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Pelican vs Hugo
Compare Pelican and Hugo to find the best tool for your needs.
Pelican
A Python-based static site generator that supports Markdown and reStructuredText, ideal for technical blogs.
See all detailsVS
Hugo
The world's fastest framework for building static websites, with rich content management capabilities.
See all detailsQuick overview
Pricing
Free (open source)
Free (open source)
Pros & Cons
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
Hugo
Pros
- Extremely fast build times
- No dependencies required
- Live reload for instant preview
- Flexible content management
Cons
- Steeper learning curve for templating
- Less plugins than older generators
- Requires command line usage
- Go templates can be challenging
Features comparison
| Feature | Pelican | Hugo |
|---|---|---|
| Core Features | ||
| SEO | Partial Basic SEO through templates, but requires additional configuration for advanced features | Yes Built-in SEO features including meta tags, canonical URLs, Open Graph, and JSON-LD |
| Sitemap | Via plugin Available through pelican-sitemap plugin | Yes Built-in sitemap generation without plugins |
| RSS Feed | Yes Built-in Atom and RSS feed generation | Yes Built-in RSS/Atom feed generation without plugins |
| Theming system | Yes Support for custom and third-party themes with Jinja2 templating | Yes Powerful theming system with theme inheritance and module capabilities |
| Plugin system | Yes Extensive plugin system with Python-based plugins | Partial Uses 'modules' rather than plugins, with a different architectural approach than traditional plugins |
| Content Management | ||
| Emoji | Via plugin Requires Markdown extension or custom plugin | Yes Native emoji support with several rendering options |
| Image optimization | Via plugin Available through pelican-image-process or similar plugins | Yes Built-in image processing with resize, crop, filter capabilities and image optimization |
| Taxonomies | Partial Built-in support for categories and tags, custom taxonomies require plugins | Yes Powerful built-in taxonomy system with support for custom taxonomies |
| Pagination | Yes Built-in pagination for article listings | Yes Built-in pagination for list pages with customizable options |
| Table of contents | Via plugin Available through plugins or Markdown extensions | Yes Built-in table of contents generation for markdown content |
| Comments | Via integration Integration with Disqus built-in, other systems require custom theme integration | Via integration Integration with Disqus, Commento, Utterances or other comment systems via templates |
| Integrations | ||
| Social media integration | Via plugin Requires plugins like pelican-social-share or custom theme integration | Yes Built-in support for social cards, sharing, and integration via templates |
| Analytics | Via integration Can be added through theme templates or dedicated plugins | Via integration Easy integration with most analytics platforms via themes or templates |
| Newsletter | Via integration Requires manual integration through theme templates | Via integration Third-party services can be integrated via templates or partials |
| Search | Via plugin Options include tipue_search plugin or client-side search integration | Via integration Options include built-in JSON index, Algolia, Lunr.js, or other client-side search solutions |
| Headless CMS integration | Limited Possible but not as seamless as with other generators; requires custom integration | Yes Excellent support for most headless CMS platforms including Contentful, Forestry, NetlifyCMS, Strapi |
| Advanced Features | ||
| Multilingual | Yes Built-in i18n support with the pelican-i18n_subsites plugin | Yes First-class support for multilingual sites with i18n capabilities |
| AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) | Via plugin Would require custom plugin implementation | Via templates Can be implemented using custom output formats and templates |
| PWA (Progressive Web App) | Via integration Requires manual implementation in theme | Via integration Requires custom configuration or theme with PWA support |
| Specialized Content | ||
| PlantUML | Via plugin Can be added via custom plugin or Markdown extension | Via shortcode Customizable shortcodes can be created for PlantUML integration |
| Mermaid | Via plugin Through custom plugin or Markdown extension | Via shortcode Official shortcode available for Mermaid diagrams |
| KaTeX (math) | Via plugin Math support through pelican-render-math or similar plugins | Via integration Support through either KaTeX or MathJax via templates or theme integration |
| GitHub Gists integration | Via plugin Can be integrated through custom plugins or theme modifications | Via shortcode Can be implemented via custom shortcodes |