# Hugo vs Zola

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Hugo

| Attribute | Hugo | Zola |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 61.3 (48% (low)) | 54 (54% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 77 | 48 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 210 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 90,123 | 17,513 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"An open-source static site generator that renders content to HTML files using templates, supporting multiple content formats, multilingual projects, and comprehensive asset pipelines for CSS, JavaScript, and images. It is indexed under Documentation Tools.","source":"https://gohugo.io","question":"What is Hugo?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Hugo is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://gohugo.io","question":"Is Hugo free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Hugo supports the web, Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://gohugo.io","question":"What platforms does Hugo support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Hugo can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://gohugo.io","question":"Can Hugo be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 6 integrations for Hugo, including PostCSS, Tailwind CSS, Dart Sass, Chroma, esbuild and LibSass. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://gohugo.io","question":"What does Hugo integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Hugo is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo","question":"Is Hugo open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"Compiles entire websites into static files using a single binary, eliminating the need for server management or external tooling. Renders sites in under a second with built-in support for templating, syntax highlighting, and Sass compilation. It is indexed under Static Site Generators.","source":"https://www.getzola.org","question":"What is Zola?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Zola is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the EUPL-1.2 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.getzola.org","question":"Is Zola free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Zola supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.getzola.org","question":"What platforms does Zola support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Zola can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.getzola.org","question":"Can Zola be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Zola is published under the EUPL-1.2 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/getzola/zola","question":"Is Zola open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source static site generator written in Go, designed for speed and flexibility. Supports multiple content types, templating, image optimization, and multilingual sites, making it suitable for documentation, corporate websites, blogs, and various other web projects. | Zola is a static site generator that compiles into a single self-contained executable with no external runtime dependencies. It provides native features for template component embedding, image optimization, multi-language sites, and automatic generation of page navigation aids. |
| features.capabilities | `{"i18n":true,"kind":"static_generator","engine":"Go","runtime":"go","git_sync":true,"authoring":"markdown","themeable":true,"versioning":true,"build_model":"fully_static","api_reference":true,"self_hostable":true,"hosted_offering":false,"docs_specialised":true,"image_optimization":true,"single_binary_no_deps":true}` | `{"i18n":true,"runtime":"rust","build_model":"fully_static","image_optimization":true,"mdx_component_embeds":true,"single_binary_no_deps":true}` |
| integrations.count | 6 | 1 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"PostCSS"},{"name":"Tailwind CSS"},{"name":"Dart Sass"},{"name":"Chroma"},{"name":"esbuild"},{"name":"LibSass"}]` | `[{"name":"Cloudflare Pages"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | Rust |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | EUPL-1.2 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open source under Apache 2.0 License","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://gohugo.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T09:23:05.179Z"}` | `{"type":"free","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.getzola.org","retrievedAt":"2026-10-14T22:35:23.029Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | free |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 7 | 22 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.168.0","date":"2026-10-13T17:24:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.168.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.167.0","date":"2026-09-28T15:20:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.167.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.166.0","date":"2026-09-09T15:10:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.166.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.165.0","date":"2026-08-12T15:39:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.165.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.164.0","date":"2026-07-06T17:48:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.164.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.163.3","date":"2026-06-18T16:41:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.163.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.163.2","date":"2026-06-15T15:27:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.163.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.163.1","date":"2026-06-11T17:19:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.163.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.163.0","date":"2026-06-08T14:36:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.163.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.162.1","date":"2026-05-28T18:06:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.162.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.162.0","date":"2026-05-26T14:16:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.162.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.161.1","date":"2026-04-29T14:38:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.161.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.161.0","date":"2026-04-28T13:55:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.161.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.160.1","date":"2026-04-08T14:23:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.160.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.160.0","date":"2026-04-04T14:17:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.160.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.159.2","date":"2026-04-01T14:42:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.159.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.159.1","date":"2026-03-26T10:18:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.159.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.159.0","date":"2026-03-23T18:36:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.159.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.158.0","date":"2026-03-16T18:07:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.158.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/releases/tag/v0.157.0","date":"2026-02-25T17:00:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.157.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.23.6","date":"2026-09-12T22:06:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.23.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.23.5","date":"2026-09-11T22:02:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.23.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.23.4","date":"2026-08-20T16:35:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.23.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.23.3","date":"2026-08-11T13:37:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.23.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.23.2","date":"2026-08-07T09:49:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.23.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.23.1","date":"2026-08-05T12:03:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.23.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.23.0","date":"2026-08-05T10:50:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.23.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.22.1","date":"2026-01-22T09:13:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.22.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.22.0","date":"2026-01-09T22:37:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.22.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.21.0","date":"2025-07-14T21:33:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.21.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.20.0","date":"2025-02-14T21:53:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.20.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.19.2","date":"2024-08-15T18:43:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.19.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.19.1","date":"2024-06-24T21:33:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.19.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.19.0","date":"2024-06-20T21:47:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.18.0","date":"2023-12-18T22:50:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.17.2","date":"2023-03-19T19:58:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.17.1","date":"2023-02-24T21:43:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.17.0","date":"2023-02-16T20:17:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.16.1","date":"2022-08-14T15:14:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.16.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/getzola/zola/releases/tag/v0.16.0","date":"2022-07-16T21:59:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.16.0"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 5.5 | 5.1 |
| security.trust_center | https://gohugo.io/about/security/ | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":11,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fgohugoio%2Fhugo&per_page=100","last_12m":8,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=alpine&package_name=zola&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Static Site Generators)

| Capability | Hugo | Zola |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Runtime | Go | Rust |
| Build model | Fully static | Fully static |
| Incremental builds | - | - |
| Islands partial hydration | - | - |
| I18n | ✓ | ✓ |
| Image optimization | ✓ | ✓ |
| Docs specialised | ✓ | - |
| Plugin ecosystem size | - | - |
| Zero js by default | - | - |
| Mdx component embeds | - | ✓ |
| Single binary no deps | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:19:38.724Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*