Side by side
Dreamwidth vs PubPub
Both stand on blogging platforms. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APIWeb
Dreamwidth combines personal journaling with shared communities, entry privacy settings, and an ad-free model. Check its public-entry caveat and crossposting limits before choosing it for content or services beyond LiveJournal clones.
Visit Dreamwidth Free plan APISelf-hostedWeb
PubPub combines collaborative editing, scholarly publishing workflows, and broad document conversion in a free platform. Check its output limitations and hosting requirements before planning highly customized or managed deployments.
Visit PubPubThe facts
| Dreamwidth | PubPub | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Web | API, Self-hosted, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Paid account: $35 a year | PubPub Platform hosting and support: $3,500 a year |
| Plans published | 11 | 3 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | dreamwidth.org | pubpub.org |
| On blogging platforms | #40 of 125 | #36 of 125 |
Dreamwidth: what it does well
- Communities allow multiple users to post and discuss.
- Entries offer public, private, and access-list settings.
- Free accounts include 500 MB of image hosting.
- Personal journals can be imported from LiveJournal and InsaneJournal.
What to know first
- Public entries may be seen by search engines and RSS readers.
- Copies of public entries may persist after deletion.
- Crossposting excludes communities and non-clone services.
- Some third-party client features may not work.
PubPub: what it does well
- Free plan includes all PubPub features
- Real-time co-author editing and role assignment
- Imports Word, XML, LaTeX, and Markdown
- Exports PDF, Word, Markdown, LaTeX, and JATS XML
- Supports Crossref, Zotero, and Mendeley metadata
What to know first
- Academic infrastructure support is typically not customizable
- Highly customized PDF or JATS XML may need other tools
- Hosted support costs $3,500 a year
- Legacy self-hosting depends on AWS or Firebase
Alternatives to Dreamwidth Alternatives to PubPub The whole list