head to head · open source
hexo vs publify
hexo has 41,783 GitHub stars, 55 forks, 75 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. publify has 1,855 stars, 3,617 forks, 86 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. hexo leads on adoption by 2,152% (41,783 vs 1,855 stars). hexo is written in TypeScript under MIT; publify is written in Less under MIT. hexo has attracted 0% as many forks as stars, publify 195%. hexo was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (hacktoberfest), 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
| hexo | publify | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 42K | ★ 1.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Less |
| Last push | 2026-10-26 | 2026-10-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 55 | ⑂ 3.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick hexo if
- You weight community size — 42K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 hexo
Hexo A fast, simple & powerful blog framework, powered by Node.js. Website Documentation Installation Guide Contribution Guide Code of Conduct API Twitter Features Blazing fast generating Support for GitHub Flavored Markdown and most Octopress plugins One command deploy to GitHub Pages, Heroku, etc. Powerful API for limitless extensibility Hundreds of themes & plugins Quick Start Install Hexo Install with brew on macOS and Linux: Setup your blog Start the server Create a new post Generate static files More Information Read the documentation Visit the Awesome Hexo list Find solutions in troubleshooting Join…
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is hexo or publify more popular?
hexo has 41,783 GitHub stars and publify has 1,855. hexo has the larger community by that measure.
Are hexo and publify free?
Both are open source. hexo is licensed under MIT and publify under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between hexo and publify?
hexo is written in TypeScript 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, hexo or publify?
Choose hexo if you want the larger community (41,783 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose publify if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.