Strapi
Headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface.
Best self-hosted Content Management Systems (CMS) software in 2026
Content Management Systems offer a practical way to setup a website with many features, using third party plugins, themes and functionality that are easy to add and customize.
We track 48 open-source, self-hosted Content Management Systems (CMS) apps. 40 of them had commits in the last 90 days, 9 can run with Docker, and the most common licenses are MIT (19), GPL-2.0 (9), AGPL-3.0 (6). The most-used languages are PHP, Nodejs, Python. Below are the top picks by GitHub stars, followed by every app ranked by stars weighted by maintenance health.
Alternatives to SquarespaceAlternatives to WordPress.comAlternatives to WixAlternatives to WebflowAlternatives to ContentfulAlternatives to SanityAlternatives to WordPress
Top 5 by GitHub stars
| # | App | Stars | Health | Last activity | License | Language | Docker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strapi | 73.5k | Active | 2026-11-09 | MIT | Nodejs | – |
| 2 | Payload CMS | 45.8k | Active | 2026-11-09 | MIT | Nodejs | – |
| 3 | WordPress | 21.5k | Active | 2026-11-10 | GPL-2.0 | PHP | – |
| 4 | Wagtail | 20.6k | Active | 2026-11-09 | BSD-3-Clause | Python | – |
| 5 | october | 11.2k | Active | 2026-11-04 | ⊘ Proprietary | PHP | – |
- Strapi — Headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface.
- Payload CMS — Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.
- WordPress — World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.
- Wagtail — Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.
- october — CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework.
Head-to-head comparisons
Payload CMS vs StrapiStrapi vs WordPressStrapi vs WagtailPayload CMS vs WordPressPayload CMS vs WagtailWagtail vs WordPressEch0 vs HTMLy
All 48 self-hosted Content Management Systems (CMS) apps
Ranked by GitHub stars weighted by maintenance health.
Payload CMS
Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.
WordPress
World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.
Wagtail
Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience.
october
CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework.
KeystoneJS
CMS and web application platform.
Umbraco
Friendly CMS with an amazing community.
MediaCMS
Modern, fully featured video and media CMS, written in Python/Django/React, featuring a REST API.
Joomla!
Advanced Content Management System (CMS).
Apostrophe
CMS with a focus on extensible in-context editing tools.
Pimcore
Multi-channel experience and engagement management platform.
CraftCMS
Content-first CMS that aims to make life enjoyable for developers and content managers alike.
Squidex
Headless CMS, based on MongoDB, CQRS and Event Sourcing.
Ech0
Lightweight federated publishing platform focused on personal idea sharing (documentation in Chinese).
Publify
Simple but full featured web publishing software.
Kirby
File-based CMS. Easy to setup. Easy to use. Flexible as hell.
WinterCMS
Speedy and secure content management system built on the Laravel PHP framework.
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, share with collaborators….
Bludit
Build a site or blog in seconds. Bludit uses flat-files (text files in JSON format) to store posts and pages.
MODX
Advanced content management and publishing platform. The current version is called 'Revolution'.
Vvveb CMS
Powerful and easy to use CMS to build websites, blogs or e-commerce stores.
TYPO3
Powerful and advanced CMS with a large community.
Backdrop CMS
Comprehensive CMS for small to medium sized businesses and non-profits.
Automad
Flat-file content management system and template engine.
Textpattern
Flexible, elegant and easy-to-use CMS.
Concrete 5 CMS
Open source content management system.
Cockpit
Simple content platform to manage any structured content.
Superdesk
End-to-end news creation, production, curation, distribution, and publishing platform.
WonderCMS
Smallest flat file CMS since 2008.
Typemill
Author-friendly flat-file-cms with a visual markdown editor based on vue.js.
Drupal
Advanced content management platform.
Bolt CMS
Content Management Tool, which strives to be as simple and straightforward as possible.
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.
Contao
Powerful CMS that allows you to create professional websites and scalable web applications.
Expressa
Content Management System for powering database driven websites using JSON schemas. Provides permission management and automatic REST APIs.
REDAXO
Simple, flexible and useful content management system (documentation in German).
HTMLy
Databaseless PHP blogging platform. A flat-file CMS that allows you to create a fast, secure, and powerful website or blog in seconds.
Alfresco Community Edition
Enterprise Content Management software that handles any type of content, allowing users to easily share and collaborate on content.
d9
Turn SQL databases into secure APIs through an intuitive admin interface. Data platform and headless CMS (fork of Directus).
CouchCMS
CMS for designers.
Localess
Powerful translation management and content management system. Manage and translate your website or app content into multiple languages, using AI to translate faster.
Pushword
Content management system built on Symfony, where pages are Markdown and themes are Twig, with optional Git-based flat-file storage.
Noosfero
Platform for social and solidarity economy networks with blog, e-Portfolios, CMS, RSS, thematic discussion, events agenda and collective intelligence for solidarity economy in the same system.
CMS Made Simple
Faster and easier management of website contents, scalable for small businesses to large corporations.
Neos
Modern CMS. Neos or TYPO3 Neos (for version 1).
Plone
CMS system that is used to create, edit, and manage digital content, like websites, intranets, and custom solutions.
SilverStripe
Easy to use CMS with powerful MVC framework underlying.
SPIP
Publication system for the Internet aimed at collaborative work, multilingual environments, and simplicity of use for web authors.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best self-hosted Content Management Systems (CMS) software in 2026?
By GitHub stars, the most popular self-hosted Content Management Systems (CMS) apps are Strapi (73,481 stars), Payload CMS (45,808 stars), WordPress (21,529 stars). Popularity is only one signal: also check maintenance health, license and whether it fits your setup.
How many self-hosted Content Management Systems (CMS) apps are actively maintained?
40 of the 48 apps listed had commits in the last 90 days and 3 more in the last 12 months; for 5 we have no repository activity data.
Which self-hosted Content Management Systems (CMS) apps can I run with Docker?
9 of the 48 apps can run with Docker.
Which licenses do self-hosted Content Management Systems (CMS) apps use?
The most common licenses in this category are MIT (19 apps), GPL-2.0 (9 apps), AGPL-3.0 (6 apps).
How much does it cost to self-host Content Management Systems (CMS) software?
The software itself is free to download. Based on our rough hardware estimates, the cheapest suitable VPS plan starts at about $5/month (median $5/month across apps in this category). Several light apps can share one server.
Related categories
Figures from GitHub and Docker Hub as of 2026-11-15; hosting costs are rough estimates.