Serendipity vs Textpattern

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?
FeatureSerendipityTextpattern
CategoryBlogging PlatformsBlogging Platforms
LicenseBSD-3-ClauseGPL-2.0
LanguagePHPPHP
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 226★ 878
First released20032004
ReplacesWordPress, BloggerWordPress, Blogger

Why pick each one

Choose Serendipity if…

  • Excellent spam handling
  • Stable long-running project
Serendipity details

Choose Textpattern if…

  • Precise control over output
  • Stable and lightweight
Textpattern details

Frequently asked questions

Is Serendipity or Textpattern better?

Neither is universally better. Textpattern has the larger community, while Serendipity is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Serendipity and Textpattern free and open-source?

Yes. Serendipity is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Textpattern under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Serendipity and Textpattern with Docker?

Serendipity: yes. Textpattern: yes.

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