Pelican
Build websites from text files with support for Markdown and reST
- Also known as
- pelican
What is Pelican?
A static site generator built with Python that converts text files in Markdown, reStructuredText, and HTML formats into complete websites, featuring fast rebuild times through content caching and plugin extensibility.
Pelican pricing
We don't have Pelican's full plan breakdown yet (its pricing page resisted automated reading). Here's what we could confirm. Always check live pricing for exact numbers.
What Pelican does
The capabilities that matter for static site generators, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.
- Runtime
- Python
- Build model
- 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
- -
Platform & deployment
Independently observed- CLI
- Cloud / SaaS
- Self-hosted
Security & compliance
Known vulnerabilities: 0 (0 in the last 12 months) sourcea count reflects scale & disclosure, not quality
Pelican FAQ
Common questions about Pelican, answered from independent, dated evidence.
What is Pelican?
Create static websites from text files using Markdown, reStructuredText, or HTML without requiring a database or server-side logic. Customize your site's appearance using Jinja2-based themes. It is indexed under Static Site Generators.
Source: https://getpelican.com
Is Pelican free to use?
Pelican is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.
Source: https://getpelican.com
What platforms does Pelican support?
Pelican supports a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.
Source: https://getpelican.com
Can Pelican be self-hosted?
Yes. Pelican can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.
Source: https://getpelican.com
Is Pelican open source?
Yes. Pelican is published under the AGPL-3.0 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.
Pelican alternatives
Other static site generators we track, ranked by the same independent score.
Compare Pelican
Side by side against other static site generators, attribute by attribute, with a source on every value.
The vioscaleAI score: one lens on the evidence
Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for Pelican, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dependent projects | 59 | 0.08 | 4.7 | ✓ |
| Release cadence | 67 | 0.07 | 4.5 | ✓ |
| Development activity | 35 | 0.12 | 4.2 | ✓ |
| Stars | 78 | 0.03 | 2.6 | ✓ |
| Capabilities | 29 | 0.08 | 2.4 | ✓ |
| Security score | 44 | 0.05 | 2.3 | ✓ |
| Integrations | 0 | 0.05 | 0.0 | - |
| Security posture | 0 | 0.09 | 0.0 | - |
| Package downloads | 0 | 0.17 | 0.0 | - |
| Developer Q&A activity | 0 | 0.08 | 0.0 | - |
Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.
All data & sourcesshow ↓
Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.
Activity
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Commits last 30d | 12 | mediumsource · 2026-10-14 · 65% |
Adoption
Content
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Faq | 5 items | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 67% |
Features
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | Runtime: python · Build model: fully_static · Incremental builds: Yes | mediumsource · 2026-10-14 · 60% |
Language
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Python | highsource · 2026-10-14 · 90% |
License
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Spdx | AGPL-3.0 | highsource · 2026-10-14 · 95% |
Pricing
Release
Security
Is Pelican the right choice for you?
Tell us the job, the constraints and what you weigh most, and we will rank Pelican against the rest of the static site generators we index, using the same dated evidence weighted your way.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Is this your product?
This profile was built from public sources without asking you. You can take the badge below and use it anywhere, and you can claim the profile to correct anything we got wrong. Both are free, and neither moves Pelican up or down: nobody can buy rank here, including you.
Take the badge
Live, always current, and free to use on your own site. It shows Pelican's independent score and links back to this profile.
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<img src="https://www.vioscale.ai/badge/software/pelican.svg" alt="Pelican, verified on vioscaleAI" width="330" height="76" loading="lazy" />
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[](https://www.vioscale.ai/software/pelican)Claim the profile
Verify you control the domain, then point us at the pages that state the facts about Pelican and add your own description and media. Free, and it does not change the score.
- Correct anything wrong, with evidence
- Point our crawler at the pages that matter
- Write your own description and add media
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