Side by side

Harp vs Middleman

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

Harp

Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+2

Harp combines local serving, preprocessing, templating, and static compilation in one open-source tool. It is flexible for deployment and Express integration, but development changes require manual browser refreshes.

Visit Harp

Middleman

Free plan LinuxMacWeb+1

Middleman provides a Ruby-based workflow for creating static sites, with extensible templates, localization, build commands, and deployment tooling. Its main limitation is that it is a generator rather than a primary Rack hosting solution, and the Rails Asset Pipeline is no longer in v4 core.

Visit Middleman

The facts

	Harp	Middleman
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows	Linux, Mac, Web, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Not published	Not published
Plans published	None	None
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	harp.sh	middlemanapp.com
On static site generators	#25 of 35	#21 of 35

Harp: what it does well

Preprocesses several web source languages
No configuration file or build step required
Compiles deployable static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Supports layouts, partials, and directory data
Can run as Express middleware

What to know first

Local development has no live reload
Basic Authentication is absent from compiled output
Requires Node.js and global npm installation

Middleman: what it does well

Free and open-source
Includes local preview server
Supports multiple template engines
Builds localized pages with i18n
Deployment supports rsync, FTP, SFTP, and Git

What to know first

Requires Ruby and RubyGems
Rack development hosting is not a primary use case
Rails Asset Pipeline was removed from v4 core
Future of Rails Asset Pipeline support is uncertain

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