Statamic vs Zola
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?
Statamic
Laravel-powered flat-file CMS for custom sites
VS
Zola
Fast static site engine in a single binary
| Feature | Statamic | Zola |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,861 | ★ 17,308 |
| First released | 2012 | 2017 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Contentful | WordPress, Medium |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Statamic or Zola better?
Neither is universally better. Zola has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Statamic and Zola free and open-source?
Yes. Statamic is licensed under MIT and Zola under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Statamic and Zola with Docker?
Statamic: yes. Zola: check the project docs for container support.