Haunt vs Orchid
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Haunt | Orchid |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | GPL-3.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Scheme | Kotlin |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 400 | ★ 529 |
| First released | 2015 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Jekyll | Jekyll, GitBook |
What are Haunt and Orchid?
Haunt
Haunt is a hackable static site generator for blogs and websites, written in and configured with Guile Scheme. It treats site building as a functional pipeline, giving programmers fine-grained control over output.
- Functional build pipeline
- Scheme configuration
- Atom feed support
- Asset processing
Orchid
Orchid is a powerful and extensible static site generator built on the JVM that targets project documentation, wikis, and personal blogs. It bundles plugins for changelogs, presentations, and search.
- Plugin-driven generation
- Documentation themes
- Built-in search
- JVM ecosystem
Haunt vs Orchid: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Orchid's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Haunt is actively maintained. Haunt is written in Scheme, while Orchid is built with Kotlin. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Haunt versus LGPL-3.0 for Orchid. Haunt is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Orchid. Haunt is the more established project (first released 2015), while Orchid arrived in 2017.
Why pick each one
Choose Haunt if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in Scheme
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Niche language
- Steep for non-Lispers
Choose Orchid if…
- Released under the LGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Kotlin
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Haunt or Orchid better?
Neither is universally better. Orchid has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Haunt and Orchid free and open-source?
Yes. Haunt is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Orchid under LGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Haunt and Orchid with Docker?
Haunt: check the project docs for container support. Orchid: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Haunt or Orchid?
Haunt has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Orchid. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.