Choosing the best open source CMS (content management system) can determine how fast you ship new pages, how secure your site is, and how easily you can grow from a simple blog into a full digital platform. In this guide, you will discover ten of the most established and actively developed open source CMS platforms and what each one is best at.
All of the systems below are free to download and use, backed by active communities, and released under open source licenses such as GPL, MIT, or Apache 2.0. They were selected based on popularity, ecosystem size, flexibility, long-term support, and fit for real-world use cases ranging from blogs to enterprise portals.
Whether you are building a personal blog, a government website, or an API-driven product, this overview will help you compare the best open source CMS options and choose the right one for your project.
Quick overview
- 1. WordPress – Most popular all-purpose open source CMS.
- 2. Drupal – Highly flexible framework for complex and large sites.
- 3. Joomla – Balanced, community-driven CMS for multi-featured sites.
- 4. TYPO3 – Enterprise-grade CMS for large, multilingual platforms.
- 5. Ghost – Modern publishing platform for blogs and newsletters.
- 6. Strapi – Headless CMS for JavaScript/TypeScript developers.
- 7. Directus – Database-first headless CMS and data platform.
- 8. Grav – Flat-file CMS with no database required.
- 9. Hugo – Ultra-fast static site generator used as a lightweight CMS.
- 10. Umbraco – Open source .NET CMS for Microsoft-based stacks.
1. WordPress
WordPress is the most widely used open source CMS on the web, powering everything from small blogs to large publishing sites. It is released under the GPL license and supported by a massive community of developers and agencies.
Its main strength is the ecosystem: tens of thousands of plugins and themes give you almost any feature you can imagine, often without touching code. Modern WordPress supports both classic and block-based editing, and it can also act as a headless or “hybrid” CMS when combined with REST or GraphQL APIs.
- Huge library of free and premium themes and plugins.
- Beginner-friendly admin interface with rich documentation.
- Flexible enough for blogs, corporate sites, membership portals, and basic e-commerce.
- Active security and release cycle, with frequent updates.
Best for: Bloggers, small to medium businesses, and teams that want maximum flexibility with minimal upfront development.
2. Drupal
Drupal is a free and open source CMS and content framework, known for its ability to handle complex, large-scale, and highly structured websites. It is widely used by governments, universities, and enterprises that need strict access control, multilingual content, and robust integration options.
Instead of relying primarily on plugins, Drupal encourages building reusable content types and views. This makes it incredibly powerful for sites with complex data models or many different page templates, though the learning curve is steeper than WordPress for non-technical users.
- Highly flexible content modeling and taxonomy system.
- Granular user roles and permissions for complex organizations.
- Strong multilingual and accessibility support.
- Can be used as a traditional, decoupled, or headless CMS.
Best for: Large organizations, public sector projects, and any site that requires complex content structures or strict governance.
3. Joomla
Joomla is a long-standing open source CMS released under the GPL and backed by a global community. It sits between WordPress and Drupal in terms of complexity, offering more built-in features than WordPress while generally being easier to adopt than Drupal.
Joomla includes powerful native features such as multilingual support, flexible module and menu systems, and advanced user management. Many sites can be built with core functionality plus a relatively small number of extensions, which can simplify maintenance.
- Rich core CMS with multilingual and menu management out of the box.
- Extensible via templates and extensions without losing upgradeability.
- Good choice for community portals, intranets, and complex brochure sites.
Best for: Organizations that need more structure and power than WordPress offers by default but do not want the full complexity of Drupal.
4. TYPO3
TYPO3 is a free and open source enterprise CMS, popular in Europe for large corporate, government, and higher education websites. It focuses on stability, security, and predictable release cycles, backed by the TYPO3 Association and a strong professional ecosystem.
TYPO3’s architecture is designed for multi-site and multilingual setups with complex editorial workflows. It has a reputation for being extremely flexible once configured, but it typically requires experienced integrators or agencies for initial setup and customization.
- Enterprise-grade features for large content teams and complex workflows.
- Powerful multilingual, multi-domain, and multi-site capabilities.
