Pelican vs PluXml
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Pelican | PluXml |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 76 · Good |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | bare-metal, docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,339 | ★ 235 |
| First released | 2010 | 2007 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Blogger | WordPress, Blogger |
What are Pelican and PluXml?
Pelican
Pelican is an open-source static site generator written in Python that builds blogs from Markdown or reStructuredText. It supports themes, plugins, and import from other blogging platforms.
- Markdown and reStructuredText
- Theme and plugin support
- Import from WordPress and others
- Atom and RSS feeds
PluXml
PluXml is an open-source blog and content management system that stores all content in XML files, requiring no database. It is lightweight and aimed at simple personal sites and blogs.
- XML flat-file storage
- No database required
- Theme and plugin support
- Lightweight
Pelican vs PluXml: key differences
Pelican is written in Python, while PluXml is built with PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Pelican versus GPL-2.0 for PluXml. PluXml is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Pelican. PluXml is the more established project (first released 2007), while Pelican arrived in 2010. Pelican has the considerably larger community, at 13,339 GitHub stars versus 235. PluXml lists first-class Docker deployment; Pelican does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Pelican if…
- Great for Python users
- Mature and stable
Watch out for
- No admin UI
- Python environment needed
Choose PluXml if…
- No database needed
- Easy to back up
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Limited modern themes
Frequently asked questions
Is Pelican or PluXml better?
Neither is universally better. Pelican has the larger community, while PluXml is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pelican and PluXml free and open-source?
Yes. Pelican is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and PluXml under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pelican and PluXml with Docker?
Pelican: check the project docs for container support. PluXml: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pelican or PluXml?
PluXml has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Pelican. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.