Pencil vs Publ
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
Publ
Flexible file-based publishing system for blogs and galleries
| Feature | Pencil | Publ |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Haskell | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5 | ★ 41 |
| First released | 2017 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Jekyll | WordPress, 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 Publ if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Pencil or Publ better?
Publ 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 Publ free and open-source?
Yes. Pencil is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Publ under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pencil and Publ with Docker?
Pencil: check the project docs for container support. Publ: check the project docs for container support.