Hugo vs Pencil
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Hugo
Blazing fast static site generator for blogs and sites
VS
Pencil
Static site generator library built in Haskell
| Feature | Hugo | Pencil |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Go | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 89,369 | ★ 5 |
| First released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Medium | Jekyll |
Why pick each one
Choose Pencil if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Written in Haskell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Hugo or Pencil better?
Hugo is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Pencil if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Hugo and Pencil free and open-source?
Yes. Hugo is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Pencil under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hugo and Pencil with Docker?
Hugo: check the project docs for container support. Pencil: check the project docs for container support.