll | Jekyll, Hugo |
What are Harp and Soupault?
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
Soupault
Soupault is a static website generator and HTML processor that manipulates the page DOM directly rather than relying on a templating language. It can build new sites or post-process existing static sites.
- DOM-based processing
- Lua plugin support
- Single-binary tool
- Works on existing sites
Harp vs Soupault: key differences
Harp is written in JavaScript, while Soupault is built with OCaml. Soupault 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 Soupault arrived in 2019. Harp has the considerably larger community, at 4,995 GitHub stars versus 430.
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 Soupault if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in OCaml
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Harp or Soupault better?
Harp is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Soupault if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Harp and Soupault free and open-source?
Yes. Harp is licensed under MIT and Soupault under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Harp and Soupault with Docker?
Harp: check the project docs for container support. Soupault: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Harp or Soupault?
Soupault 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.