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10 top picks · 1 audience ranking

Best open source blogging platforms

The best open source blogging platform is Ghost (MIT, 55,626 GitHub stars). Ech0 stands out for the newest codebase (created March 2025), and WriteFreely follows.

This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Ghost leads for freelancers.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Ghost

    TryGhost/Ghost

    Just a blogging platform.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Blogging PlatformsTypeScript

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Ghost has 55,626 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 6,762 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium.

  2. Rank 2:

    Ech0

    lin-snow/Ech0

    Lightweight federated publishing platform focused on personal idea sharing (documentation in Chinese).

    Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026

    Blogging PlatformsGoDocker

    Stands out for the newest codebase (created March 2025). Ech0 has 2,078 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,589 commits in the last year.

  3. Rank 3:

    WriteFreely

    writefreely/writefreely

    Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.

    Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026

    Blogging PlatformsGo

    WriteFreely has 5,275 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 215 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium.

At a glance

Open source blogging platforms compared

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 13 apps in the blogging platforms category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 10 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
Ghostthe most GitHub starsMIT55,6266,762Oct 28, 2026No
Ech0the newest codebase (created March 2025)AGPL-3.02,0781,589Oct 26, 2026Yes
WriteFreely–AGPL-3.05,275215Oct 26, 2026No
HTMLy–GPL-2.01,36799Jan 25, 2026No
Knowna permissive Apache-2.0 licenseApache-2.01,12559Sep 9, 2026No
Chyrp Lite–BSD-3-Clause498347Oct 27, 2026No
bloglite–MIT335120Oct 25, 2026Yes
Haven–MIT81133Oct 4, 2026No
Mataroa–AGPL-3.0373198Oct 25, 2026No
FlatPress–GPL-2.0217817Oct 28, 2026No

1 of 2 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 13 apps in the blogging platforms category.

  1. 1

    Ghost

    Just a blogging platform.

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Ghost has 55,626 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 6,762 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium.

  2. 2

    Ech0

    Lightweight federated publishing platform focused on personal idea sharing (documentation in Chinese).

    Stands out for the newest codebase (created March 2025). Ech0 has 2,078 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,589 commits in the last year.

  3. 3

    WriteFreely

    Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.

    WriteFreely has 5,275 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 215 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium.

  4. 4

    HTMLy

    Databaseless PHP blogging platform. A flat-file CMS that allows you to create a fast, secure, and powerful website or blog in seconds.

    HTMLy has 1,367 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 99 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium.

  5. 5

    Known

    Collaborative social publishing platform.

    Stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. Known has 1,125 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license and had 59 commits in the last year.

  6. 6

    Chyrp Lite

    Extra-awesome, extra-lightweight blog engine.

    Chyrp Lite has 498 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 347 commits in the last year.

  7. 7

    bloglite

    Micro-blog tool offering built-in syntax highlighting, mobile publishing and more (alternative to Twitter, Bluesky).

    bloglite has 335 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 120 commits in the last year.

  8. 8

    Haven

    Private blogging system with markdown editing and built in RSS reader.

    Haven has 811 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 33 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium.

  9. 9

    Mataroa

    Naked blogging platform for minimalists.

    Mataroa has 373 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 198 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium.

  10. 10

    FlatPress

    A lightweight, easy-to-set-up flat-file blogging engine.

    FlatPress has 217 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 817 commits in the last year.

2 of 2 · 5 picks

Which open source blogging platform is best for freelancers?

For freelancers, Ghost ranks first (MIT, 55,626 GitHub stars), followed by Ech0 and WriteFreely. Ranked for freelancers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Ghost

    Just a blogging platform.

    Ghost has 55,626 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 6,762 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Ech0

    Lightweight federated publishing platform focused on personal idea sharing (documentation in Chinese).

    Ech0 has 2,078 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,589 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    WriteFreely

    Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.

    WriteFreely has 5,275 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 215 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    bloglite

    Micro-blog tool offering built-in syntax highlighting, mobile publishing and more (alternative to Twitter, Bluesky).

    bloglite has 335 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 120 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    HTMLy

    Databaseless PHP blogging platform. A flat-file CMS that allows you to create a fast, secure, and powerful website or blog in seconds.

    HTMLy has 1,367 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 99 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is Ghost free?

Yes. Ghost is open-source software released under the MIT license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Can I self-host these blogging platforms with Docker?

Yes, 2 of the 10 picks. Ech0 and bloglite publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

Are all of these blogging platforms open source?

All 10 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

Which of these blogging platforms is the most actively developed?

Ghost, with 6,762 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v6.73.0, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 13 apps in the blogging platforms category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

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