Backdrop CMS
Comprehensive CMS for small to medium sized businesses and non-profits.
- CMS
- PHP
- GPL-2.0
- Actively maintained
GitHub stats
- GitHub stars
- 1,048
- Forks
- 404
- Open issues
- 0
- Commits, last 12 months
- 156
- Last commit
- Sep 25, 2026
- Latest release
- 1.35.1Sep 24, 2026
- Created
- Aug 22, 2013
Data from the GitHub API, refreshed daily.
About Backdrop CMS
Comprehensive CMS for small to medium sized businesses and non-profits. Backdrop CMS is open source under the GPL-2.0 license and written mainly in PHP, so you can read the code, run it on your own hardware and keep full control of your data.
The project has 1,048 stars and 404 forks on GitHub, with 156 commits over the last year. It installs natively rather than through an official Docker image, so plan for a short manual setup.
Topics
- php
- cms
Repository preview
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What is Backdrop CMS?
Backdrop CMS is a free, open-source app you can host on your own server, listed in our CMS category. Comprehensive CMS for small to medium sized businesses and non-profits. The source code lives at github.com/backdrop/backdrop, where it has 1,048 stars.
Is Backdrop CMS free and open source?
Yes. Backdrop CMS is open-source software released under the GPL-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.
Can I run Backdrop CMS with Docker?
Backdrop CMS does not list an official Docker image. It installs natively (PHP), so follow the install steps in its README or look for a community-maintained container.
What are the best alternatives to Backdrop CMS?
Popular open-source alternatives to Backdrop CMS include Strapi, Payload CMS and WordPress.
Is Backdrop CMS actively maintained?
The most recent commit to Backdrop CMS was on Sep 25, 2026 with 156 commits in the past twelve months. The latest release is 1.35.1, published Sep 24, 2026. Check the open issues on GitHub to gauge how quickly maintainers respond.