Orchid 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 | Orchid | Publ |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 69 · Good |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Kotlin | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 529 | ★ 41 |
| First released | 2017 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, GitBook | WordPress, Jekyll |
What are Orchid and Publ?
Orchid
Orchid is a powerful and extensible static site generator built on the JVM that targets project documentation, wikis, and personal blogs. It bundles plugins for changelogs, presentations, and search.
- Plugin-driven generation
- Documentation themes
- Built-in search
- JVM ecosystem
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
Orchid vs Publ: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Orchid's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Publ is actively maintained. Orchid is written in Kotlin, while Publ is built with Python. Licensing differs — LGPL-3.0 for Orchid versus MIT for Publ. Publ is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Orchid. Orchid has the considerably larger community, at 529 GitHub stars versus 41.
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 Publ if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Orchid or Publ 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 Publ free and open-source?
Yes. Orchid is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Publ under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Orchid and Publ with Docker?
Orchid: check the project docs for container support. Publ: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Orchid or Publ?
Publ has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Orchid. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.