Hexo vs Medium

Thinking of swapping Medium for the open-source Hexo? Here’s the honest trade-off.

42k JavaScript MIT 8 days ago

What you give up vs Medium

  • No built-in admin UI; requires CLI or third-party plugins for content editing
  • Plugin ecosystem quality is uneven; some plugins are unmaintained
  • Less active core development compared to Hugo or Eleventy

What you gain

  • • Full data ownership — self-host Hexo on your own infrastructure.
  • • No per-seat SaaS bill (Medium: paywalls and zero ownership of your audience).
  • • Open-source code you can audit and extend (MIT).