Serendipity vs SPIP
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Serendipity
PHP-powered weblog application with strong spam control
VS
SPIP
CMS with a focus on collaborative edition and multilingualism
| Feature | Serendipity | SPIP |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Content Management Systems |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Language | PHP | |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 226 | — |
| First released | 2003 | 2023 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Blogger | Blogger, Coldfusion, Wix |
Why pick each one
Choose SPIP if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0-or-later license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Serendipity or SPIP better?
Neither is universally better. Serendipity has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Serendipity and SPIP free and open-source?
Yes. Serendipity is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and SPIP under GPL-3.0-or-later. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Serendipity and SPIP with Docker?
Serendipity: yes. SPIP: check the project docs for container support.