head to head · open source
next.js vs publify
next.js has 143,474 GitHub stars, 33,621 forks, 3,358 open issues and last shipped yesterday. publify has 1,855 stars, 3,617 forks, 86 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. next.js leads on adoption by 7,634% (143,474 vs 1,855 stars). next.js is written in JavaScript under MIT; publify is written in Less under MIT. next.js has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, publify 195%. next.js was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| next.js | publify | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 143K | ★ 1.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | Less |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 34K | ⑂ 3.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick next.js if
- You weight community size — 143K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick publify if
- You want the publify feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Less
- You evaluated both and publify fits your workflow better
About next.js
Next.js Getting Started Used by some of the world's largest companies, Next.js enables you to create full stack web applications by extending the latest React features, and integrating powerful Rust based JavaScript tooling for the fastest builds. Visit our Learn Next.js course to get started with Next.js. Visit the Next.js Showcase to see more sites built with Next.js. Documentation Visit to view the full documentation. Community The Next.js community can be found on GitHub Discussions where you can ask questions, voice ideas, and share your projects with other people. To chat with other community members, you…
read the full next.js overview →
About publify
Publify The Ruby on Rails publishing software formerly known as Typo What's Publify? Publify is a simple but full featured web publishing software. It's built around a blogging engine and a small message system connected to Twitter. Publify follows the principles of the IndieWeb, which are self hosting your Web site, and Publish On your Own Site, Syndicate Everywhere. Publify has been around since 2004 and is the oldest Ruby on Rails open source project alive. Features A classic multi user blogging engine Short messages with a Twitter connection Text filters (Markdown, SmartyPants, @mention to link, hashtag to…
read the full publify overview →
More in Content & Publishing
Related comparisons
More Blogging & Personal Sites projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Blogging & Personal Sites field.
Frequently asked questions
Is next.js or publify more popular?
next.js has 143,474 GitHub stars and publify has 1,855. next.js has the larger community by that measure.
Are next.js and publify free?
Both are open source. next.js is licensed under MIT and publify under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between next.js and publify?
next.js is written in JavaScript and publify in Less. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, next.js or publify?
Choose next.js if you want the larger community (143,474 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose publify if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.