41 self-hosted apps
Best self-hosted CMS apps
Content management systems and headless CMS platforms for websites and apps. Publish and manage content on a stack you control.
The most popular self-hosted apps for CMS on GitHub are Strapi, Payload CMS and WordPress, ranked by stars below.
Ranked by GitHub stars
All 41 CMS apps
Strapi
strapi/strapi
Headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
CMSTypeScriptPayload CMS
payloadcms/payload
Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
CMSTypeScriptWordPress
WordPress/WordPress
World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
CMSPHPWagtail
wagtail/wagtail
Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
CMSPythonoctober
octobercms/october
CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework.
Active · last commit Oct 22, 2026
Source-availableCMSPHPKeystoneJS
keystonejs/keystone
CMS and web application platform.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
CMSTypeScriptUmbraco
umbraco/Umbraco-CMS
The friendly CMS. Free and open source with an amazing community.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
CMSC#MediaCMS
mediacms-io/mediacms
Modern, fully featured open source video and media CMS, written in Python/Django/React, featuring a REST API.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Media ServersPythonDockerJoomla!
joomla/joomla-cms
Advanced Content Management System (CMS).
Active · last commit Oct 24, 2026
CMSPHPApostrophe
apostrophecms/apostrophe
CMS with a focus on extensible in-context editing tools.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
CMSJavaScriptPimcore
pimcore/pimcore
Multi-channel experience and engagement management platform.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Source-availableCMSPHPDockerCraftCMS
craftcms/cms
Content-first CMS that aims to make life enjoyable for developers and content managers alike.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Source-availableCMSPHPSquidex
Squidex/squidex
Headless CMS, based on MongoDB, CQRS and Event Sourcing.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
CMSC#Ech0
lin-snow/Ech0
Lightweight federated publishing platform focused on personal idea sharing (documentation in Chinese).
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Blogging PlatformsGoDockerPublify
publify/publify
Simple but full featured web publishing software.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
CMSLessKirby
getkirby/kirby
File-based CMS. Easy to setup. Easy to use. Flexible as hell.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Source-availableCMSPHPWinterCMS
wintercms/winter
Speedy and secure content management system built on the Laravel PHP framework.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
CMSPHPBludit
bludit/bludit
Build a site or blog in seconds. Bludit uses flat-files (text files in JSON format) to store posts and pages.
Active · last commit Oct 24, 2026
CMSPHPeLabFTW
elabftw/elabftw
Online lab notebook for research labs. Store experiments, use a database to find reagents or protocols, use trusted timestamping to legally timestamp an experiment, export as pdf or zip archive…
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
CMSPHPDockerMODX
modxcms/revolution
Advanced content management and publishing platform. The current version is called 'Revolution'.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
CMSPHPHTMLy
danpros/htmly
Databaseless PHP blogging platform. A flat-file CMS that allows you to create a fast, secure, and powerful website or blog in seconds.
Maintained · last commit Jan 25, 2026
Blogging PlatformsPHPTYPO3
TYPO3/typo3
Powerful and advanced CMS with a large community.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
CMSPHPVvveb CMS
givanz/Vvveb
Powerful and easy to use CMS to build websites, blogs or e-commerce stores.
Active · last commit Oct 18, 2026
CMSHTMLDockerBackdrop CMS
backdrop/backdrop
Comprehensive CMS for small to medium sized businesses and non-profits.
Active · last commit Oct 22, 2026
CMSPHPAutomad
marcantondahmen/automad
Flat-file content management system and template engine.
Active · last commit Oct 18, 2026
Source-availableCMSPHPDockerTextpattern
textpattern/textpattern
Flexible, elegant and easy-to-use CMS.
Active · last commit Oct 20, 2026
CMSPHPConcrete 5 CMS
concretecms/concretecms
Open source content management system.
Active · last commit Oct 20, 2026
CMSPHPSuperdesk
superdesk/superdesk
End-to-end news creation, production, curation, distribution, and publishing platform.
Active · last commit Oct 24, 2026
CMSShellDockerCockpit
Cockpit-HQ/Cockpit
Simple content platform to manage any structured content.
Active · last commit Oct 13, 2026
CMSPHPWonderCMS
WonderCMS/wondercms
WonderCMS is the smallest flat file CMS since 2008.
Maintained · last commit Aug 25, 2026
CMSPHPTypemill
typemill/typemill
Author-friendly flat-file-cms with a visual markdown editor based on vue.js.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
CMSJavaScriptBolt CMS
bolt/core
Content Management Tool, which strives to be as simple and straightforward as possible.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
CMSPHPOmeka
omeka/Omeka
Create complex narratives and share rich collections, adhering to Dublin Core standards with Omeka on your server, designed for scholars, museums, libraries, archives, and enthusiasts.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
CMSPHPExpressa
thomas4019/expressa
Content Management System for powering database driven websites using JSON schemas. Provides permission management and automatic REST APIs.
Active · last commit Sep 22, 2026
CMSJavaScriptContao
contao/contao
Powerful CMS that allows you to create professional websites and scalable web applications.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
CMSPHPCouchCMS
CouchCMS/CouchCMS
CMS for designers.
Maintained · last commit Apr 26, 2026
CMSPHPREDAXO
redaxo/core
Simple, flexible and useful content management system (documentation in German).
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
CMSPHPDockerAlfresco Community Edition
Alfresco/alfresco-community-repo
The open source Enterprise Content Management software that handles any type of content, allowing users to easily share and collaborate on content.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
CMSJavad9
LaWebcapsule/d9
Turn SQL databases into secure APIs through an intuitive admin interface. Data platform and headless CMS (fork of Directus).
Active · last commit Oct 24, 2026
Database ManagementTypeScriptLocaless
Lessify/localess
Powerful translation management and content management system. Manage and translate your website or app content into multiple languages, using AI to translate faster.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
CMSTypeScriptDockerPushword
Pushword/Pushword
Content management system built on Symfony, where pages are Markdown and themes are Twig, with optional Git-based flat-file storage.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
CMSPHP
From the blog
Articles about CMS
Comparisons, rankings and guides on the appsgit blog for CMS apps.
What is the best self-hosted app for CMS?
By GitHub stars, Strapi is the most popular self-hosted app for CMS with 73,381 stars, followed by Payload CMS and WordPress. The best fit depends on your needs, so compare Docker support, license and recent activity on each app page.
Are these CMS apps free?
Mostly. 36 of the 41 apps here are open source; 5 are source-available. The open-source apps are free to run on your own server; source-available licenses add conditions, such as limits on hosted, commercial or production use, so check the license on each app page. A few projects also offer a paid hosted plan or enterprise add-ons.
How do I install a self-hosted CMS app?
9 of the 41 apps here ship a Docker image, which is the easiest route: rent a small VPS or use a home server, install Docker, and start the app with its Docker Compose file. Apps without an image list their native install steps in the README.
Which CMS apps are most actively developed?
Measured by commits in the last twelve months, the most active projects are CraftCMS (3,525 commits), Umbraco (2,893 commits) and TYPO3 (2,648 commits). Active development usually means faster bug fixes and security patches.