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Pelican vs Jekyll
Compare Pelican and Jekyll 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
Jekyll
A simple, blog-aware static site generator perfect for personal, project, or organization sites.
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
Jekyll
Pros
- Fast and secure static sites
- GitHub Pages integration
- Simple to use for developers
- Great for blogs and documentation
Cons
- Requires Ruby knowledge for customization
- Not suitable for dynamic content
- No visual editor for non-technical users
- Build time increases with site size
Features comparison
| Feature | Pelican | Jekyll |
|---|---|---|
| Core Features | ||
| SEO | Partial Basic SEO through templates, but requires additional configuration for advanced features | Partial Basic features built-in, but requires 'jekyll-seo-tag' plugin for full functionality |
| Sitemap | Via plugin Available through pelican-sitemap plugin | Via plugin Requires 'jekyll-sitemap' plugin |
| RSS Feed | Yes Built-in Atom and RSS feed generation | Via plugin Requires 'jekyll-feed' plugin |
| Theming system | Yes Support for custom and third-party themes with Jinja2 templating | Yes Built-in theming system with many available themes |
| Plugin system | Yes Extensive plugin system with Python-based plugins | Yes Rich plugin system with many extensions available |
| Content Management | ||
| Emoji | Via plugin Requires Markdown extension or custom plugin | Via plugin Requires 'jemoji' plugin |
| Image optimization | Via plugin Available through pelican-image-process or similar plugins | Via plugin Options include 'jekyll-picture-tag', 'jekyll-responsive-image', or manual integration |
| Taxonomies | Partial Built-in support for categories and tags, custom taxonomies require plugins | Partial Native support for categories and tags, but limited for custom taxonomies without plugins |
| Pagination | Yes Built-in pagination for article listings | Via plugin Native in older versions, but requires 'jekyll-paginate' or 'jekyll-paginate-v2' for recent versions |
| Table of contents | Via plugin Available through plugins or Markdown extensions | Via plugin Requires 'jekyll-toc' plugin or using kramdown with toc option |
| Comments | Via integration Integration with Disqus built-in, other systems require custom theme integration | Via integration Integration with third-party services like Disqus, Utterances, or staticman |
| Integrations | ||
| Social media integration | Via plugin Requires plugins like pelican-social-share or custom theme integration | Partial Basic support via Liquid templates, but requires customization for advanced integration |
| Analytics | Via integration Can be added through theme templates or dedicated plugins | Via integration Easily integrable via snippets in Liquid templates |
| Newsletter | Via integration Requires manual integration through theme templates | Via integration Requires third-party services integration like Hakanai, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, etc. |
| Search | Via plugin Options include tipue_search plugin or client-side search integration | Via plugin Options include 'jekyll-algolia', 'simple-jekyll-search', or 'jekyll-lunr-js-search' |
| Headless CMS integration | Limited Possible but not as seamless as with other generators; requires custom integration | Via integration Compatible with Forestry, Netlify CMS, CloudCannon, Contentful via custom configuration |
| Advanced Features | ||
| Multilingual | Yes Built-in i18n support with the pelican-i18n_subsites plugin | Limited Basic support via collections or plugins like 'jekyll-polyglot' or 'jekyll-multiple-languages-plugin' |
| AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) | Via plugin Would require custom plugin implementation | Via plugin Requires 'jekyll-amp-pwa-plugin' or custom configuration |
| PWA (Progressive Web App) | Via integration Requires manual implementation in theme | Via plugin Requires 'jekyll-pwa-plugin' or custom configuration |
| Specialized Content | ||
| PlantUML | Via plugin Can be added via custom plugin or Markdown extension | Via plugin Requires 'jekyll-plantuml' or 'jekyll-diagrams' plugin |
| Mermaid | Via plugin Through custom plugin or Markdown extension | Via plugin Requires 'jekyll-mermaid' plugin or custom JavaScript integration |
| KaTeX (math) | Via plugin Math support through pelican-render-math or similar plugins | Via plugin Requires 'jekyll-katex' plugin or custom JavaScript integration |
| GitHub Gists integration | Via plugin Can be integrated through custom plugins or theme modifications | Via plugin Requires 'jekyll-gist' plugin |