Metalsmith vs Quartz
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
Quartz
Publish a digital garden from Markdown notes
| Feature | Metalsmith | Quartz |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,822 | ★ 12,960 |
| First released | 2014 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Jekyll | Notion, Medium |
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
Frequently asked questions
Is Metalsmith or Quartz better?
Quartz is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Metalsmith if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Metalsmith and Quartz free and open-source?
Yes. Metalsmith is licensed under MIT and Quartz under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Metalsmith and Quartz with Docker?
Metalsmith: check the project docs for container support. Quartz: check the project docs for container support.