Side by side

Bear Blog vs Jekyll

Both stand on blog software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Bear Blog

Free plan Web

Choose Bear Blog if you want a web-based place to publish words with feeds, scheduled posts, and a free starting plan. Look elsewhere if you need Google Analytics or newsletter sending, or if hiding a blog must prevent access through a direct link.

Visit Bear Blog

Jekyll

Free plan Open source LinuxMacSelf-hosted+2

Jekyll provides a text-to-static-site workflow with blog features, themes, plugins, and multiple deployment options. Its installation dependencies are worth checking before choosing it.

Visit Jekyll

The facts

	Bear Blog	Jekyll
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Yes
Runs on	Web	Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Free or on request
Plans published	3	2
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	bearblog.dev	jekyllrb.com
On blog software	#4 of 25	#1 of 25

Bear Blog: what it does well

Free plan includes publishing, free themes, and RSS and Atom feeds.
Posts and pages support Markdown or HTML.
Custom domains and scheduled posts are supported.
Upgraded analytics include referrers, country, device, and browser.
Readers have no cookies set during regular visits.

What to know first

Theme customization requires CSS.
Bear does not support Google Analytics.
Hiding a blog from search does not block direct-link readers.
Email subscriber collection is described, not newsletter sending.

Jekyll: what it does well

Free and open source.
Includes blog features such as posts and categories.
Themes can be overridden by site content.
Static output supports varied deployment methods.
Safe mode can restrict plugins through a whitelist.

What to know first

Installation requires Ruby 2.7.0 or higher.
Installation also requires RubyGems, GCC, and Make.
No free trial is listed.

Alternatives to Bear Blog Alternatives to Jekyll The whole list