Haunt vs VitePress
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
VitePress
Vite and Vue powered static site generator
| Feature | Haunt | VitePress |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Scheme | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 400 | ★ 18,346 |
| First released | 2015 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Jekyll | Jekyll, GitBook |
What are Haunt and VitePress?
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
VitePress
VitePress is a static site generator built on Vite and Vue, designed for fast documentation sites and blogs with instant dev server startup. It outputs static HTML pages that hydrate into a Vue single-page app.
- Vite-powered dev server
- Markdown content
- Default docs theme
- Fast static builds
Haunt vs VitePress: key differences
Haunt is written in Scheme, while VitePress is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Haunt versus MIT for VitePress. Haunt is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for VitePress. Haunt is the more established project (first released 2015), while VitePress arrived in 2020. VitePress has the considerably larger community, at 18,346 GitHub stars versus 400.
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 VitePress if…
- Instant dev startup
- Clean default theme
- Vue component support
Watch out for
- Vue knowledge helps
- Docs-focused scope
Frequently asked questions
Is Haunt or VitePress better?
VitePress is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Haunt if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Haunt and VitePress free and open-source?
Yes. Haunt is licensed under GPL-3.0 and VitePress under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Haunt and VitePress with Docker?
Haunt: check the project docs for container support. VitePress: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Haunt or VitePress?
Haunt has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for VitePress. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.