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10 top picks · 1 audience ranking

Best open source blogging platforms

The best open source blogging platform is Ghost, with 55,489 GitHub stars and the MIT license; Ech0 and WriteFreely are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Ghost leads for freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 13 apps in the blogging platforms category of the appsgit catalog.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Ghost

    TryGhost/Ghost

    Just a blogging platform.

    Blogging PlatformsTypeScript

    Ghost has 55,489 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 5,329 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium.

  2. Rank 2:

    Ech0

    lin-snow/Ech0

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

    Blogging PlatformsGoDocker

    Ech0 has 2,076 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,560 commits in the last year.

  3. Rank 3:

    WriteFreely

    writefreely/writefreely

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

    Blogging PlatformsGo

    WriteFreely has 5,264 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 210 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium.

1 of 2 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 13 apps in the blogging platforms category, ranked 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 55,489 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 5,329 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium.

  2. 2

    Ech0

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

    Ech0 has 2,076 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,560 commits in the last year.

  3. 3

    WriteFreely

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

    WriteFreely has 5,264 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 210 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and 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 1,363 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 92 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium.

  5. 5

    Known

    Collaborative social publishing platform.

    Known has 1,123 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 494 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 337 commits in the last year.

  7. 7

    fx

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

    fx has 325 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 92 commits in the last year.

  8. 8

    Haven

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

    Haven has 807 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 32 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium.

  9. 9

    FlatPress

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

    FlatPress has 215 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 779 commits in the last year.

  10. 10

    Mataroa

    Naked blogging platform for minimalists.

    Mataroa has 369 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 131 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium.

2 of 2 · 5 picks

Best for freelancers

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 55,489 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 5,329 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and 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 2,076 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,560 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 5,264 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 210 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    fx

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

    fx has 325 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 92 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 1,363 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 92 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.

What is the best open source blogging platform?

The best open source blogging platform is Ghost, with 55,489 GitHub stars and the MIT license; Ech0 and WriteFreely are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Ghost leads for freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 13 apps in the blogging platforms category of the appsgit catalog.

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.

Which open source blogging platform is best for a freelancer?

Ghost ranks first for freelancers, with 55,489 GitHub stars and the MIT license; Ech0 and WriteFreely follow. The freelancers ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity.

Can I self-host these blogging platforms with Docker?

Yes, 2 of the 10 picks. Ech0 and fx 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 5,329 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v6.67.0, from September 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

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