WriteFreely 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?
WriteFreely
Minimalist federated blogging platform
VS
Zola
Fast static site engine in a single binary
| Feature | WriteFreely | Zola |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Blogging Platforms |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,216 | ★ 17,308 |
| First released | 2018 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Medium, Tumblr | WordPress, Medium |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is WriteFreely or Zola better?
Neither is universally better. Zola has the larger community, while WriteFreely is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are WriteFreely and Zola free and open-source?
Yes. WriteFreely is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zola under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run WriteFreely and Zola with Docker?
WriteFreely: yes. Zola: check the project docs for container support.