Metalsmith vs Publican
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?
Metalsmith
Extremely simple pluggable static site generator
VS
Publican
Lightweight JavaScript static site and blog generator
| Feature | Metalsmith | Publican |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,822 | ★ 20 |
| First released | 2014 | 2024 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Jekyll | Jekyll, Hugo |
Why pick each one
Choose Metalsmith if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 7.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Publican if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Metalsmith or Publican better?
Neither is universally better. Metalsmith has the larger community, while Publican is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Metalsmith and Publican free and open-source?
Yes. Metalsmith is licensed under MIT and Publican under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Metalsmith and Publican with Docker?
Metalsmith: check the project docs for container support. Publican: check the project docs for container support.