JBake vs Pencil
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | JBake | Pencil |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 54 · Fair | 62 · Good |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Java | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,159 | ★ 5 |
| First released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, WordPress | Jekyll |
What are JBake and Pencil?
JBake
JBake is a static site and blog generator written in Java that is geared towards developers wanting to produce documentation, websites, and blogs. It supports multiple markup and template engines.
- JVM-based generation
- Multiple template engines
- Markdown and AsciiDoc support
- Static output
Pencil
Pencil is a static site generator library and tool written in Haskell that compiles Markdown and templates into a static website. It gives developers a programmatic way to define site structure and content transformations.
- Haskell library API
- Markdown rendering
- Template inheritance
- Static output
JBake vs Pencil: key differences
JBake is written in Java, while Pencil is built with Haskell. Licensing differs — MIT for JBake versus BSD-3-Clause for Pencil. Pencil is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for JBake. JBake is the more established project (first released 2013), while Pencil arrived in 2017. JBake has the considerably larger community, at 1,159 GitHub stars versus 5.
Why pick each one
Choose JBake if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Pencil if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Written in Haskell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is JBake or Pencil better?
JBake 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 JBake and Pencil free and open-source?
Yes. JBake is licensed under MIT and Pencil under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run JBake and Pencil with Docker?
JBake: check the project docs for container support. Pencil: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, JBake or Pencil?
Pencil has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for JBake. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.