Plume 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?
Plume
Federated blogging engine for the fediverse
VS
Zola
Fast static site engine in a single binary
| Feature | Plume | Zola |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Blogging Platforms |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Rust | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,222 | ★ 17,308 |
| First released | 2018 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Medium, WordPress.com | WordPress, Medium |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Plume 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 Plume and Zola free and open-source?
Yes. Plume is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zola under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Plume and Zola with Docker?
Plume: yes. Zola: check the project docs for container support.