Pencil 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?
Pencil
Static site generator library built in Haskell
VS
Poole
Minimalist static website generator in a single file
| Feature | Pencil | Poole |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Haskell | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | source, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5 | ★ 31 |
| First released | 2017 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Jekyll | Jekyll |
Why pick each one
Choose Pencil if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Written in Haskell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose Poole if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Pencil or Poole better?
Poole is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Pencil if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Pencil and Poole free and open-source?
Yes. Pencil is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Poole under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pencil and Poole with Docker?
Pencil: check the project docs for container support. Poole: check the project docs for container support.