Lume vs Middleman
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Lume | Middleman |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,284 | ★ 7,111 |
| First released | 2021 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, Hugo | Jekyll, WordPress |
What are Lume and Middleman?
Lume
Lume is a fast and flexible static site generator for the Deno runtime that supports many template engines and file formats out of the box. It is used to build blogs, documentation, and websites with minimal configuration.
- Built on Deno
- Many template engines
- Plugin system
- Fast static builds
Middleman
Middleman is a static site generator using all the shortcuts and tools in modern web development, including templating, asset pipelines, and helpers. Its blogging extension turns it into a full static blog engine.
- Asset pipeline
- Blogging extension
- Helpers and partials
- Static output
Lume vs Middleman: key differences
Lume is written in TypeScript, while Middleman is built with Ruby. Lume is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Middleman. Middleman is the more established project (first released 2009), while Lume arrived in 2021. Middleman has the considerably larger community, at 7,111 GitHub stars versus 2,284.
Why pick each one
Choose Lume if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Middleman if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 7.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Ruby
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Lume or Middleman better?
Neither is universally better. Middleman has the larger community, while Lume is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Lume and Middleman free and open-source?
Yes. Lume is licensed under MIT and Middleman under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lume and Middleman with Docker?
Lume: check the project docs for container support. Middleman: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Lume or Middleman?
Lume has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Middleman. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.