Hugo vs Marmite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Hugo
Blazing fast static site generator for blogs and sites
VS
Marmite
Zero-config static blog generator from Markdown
| Feature | Hugo | Marmite |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 89,914 | ★ 875 |
| First released | 2013 | 2024 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | Medium |
What are Hugo and Marmite?
Hugo
Hugo is one of the fastest open-source static site generators, written in Go. It builds blogs, documentation, and websites from Markdown content with thousands of available themes.
- Extremely fast builds
- Markdown content
- Huge theme library
- Single binary install
Marmite
Marmite is a static site generator focused on blogs that turns a folder of Markdown files into a complete website with zero configuration. It supports tags, RSS feeds, and themes while keeping setup effortless.
- Zero configuration
- Markdown to blog
- Tags and RSS
- Single fast binary
Hugo vs Marmite: key differences
Hugo is written in Go, while Marmite is built with Rust. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Hugo versus MIT for Marmite. Marmite is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Hugo. Hugo is the more established project (first released 2013), while Marmite arrived in 2024. Hugo has the considerably larger community, at 89,914 GitHub stars versus 875.
Why pick each one
Choose Hugo if…
- Outstanding build speed
- No server-side runtime needed
Watch out for
- Templating has a learning curve
- No built-in admin UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Hugo or Marmite better?
Neither is universally better. Hugo has the larger community, while Marmite is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Hugo and Marmite free and open-source?
Yes. Hugo is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Marmite under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hugo and Marmite with Docker?
Hugo: check the project docs for container support. Marmite: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Hugo or Marmite?
Marmite has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Hugo. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.