head to head · open source
hugo vs Publii
hugo has 90,326 GitHub stars, 8,447 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Publii has 7,387 stars, 475 forks, 300 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. hugo leads on adoption by 1,123% (90,326 vs 7,387 stars). hugo is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Publii is written in HTML under GPL-3.0. hugo has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Publii 6%. hugo was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (cms, static-site-generator), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| hugo | Publii | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 7.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.4K | ⑂ 475 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick hugo if
- You weight community size — 90K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Publii if
- You want the Publii feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and Publii fits your workflow better
About hugo
[Clang]: [GCC]: [Git]: [Go]: [bep]: [bugs]: [contributing]: CONTRIBUTING.md [create a proposal]: [dart sass]: [details]: [documentation repository]: [documentation]: [dragonfly bsd, freebsd, netbsd, and openbsd]: [features]: [forum]: [friends]: [hugo modules]: [installation]: [issue queue]: [linux]: [macos]: [prebuilt binary]: [requesting help]: [spf13]: [static site generator]: [support]: [themes]: [transpile sass to css]: [website]: [windows]: A fast and flexible static site generator built with love by [bep][], [spf13][], and [friends][] in Go. [Website][] [Installation][] [Documentation][] [Support][]…
About Publii
Publii Static CMS for privacy focused, SEO optimized websites. Publii is a desktop based CMS for Windows, Mac and Linux that makes creating static websites fast and hassle free, even for beginners. Current version: 0.47.9 build 17481 Why Publii? Unlike static site generators that are often unwieldy and difficult to use, Publii provides an easy to understand UI much like server based CMSs such as WordPress or Joomla!, where users can create posts and other site content, and style their site using a variety of built in themes and options. Users can enjoy the benefits of a super fast and secure static website, with…
read the full Publii overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is hugo or Publii more popular?
hugo has 90,326 GitHub stars and Publii has 7,387. hugo has the larger community by that measure.
Are hugo and Publii free?
Both are open source. hugo is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Publii under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between hugo and Publii?
hugo is written in Go and Publii in HTML. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, hugo or Publii?
Choose hugo if you want the larger community (90,326 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Publii if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.