# Publii review (2026): is it any good? > Free open-source desktop CMS that publishes static websites Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Publii is a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux that keeps your site content on your computer and generates static HTML pages. You publish the result to a host of your choice, so the server needs no database, PHP or CMS login. The app is free; themes and plugins on its marketplace include paid ones. - **Category:** Website & Landing Page Builders - **Made by:** TidyCustoms - **Website:** https://getpublii.com - **Runs on:** macOS, Windows, Linux - **Who should skip it:** Watch out: you must arrange and pay for your own hosting. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Publii is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Publii app | $0 | Free, open-source desktop app; unlimited sites with no per-site fee and no account needed. | Read from https://getpublii.com/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Publii before buying. ## Key features - **Offline desktop editing:** Write and change settings without a connection or cloud account; files stay on your computer until you publish. - **Three editors:** Compose posts with a block editor, a WYSIWYG toolbar or a Markdown editor, depending on how you prefer to write. - **Many publishing targets:** Publish to GitHub Pages, GitLab Pages, Netlify, Amazon S3, Google Cloud, FTP or SFTP, or export a folder of files. - **WordPress importer:** Brings in posts, pages, images, authors and menus from a WordPress export file, with a report listing unresolved links. - **SEO, privacy and AI-crawler tools:** Sitemaps, feeds, JSON-LD data and cookie controls are built in; plugins add an llms.txt file and AI crawler rules. - **Unlimited sites per app:** Each site has its own content, settings and publishing destination, with no per-site fee for the application. ## Good for - Bloggers and small business owners who want a site without a CMS on the server - Freelancers running several client sites from one app - People moving off WordPress who want a lighter setup ## Worth knowing - You must arrange and pay for your own hosting; the app only generates the files. - Premium themes and plugins on the Publii marketplace are paid extras. - The published site is static, with no database or PHP behind it, so dynamic features need outside services. - Content is edited on one computer; there is no hosted multi-user editor. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Publii is a free, open-source desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux that generates static HTML you publish to your own host. You supply and pay for hosting, premium themes and plugins cost extra, and dynamic features need outside services. - **Value for money: A.** The app is free and open source, with unlimited sites and no account, against a category where the cheaper quarter pays $6.75 a month; hosting is extra. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Free outright, with no cap on sites and no sign-up. - **Features: C.** Offline editing, several editors, many publishing targets and a WordPress importer, but static output only, with no database or hosted multi-user editor. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and you pick a theme, build the site and set up your own host. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Windows, Mac and Linux desktop only, with publishing links to GitHub Pages, Netlify and S3. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Publii's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among website and landing page builders - Publii's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 100 of the 104 other website and landing page builders we grade, and level with 2. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 104 of 104) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 2). - Publii has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/website-builders ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Publii is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 100 of the 104 other website and landing page builders we grade. - You could make: Markdown and templates: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: A builder that other people can use without writing code. - You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows and Linux that stay in step with each other. - You could not: It plugs into other products, GitHub Pages, GitLab Pages and Netlify among them. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with GitHub Pages, GitLab Pages, Netlify, Amazon S3, Google Cloud, WordPress **Tags:** Open source, Works offline, No-code, Markdown, Templates, Local-first ## Alternatives - [RapidWeaver Elements](https://toolgpa.com/tools/rapidweaver): Mac-only visual website builder that publishes to your own server. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/publii-vs-rapidweaver) - [WordPress.com](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wordpress-com): Hosted WordPress with themes, plugins and a free plan. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/publii-vs-wordpress-com) - [Mobirise](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mobirise): Free desktop website builder with paid themes, extensions and AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mobirise-vs-publii) - [Nicepage](https://toolgpa.com/tools/nicepage): Drag-and-drop page builder for HTML, WordPress and Joomla sites. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nicepage-vs-publii) - [Pinegrow](https://toolgpa.com/tools/pinegrow): Visual HTML, CSS and Tailwind editor for desktop and browser. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/pinegrow-vs-publii) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://getpublii.com/ - https://getpublii.com/download/ - https://marketplace.getpublii.com/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/publii Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).