Middleman vs Publ
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?
Middleman
Ruby static site generator with modern tooling
VS
Publ
Flexible file-based publishing system for blogs and galleries
| Feature | Middleman | Publ |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Ruby | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,113 | ★ 41 |
| First released | 2009 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, WordPress | WordPress, Jekyll |
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 Publ if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Middleman or Publ better?
Neither is universally better. Middleman has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Middleman and Publ free and open-source?
Yes. Middleman is licensed under MIT and Publ under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Middleman and Publ with Docker?
Middleman: check the project docs for container support. Publ: check the project docs for container support.