Skip to content
appsgit

10 top picks · 4 audience rankings

Best open source CMS

The best open source CMS is Strapi, with 73,281 GitHub stars and the MIT license; Payload CMS and WordPress are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Strapi leads for startups, small business, enterprise and freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 41 apps in the CMS category of the appsgit catalog.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Strapi

    strapi/strapi

    Headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface.

    CMSTypeScript

    Strapi has 73,281 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,477 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow.

  2. Rank 2:

    Payload CMS

    payloadcms/payload

    Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.

    CMSTypeScript

    Payload CMS has 45,100 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,635 commits in the last year; it replaces Webflow.

  3. Rank 3:

    WordPress

    WordPress/WordPress

    World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.

    CMSPHP

    WordPress has 21,450 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,047 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium.

1 of 5 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 41 apps in the CMS category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Strapi

    Headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface.

    Strapi has 73,281 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,477 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow.

  2. 2

    Payload CMS

    Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.

    Payload CMS has 45,100 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,635 commits in the last year; it replaces Webflow.

  3. 3

    WordPress

    World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.

    WordPress has 21,450 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,047 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium.

  4. 4

    Wagtail

    Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.

    Wagtail has 20,530 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 1,281 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow.

  5. 5

    KeystoneJS

    CMS and web application platform.

    KeystoneJS has 9,979 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 231 commits in the last year.

  6. 6

    Umbraco

    The friendly CMS. Free and open source with an amazing community.

    Umbraco has 5,262 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 2,598 commits in the last year.

  7. 7

    october

    CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework.

    october has 11,150 GitHub stars, is source-available under the October CMS EULA (not an open-source license) and had 270 commits in the last year.

  8. 8

    MediaCMS

    Modern, fully featured open source video and media CMS, written in Python/Django/React, featuring a REST API.

    MediaCMS has 5,135 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 82 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube and Loom.

  9. 9

    Joomla!

    Advanced Content Management System (CMS).

    Joomla! has 5,143 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 413 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Squarespace.

  10. 10

    Ech0

    Lightweight federated publishing platform focused on personal idea sharing (documentation in Chinese).

    Ech0 has 2,076 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,560 commits in the last year.

2 of 5 · 5 picks

Best for startups

Ranked for startups on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Strapi

    Headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface.

    Strapi has 73,281 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,477 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow. For startups it also scores on a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Payload CMS

    Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.

    Payload CMS has 45,100 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,635 commits in the last year; it replaces Webflow. For startups it also scores on a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Wagtail

    Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.

    Wagtail has 20,530 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 1,281 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow. For startups it also scores on a permissive license (BSD-3-Clause), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    WordPress

    World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.

    WordPress has 21,450 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,047 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium. For startups it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    KeystoneJS

    CMS and web application platform.

    KeystoneJS has 9,979 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 231 commits in the last year. For startups it also scores on a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

3 of 5 · 5 picks

Best for small business

Ranked for small business on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites, recent commits and deploy guides.

  1. 1

    Strapi

    Headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface.

    Strapi has 73,281 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,477 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow. For small business it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    WordPress

    World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.

    WordPress has 21,450 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,047 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium, and appsgit has a step-by-step deploy guide for it. For small business it also scores on an open-source license, a project website, a commit in the last 90 days and an appsgit deploy guide.

  3. 3

    Payload CMS

    Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.

    Payload CMS has 45,100 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,635 commits in the last year; it replaces Webflow. For small business it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Wagtail

    Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.

    Wagtail has 20,530 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 1,281 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow. For small business it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    MediaCMS

    Modern, fully featured open source video and media CMS, written in Python/Django/React, featuring a REST API.

    MediaCMS has 5,135 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 82 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube and Loom. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

4 of 5 · 5 picks

Best for enterprise

Ranked for enterprise on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Strapi

    Headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface.

    Strapi has 73,281 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,477 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Payload CMS

    Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.

    Payload CMS has 45,100 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,635 commits in the last year; it replaces Webflow. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    WordPress

    World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.

    WordPress has 21,450 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,047 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Wagtail

    Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.

    Wagtail has 20,530 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 1,281 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    KeystoneJS

    CMS and web application platform.

    KeystoneJS has 9,979 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 231 commits in the last year. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

5 of 5 · 5 picks

Best for freelancers

Ranked for freelancers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Strapi

    Headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface.

    Strapi has 73,281 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,477 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Payload CMS

    Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.

    Payload CMS has 45,100 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,635 commits in the last year; it replaces Webflow. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    WordPress

    World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.

    WordPress has 21,450 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,047 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Wagtail

    Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.

    Wagtail has 20,530 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 1,281 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    MediaCMS

    Modern, fully featured open source video and media CMS, written in Python/Django/React, featuring a REST API.

    MediaCMS has 5,135 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 82 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube and Loom. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is the best open source CMS?

The best open source CMS is Strapi, with 73,281 GitHub stars and the MIT license; Payload CMS and WordPress are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Strapi leads for startups, small business, enterprise and freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 41 apps in the CMS category of the appsgit catalog.

Is Strapi free?

Yes. Strapi is open-source software released under the MIT 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.

Which open source CMS is best for a startup?

Strapi ranks first for startups, with 73,281 GitHub stars and the MIT license; Payload CMS and Wagtail follow. The startups ranking adds points for Docker images, permissive licenses, project websites and recent commits on top of stars and activity.

Which open source CMS is best for a small business?

Strapi ranks first for small business, with 73,281 GitHub stars and the MIT license; WordPress and Payload CMS follow. The small business ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites, recent commits and deploy guides on top of stars and activity.

Can I self-host these CMS options with Docker?

Yes, 2 of the 10 picks. MediaCMS and Ech0 publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

Are all of these CMS options open source?

9 of the 10 apps on this list are open source; 1 is source-available. Source-available licenses add conditions, such as limits on hosted or commercial use, so read them before you deploy.

The weekly digest

New self-hosted apps, every week

Fresh releases, rising projects and one deploy guide a week. Join home labbers and engineers who self-host.

One email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.