Hexo vs Serendipity
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Hexo | Serendipity |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 76 · Good |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 41,774 | ★ 227 |
| First released | 2012 | 2003 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Blogger | WordPress, Blogger |
What are Hexo and Serendipity?
Hexo
Hexo is an open-source static blog framework built with Node.js that turns Markdown into a fast static site. It is widely used by developers for personal blogs with a rich plugin ecosystem.
- Fast Markdown-based builds
- Large plugin and theme ecosystem
- One-command deployment
- Highly extensible
Serendipity
Serendipity is an open-source PHP and MySQL-powered weblog application that emphasizes ease of use and effective spam protection. It supports plugins, themes, and multiple blogs.
- Strong built-in spam protection
- Plugin and theme system
- Multiple blog support
- Easy upgrades
Hexo vs Serendipity: key differences
Hexo is written in TypeScript, while Serendipity is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Hexo versus BSD-3-Clause for Serendipity. Serendipity is the more established project (first released 2003), while Hexo arrived in 2012. Hexo has the considerably larger community, at 41,774 GitHub stars versus 227. Serendipity lists first-class Docker deployment; Hexo does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Hexo if…
- Popular with developers
- Rich plugin ecosystem
Watch out for
- No admin UI
- Node toolchain required
Choose Serendipity if…
- Excellent spam handling
- Stable long-running project
Watch out for
- Small modern community
- Dated default themes
Frequently asked questions
Is Hexo or Serendipity better?
Neither is universally better. Hexo has the larger community, while Serendipity is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Hexo and Serendipity free and open-source?
Yes. Hexo is licensed under MIT and Serendipity under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hexo and Serendipity with Docker?
Hexo: check the project docs for container support. Serendipity: yes.