Publ vs Soupault
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Publ | Soupault |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 64 · Good |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | OCaml |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 41 | ★ 430 |
| First released | 2018 | 2019 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Jekyll | Jekyll, Hugo |
What are Publ and Soupault?
Publ
Publ is a Python content management and blogging engine that publishes content directly from files in a directory tree. It supports image galleries, Markdown content, and templated layouts without a separate database for content.
- File-based content publishing
- Built-in image gallery support
- Markdown and template driven
- No content database required
Soupault
Soupault is a static website generator and HTML processor that manipulates the page DOM directly rather than relying on a templating language. It can build new sites or post-process existing static sites.
- DOM-based processing
- Lua plugin support
- Single-binary tool
- Works on existing sites
Publ vs Soupault: key differences
Publ is written in Python, while Soupault is built with OCaml. Soupault is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Publ. Soupault has the considerably larger community, at 430 GitHub stars versus 41.
Why pick each one
Choose Publ if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Soupault if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in OCaml
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Publ or Soupault better?
Neither is universally better. Soupault has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Publ and Soupault free and open-source?
Yes. Publ is licensed under MIT and Soupault under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Publ and Soupault with Docker?
Publ: check the project docs for container support. Soupault: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Publ or Soupault?
Soupault has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Publ. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.