October CMS vs Zola
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?
October CMS
Laravel-based CMS focused on simplicity for developers
VS
Zola
Fast static site engine in a single binary
| Feature | October CMS | Zola |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,140 | ★ 17,308 |
| First released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Wix | WordPress, Medium |
Why pick each one
Choose October CMS if…
- Great for Laravel developers
- Simple, transparent architecture
Frequently asked questions
Is October CMS or Zola better?
Neither is universally better. Zola has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are October CMS and Zola free and open-source?
Yes. October CMS is licensed under MIT and Zola under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run October CMS and Zola with Docker?
October CMS: yes. Zola: check the project docs for container support.