Hexo vs Zola
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Hexo | Zola |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 41,774 | ★ 17,463 |
| First released | 2012 | 2017 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Blogger | WordPress, Medium |
What are Hexo and Zola?
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
Zola
Zola is an open-source static site generator written in Rust that ships as a single binary with no dependencies. It builds blogs and documentation sites quickly with built-in Sass and search support.
- Single dependency-free binary
- Fast builds
- Built-in Sass compilation
- Built-in search index
Hexo vs Zola: key differences
Hexo is written in TypeScript, while Zola is built with Rust. Zola is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Hexo. Hexo is the more established project (first released 2012), while Zola arrived in 2017. Hexo has the considerably larger community, at 41,774 GitHub stars versus 17,463.
Why pick each one
Choose Hexo if…
- Popular with developers
- Rich plugin ecosystem
Watch out for
- No admin UI
- Node toolchain required
Choose Zola if…
- No toolchain to install
- Very fast
Watch out for
- No admin UI
- Smaller theme selection
Frequently asked questions
Is Hexo or Zola better?
Neither is universally better. Hexo has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Hexo and Zola free and open-source?
Yes. Hexo is licensed under MIT and Zola under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hexo and Zola with Docker?
Hexo: check the project docs for container support. Zola: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Hexo or Zola?
Zola has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Hexo. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.