Pelican vs Publii
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?
Pelican
Static site generator for Python and Markdown lovers
VS
Publii
Desktop CMS for building static blogs and sites
| Feature | Pelican | Publii |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,331 | ★ 7,282 |
| First released | 2010 | 2017 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Blogger | WordPress, Squarespace |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Pelican or Publii better?
Neither is universally better. Pelican has the larger community, while Publii is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pelican and Publii free and open-source?
Yes. Pelican is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Publii under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pelican and Publii with Docker?
Pelican: check the project docs for container support. Publii: check the project docs for container support.