Orchid vs Poole
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?
Orchid
Static site generator for documentation and blogs on the JVM
VS
Poole
Minimalist static website generator in a single file
| Feature | Orchid | Poole |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Kotlin | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 529 | ★ 31 |
| First released | 2017 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, GitBook | Jekyll |
Why pick each one
Choose Orchid if…
- Released under the LGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Kotlin
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Poole if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Orchid or Poole better?
Neither is universally better. Orchid has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Orchid and Poole free and open-source?
Yes. Orchid is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Poole under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Orchid and Poole with Docker?
Orchid: check the project docs for container support. Poole: check the project docs for container support.