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Eleventy (11ty) vs Pelican
Compare Eleventy (11ty) and Pelican to find the best tool for your needs.
Eleventy (11ty)
A simpler static site generator focused on flexibility and performance.
See all detailsVS
Pelican
A Python-based static site generator that supports Markdown and reStructuredText, ideal for technical blogs.
See all detailsQuick overview
Pricing
Free (open source)
Free (open source)
Pros & Cons
Eleventy (11ty)
Pros
- Zero client-side JavaScript by default
- Extremely flexible templating
- Fast builds
- Easy to learn and use
Cons
- Smaller ecosystem than Gatsby/Hugo
- Less built-in features
- Documentation can be sparse
- Requires some technical knowledge
Pelican
Pros
- Written in Python
- No database required
- Markdown and reStructuredText support
- Extensible plugin system
- Active community and development
Cons
- Command-line focused workflow
- Requires Python knowledge for customization
- Less beginner-friendly than some alternatives
- Fewer themes than WordPress or Hugo
- Limited built-in features compared to dynamic CMS
Features comparison
| Feature | Eleventy (11ty) | Pelican |
|---|---|---|
| Core Features | ||
| SEO | Via integration Requires custom implementation or adding meta tags in templates | Partial Basic SEO through templates, but requires additional configuration for advanced features |
| Sitemap | Via plugin Can be added with plugins like eleventy-plugin-sitemap | Via plugin Available through pelican-sitemap plugin |
| RSS Feed | Via plugin Available through plugins like eleventy-plugin-rss | Yes Built-in Atom and RSS feed generation |
| Theming system | Partial No formal theming system, but flexible templating allows for theme-like structures | Yes Support for custom and third-party themes with Jinja2 templating |
| Plugin system | Yes Extensible through JavaScript plugins and custom shortcodes | Yes Extensive plugin system with Python-based plugins |
| Content Management | ||
| Emoji | Via plugin Can be implemented through markdown-it plugins | Via plugin Requires Markdown extension or custom plugin |
| Image optimization | Via plugin Available through eleventy-img or similar plugins | Via plugin Available through pelican-image-process or similar plugins |
| Taxonomies | Via integration Can be implemented through custom collections and tags | Partial Built-in support for categories and tags, custom taxonomies require plugins |
| Pagination | Yes Built-in pagination API | Yes Built-in pagination for article listings |
| Table of contents | Via plugin Can be implemented through markdown-it plugins or custom functions | Via plugin Available through plugins or Markdown extensions |
| Comments | Via integration Can integrate with services like Disqus, Utterances, etc. through template includes | Via integration Integration with Disqus built-in, other systems require custom theme integration |
| Integrations | ||
| Social media integration | Via integration Requires custom implementation in templates | Via plugin Requires plugins like pelican-social-share or custom theme integration |
| Analytics | Via integration Easy to add through template includes | Via integration Can be added through theme templates or dedicated plugins |
| Newsletter | Via integration Can be added through template includes | Via integration Requires manual integration through theme templates |
| Search | Via integration Options include Algolia, Lunr.js, or custom client-side implementation | Via plugin Options include tipue_search plugin or client-side search integration |
| Headless CMS integration | Yes Good support for various headless CMS options through data fetching | Limited Possible but not as seamless as with other generators; requires custom integration |
| Advanced Features | ||
| Multilingual | Via integration Possible through directory structure and custom collections | Yes Built-in i18n support with the pelican-i18n_subsites plugin |
| AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) | Via integration Can be implemented through custom output formats | Via plugin Would require custom plugin implementation |
| PWA (Progressive Web App) | Via integration Can be implemented through custom service worker and manifest files | Via integration Requires manual implementation in theme |
| Specialized Content | ||
| PlantUML | Via plugin Can be implemented through markdown-it plugins or custom shortcodes | Via plugin Can be added via custom plugin or Markdown extension |
| Mermaid | Via plugin Can be implemented through custom shortcodes or markdown-it plugins | Via plugin Through custom plugin or Markdown extension |
| KaTeX (math) | Via plugin Can be implemented using eleventy-plugin-katex or similar solutions | Via plugin Math support through pelican-render-math or similar plugins |
| GitHub Gists integration | Via integration Can be implemented through custom shortcodes | Via plugin Can be integrated through custom plugins or theme modifications |