Middleman vs October CMS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Middleman
Ruby static site generator with modern tooling
VS
October CMS
Laravel-based CMS focused on simplicity for developers
| Feature | Middleman | October CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,113 | ★ 11,140 |
| First released | 2009 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, WordPress | WordPress, Wix |
Why pick each one
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
Choose October CMS if…
- Great for Laravel developers
- Simple, transparent architecture
Frequently asked questions
Is Middleman or October CMS better?
Neither is universally better. October CMS has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Middleman and October CMS free and open-source?
Yes. Middleman is licensed under MIT and October CMS under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Middleman and October CMS with Docker?
Middleman: check the project docs for container support. October CMS: yes.