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.
| Feature | Middleman | Publ |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 69 · Good |
| 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 | ★ 7,111 | ★ 41 |
| First released | 2009 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, WordPress | WordPress, Jekyll |
What are Middleman and Publ?
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
Publ
Publ is a Python content management and blogging engine that publishes content directly from files in a directory tree. It supports image galleries, Markdown content, and templated layouts without a separate database for content.
- File-based content publishing
- Built-in image gallery support
- Markdown and template driven
- No content database required
Middleman vs Publ: key differences
Middleman is written in Ruby, while Publ is built with Python. Publ 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 Publ arrived in 2018. Middleman has the considerably larger community, at 7,111 GitHub stars versus 41.
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.
Which is lighter on resources, Middleman or Publ?
Publ 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.