Ghost
Just a blogging platform.
Best self-hosted Blogging Platforms software in 2026
A blog is a discussion or informational website consisting of discrete, diary-style text entries (posts).
We track 14 open-source, self-hosted Blogging Platforms apps. 10 of them had commits in the last 90 days, 2 can run with Docker, and the most common licenses are MIT (4), GPL-2.0 (3), AGPL-3.0 (2). The most-used languages are PHP, Nodejs, Go. Below are the top picks by GitHub stars, followed by every app ranked by stars weighted by maintenance health.
Alternatives to SquarespaceAlternatives to MediumAlternatives to SubstackAlternatives to WordPress.comAlternatives to BloggerAlternatives to TumblrAlternatives to WixAlternatives to BeehiivAlternatives to DisqusAlternatives to WordPressAlternatives to Ghost
Top 5 by GitHub stars
| # | App | Stars | Health | Last activity | License | Language | Docker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghost | 55.8k | Active | 2026-11-10 | MIT | Nodejs | – |
| 2 | WriteFreely | 5.3k | Active | 2026-11-09 | AGPL-3.0 | Go | – |
| 3 | Ech0 | 2.1k | Active | 2026-11-09 | AGPL-3.0 | Docker, K8S | ✓ |
| 4 | HTMLy | 1.4k | Maintained | 2026-01-25 | GPL-2.0 | PHP | – |
| 5 | Known | 1.1k | Maintained | 2026-04-12 | Apache-2.0 | PHP | – |
- Ghost — Just a blogging platform.
- WriteFreely — Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.
- Ech0 — Lightweight federated publishing platform focused on personal idea sharing (documentation in Chinese).
- HTMLy — Databaseless PHP blogging platform. A flat-file CMS that allows you to create a fast, secure, and powerful website or blog in seconds.
- Known — Collaborative social publishing platform.
Head-to-head comparisons
All 14 self-hosted Blogging Platforms apps
Ranked by GitHub stars weighted by maintenance health.
WriteFreely
Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.
Ech0
Lightweight federated publishing platform focused on personal idea sharing (documentation in Chinese).
Haven
Private blogging system with markdown editing and built in RSS reader.
Chyrp Lite
Extra-awesome, extra-lightweight blog engine.
Mataroa
Naked blogging platform for minimalists.
bloglite
Micro-blog tool offering built-in syntax highlighting, mobile publishing and more (alternative to Twitter, Bluesky).
HTMLy
Databaseless PHP blogging platform. A flat-file CMS that allows you to create a fast, secure, and powerful website or blog in seconds.
Known
Collaborative social publishing platform.
Serendipity
Highly extensible and customizable PHP blog engine using Smarty templating (s9y).
FlatPress
Lightweight, easy-to-set-up flat-file blogging engine.
Antville
Feature-rich blog hosting software which can host tens of thousands of blogs.
PluXml
XML-based blog/CMS platform.
Dotclear
Take control over your blog.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best self-hosted Blogging Platforms software in 2026?
By GitHub stars, the most popular self-hosted Blogging Platforms apps are Ghost (55,816 stars), WriteFreely (5,288 stars), Ech0 (2,087 stars). Popularity is only one signal: also check maintenance health, license and whether it fits your setup.
How many self-hosted Blogging Platforms apps are actively maintained?
10 of the 14 apps listed had commits in the last 90 days and 3 more in the last 12 months; for 1 we have no repository activity data.
Which self-hosted Blogging Platforms apps can I run with Docker?
2 of the 14 apps can run with Docker.
Which licenses do self-hosted Blogging Platforms apps use?
The most common licenses in this category are MIT (4 apps), GPL-2.0 (3 apps), AGPL-3.0 (2 apps).
How much does it cost to self-host Blogging Platforms software?
The software itself is free to download. Based on our rough hardware estimates, the cheapest suitable VPS plan starts at about $3.5/month (median $5/month across apps in this category). Several light apps can share one server.
Related categories
Figures from GitHub and Docker Hub as of 2026-11-15; hosting costs are rough estimates.