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10 top picks · 4 audience rankings

Best open source CMS

The best open source CMS is Strapi (MIT, 73,390 GitHub stars). Payload CMS stands out for a permissive MIT license, and WordPress stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (2,760).

This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Strapi leads for startups, small business, enterprise and freelancers.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

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.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    CMSTypeScript

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Strapi has 73,390 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,699 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.

    Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026

    CMSTypeScript

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. Payload CMS has 45,549 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,884 commits in the last year; it replaces Webflow.

  3. Rank 3:

    WordPress

    WordPress/WordPress

    World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    CMSPHP

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (2,760). WordPress has 21,509 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,760 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow.

At a glance

Open source CMS compared

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 41 apps in the CMS category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 10 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
Strapithe most GitHub starsMIT73,3901,699Oct 28, 2026No
Payload CMSa permissive MIT licenseMIT45,5491,884Oct 27, 2026No
WordPressthe most commits in the last 12 months (2,760)GPL-2.021,5092,760Oct 28, 2026No
Wagtaila permissive BSD-3-Clause licenseBSD-3-Clause20,5931,411Oct 23, 2026No
KeystoneJS–MIT9,982251Oct 28, 2026No
Umbraco–MIT5,2782,926Oct 28, 2026No
Joomla!–GPL-2.05,1561,241Oct 27, 2026No
MediaCMS–AGPL-3.05,169101Oct 26, 2026Yes
october–source-available, October CMS EULA11,152300Oct 26, 2026No
Pimcore–source-available, Pimcore Open Core License3,883940Oct 27, 2026Yes

1 of 5 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 41 apps in the CMS category.

  1. 1

    Strapi

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

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Strapi has 73,390 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,699 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow.

  2. 2

    Payload CMS

    Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. Payload CMS has 45,549 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,884 commits in the last year; it replaces Webflow.

  3. 3

    WordPress

    World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (2,760). WordPress has 21,509 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,760 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow.

  4. 4

    Wagtail

    Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.

    Stands out for a permissive BSD-3-Clause license. Wagtail has 20,593 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 1,411 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow.

  5. 5

    KeystoneJS

    CMS and web application platform.

    KeystoneJS has 9,982 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 251 commits in the last year.

  6. 6

    Umbraco

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

    Umbraco has 5,278 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 2,926 commits in the last year.

  7. 7

    Joomla!

    Advanced Content Management System (CMS).

    Joomla! has 5,156 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 1,241 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Squarespace.

  8. 8

    MediaCMS

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

    MediaCMS has 5,169 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 101 commits in the last year.

  9. 9

    october

    CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework.

    october has 11,152 GitHub stars, is source-available under the October CMS EULA (not an open-source license) and had 300 commits in the last year.

  10. 10

    Pimcore

    Multi-channel experience and engagement management platform.

    Pimcore has 3,883 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Pimcore Open Core License (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 940 commits in the last year.

2 of 5 · 5 picks

Which open source CMS is best for startups?

For startups, Strapi ranks first (MIT, 73,390 GitHub stars), followed by Payload CMS and Wagtail. 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 73,390 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,699 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 45,549 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,884 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 20,593 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 1,411 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 21,509 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,760 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow. 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 9,982 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 251 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

Which open source CMS is best for small business?

For small business, Strapi ranks first (MIT, 73,390 GitHub stars), followed by WordPress and Payload CMS. 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 73,390 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,699 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 21,509 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,760 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Webflow, 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 45,549 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,884 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 20,593 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 1,411 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 5,169 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 101 commits in the last year. 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

Which open source CMS is best for enterprise?

For enterprise, Strapi ranks first (MIT, 73,390 GitHub stars), followed by Payload CMS and WordPress. 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 73,390 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,699 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 45,549 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,884 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 21,509 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,760 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.

  4. 4

    Wagtail

    Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.

    Wagtail has 20,593 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 1,411 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 9,982 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 251 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

Which open source CMS is best for freelancers?

For freelancers, Strapi ranks first (MIT, 73,390 GitHub stars), followed by Payload CMS and WordPress. 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 73,390 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,699 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 45,549 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,884 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 21,509 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 2,760 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.

  4. 4

    Wagtail

    Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.

    Wagtail has 20,593 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 1,411 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 5,169 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 101 commits in the last year. 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.

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.

Can I self-host these CMS options with Docker?

Yes, 2 of the 10 picks. MediaCMS and Pimcore 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?

8 of the 10 apps on this list are open source; 2 are source-available. Source-available licenses add conditions, such as limits on hosted or commercial use, so read them before you deploy.

Which of these CMS options is the most actively developed?

Umbraco, with 2,926 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, release-18.2.2, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 41 apps in the CMS category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

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