Jekyll vs Pelican
Jekyll
jekyllrb.comPelican
getpelican.comSide by side
| Figure | Jekyll | Pelican |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 0 |
| Spec score · Blog Software | 8.8 (#1) | 7.4 (#22) |
| Spec score · Static site generators | 8.8 (#5) | 7.5 (#23) |
| Spec score · Blogging Platforms | 8.7 (#22) | 7.6 (#85) |
| Content formats | Markdown, Liquid, HTML, and CSS go in, and static sites ready for deployment come out. | You can write content in Markdown or reStructuredText using your editor of choice. |
| License | Jekyll is open source and distributed under the MIT License. | The project repository identifies its license as AGPL-3.0. |
| Post scheduling | Yes | Yes |
| Theme customization | custom code | custom code |
| Themes | The theme system packages layouts, includes, stylesheets, assets and plugins, and site files can override theme defaults. | Themes use Jinja2 templates. |
| What it does | Jekyll converts Markdown, Liquid, HTML and CSS source files into deployable static websites and blogs. | Pelican is a Python static site generator that turns text files into websites without requiring a database or server-side programming. |
Plans
In their own words
Jekyll
Jekyll is a free, open-source tool that turns plain text into static websites and blogs. It combines Markdown, Liquid, HTML, and CSS with layouts, producing static files ready for deployment. Blog features include permalinks, categories, pages, posts, and custom layouts. A plugin system with hooks can generate content and extend builds without changing Jekyll itself. Community-maintained themes provide templates and styles, and site content can override theme files. Generated sites may be deployed manually, through automation, or with third-party services. GitHub Pages is powered by Jekyll and offers free hosting with custom domain support. Jekyll supports Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted use. Installation requires Ruby 2.7.0 or higher, RubyGems, GCC, and Make. Safe mode requires explicit plugin permission through a whitelist. A volunteer core team maintains the project.