Zola
Zola is a free static site generator that turns Markdown content into static HTML pages for blogs, knowledge bases, and landing pages.
What Zola is
Zola is a free static site generator that turns Markdown content into static HTML pages for blogs, knowledge bases, and landing pages. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and can also be self-hosted. The project distributes it as a single executable with Sass compilation and syntax highlighting built in; its maker says an average site generates in less than a second, including those steps. The output is static files, so a published site does not require a database or a server to manage. Zola uses CommonMark, with added support for footnotes, GitHub-flavored tables, task lists, and strikethrough. Its layouts use the Tera template engine. Zola supports multilingual sites with language-specific configuration and content files, and can create pages for custom taxonomies such as categories, genres, or tags. Search can run without servers or third parties, with configurable indexing. The project provides deployment guides for Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages, and Cloudflare Pages. The Windows installation documentation notes that Zola does not work in PowerShell ISE. Code introduced after version 0.22 is licensed under EUPL-1.2; earlier code remains under MIT.
Good
- Free single-executable distribution.
- Builds static HTML without requiring a managed database or server.
- Supports multilingual sites and custom taxonomies.
- Includes Sass compilation and syntax highlighting.
- Search can run without servers or third parties.
Watch out
- Does not work in PowerShell ISE.
- Code introduced after version 0.22 uses EUPL-1.2 rather than MIT.
Who it suits
Zola suits people building static sites such as blogs, knowledge bases, and landing pages from Markdown. It may also fit users who need multilingual content, custom taxonomies, or search without servers or third parties.
Verdict
Zola provides Markdown-based static site generation with built-in Sass compilation and syntax highlighting. Its generated files do not require a database or server to manage, but its Windows documentation excludes PowerShell ISE.
Plans and prices
From Zola's own pricing page, checked 7 Oct 2001.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Zola | Free | No cost; single executable |
The facts
Each one read from Zola's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Content sources
- markdownchecked 20 Sep 2001
- Hosting
- Zola outputs static files, so generated sites do not require a database or server to manage.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Integrations
- The documentation provides deployment guides for Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages, and Cloudflare Pages.checked 7 Oct 2001
- License
- The project states that code introduced after version 0.22 is licensed under EUPL-1.2, while earlier code remains under MIT.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Local preview server
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2001
- Markdown
- Zola uses CommonMark and adds support for footnotes, GitHub-flavored tables, task lists, and strikethrough.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Multilingual sites
- Zola supports multilingual sites, with language-specific configuration and content files.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Multilingual support
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2001
- Notable limit
- The Windows installation documentation states that Zola does not work in PowerShell ISE.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Performance
- The maker says an average site generates in less than a second, including Sass compilation and syntax highlighting.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Product
- Zola is a static site generator that turns content into static HTML pages.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Search
- The project describes search as running without servers or third parties; search indexing is configurable.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Single binary
- Zola is distributed as a single executable with Sass compilation and syntax highlighting built in.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Support
- The maker links to documentation and a community forum for help.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Supported languages
- Rustchecked 20 Sep 2001
- Taxonomies
- Zola can generate pages for user-defined taxonomies and their terms, such as categories, genres, or tags.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Templates
- Zola uses the Tera template engine, which its documentation compares to Jinja2, Liquid, and Twig.checked 7 Oct 2001
- Use cases
- Zola describes blogs, knowledge bases, and landing pages as examples of sites it can build.checked 7 Oct 2001
Where it runs
- Download platforms
- The installation documentation lists prebuilt binaries for macOS, Linux, and Windows.checked 7 Oct 2001
Money
- Free plan
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2001
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