- Strong focus on security, long-term support versions, and governance.
Best for: Enterprises and institutions needing a long-term, maintainable, and standards-compliant CMS for large digital platforms.
5. Ghost
Ghost is an open source CMS and publishing platform built in JavaScript and released under the MIT license. It focuses on fast, modern publishing for blogs, magazines, and newsletters.
The editor is clean and distraction-free, with strong support for Markdown, SEO, and membership features. Ghost is a good fit if your primary goal is content publishing rather than building complex multi-purpose websites.
- Optimized for blogs, editorial sites, and creator-centric brands.
- Built-in SEO, membership, and subscription capabilities.
- Modern theme system and API for decoupled frontends.
Best for: Writers, publishers, and content teams who want a focused, fast publishing platform with modern tooling.
6. Strapi
Strapi is a leading open source headless CMS written in JavaScript/TypeScript. It exposes your content through REST or GraphQL APIs, allowing you to use any frontend framework (React, Vue, Next.js, mobile apps, etc.) while keeping content management centralized.
Instead of page-based templates, Strapi focuses on defining content types and relationships. Editors work in a web admin panel while developers consume structured content via APIs. This makes Strapi especially suitable for multi-channel publishing and modern JavaScript-based stacks.
- API-first, headless architecture for omnichannel content delivery.
- Customizable content models, roles, and permissions.
- Extensible via plugins and a large integration ecosystem.
- Self-hosted Community Edition plus optional managed cloud.
Best for: Product teams and agencies building modern web or mobile applications that need a flexible, JavaScript-friendly backend.
7. Directus
Directus is an open source headless CMS and data platform that sits directly on top of your SQL database. It automatically generates APIs and an admin app for managing data, turning any relational schema into a content backend.
Rather than forcing you into its own content model, Directus introspects your database tables and lets you manage them with a visual interface. It supports both REST and GraphQL, granular access control, and can be self-hosted or run in the cloud.
- Database-first: wraps an existing SQL database with a CMS and APIs.
- Supports REST and GraphQL out of the box.
- Flexible roles, permissions, and multi-project management.
- Well-suited to data-heavy applications and analytics dashboards.
Best for: Teams that already design relational schemas and want an instant, open source backend and CMS on top of them.
8. Grav
Grav is a modern open source flat-file CMS: it stores content in files instead of a database, which simplifies deployment, backups, and version control. It is known for speed and a developer-friendly design, while still offering a straightforward admin panel for editors.
Because everything is file-based, Grav is easy to host even on simple shared hosting or Git-based workflows. It uses Markdown for content and YAML for configuration, making it attractive to technical users who like to keep sites in version control and deploy through CI/CD.
- No database; content stored as Markdown and configuration files.
- Built-in caching and performance optimizations.
- Package manager for plugins and themes.
- Good fit for small to medium sites that need speed and flexibility.
Best for: Developers who prefer flat-file architectures, Git workflows, and high performance without database overhead.
9. Hugo
Hugo is one of the most popular open source static site generators, licensed under Apache 2.0. It builds your site into static HTML files, which can then be served extremely quickly from any web server or CDN.
While Hugo is technically a static site generator rather than a traditional CMS, many teams use it as a lightweight CMS by combining it with Markdown content, Git-based workflows, and optional admin panels. It is widely used for documentation sites, blogs, landing pages, and developer-focused content.
- Very fast build times, even for large sites.
- Uses Markdown and templates; easy to version in Git.
- Large theme ecosystem and strong multilingual support.
- Pairs well with headless backends or flat-file tooling.
Best for: Developers who want maximum performance, simple hosting, and are comfortable with Git and static workflows.
10. Umbraco
Umbraco is a free and open source CMS built on ASP.NET Core and released under the MIT license. It is especially popular in the Microsoft ecosystem, providing a flexible, extensible platform for building content-heavy sites and web applications.
Editors benefit from a clean, customizable back office, while developers can take advantage of the full .NET ecosystem and familiar patterns. Umbraco scales well from small company sites to complex multi-site solutions and integrates nicely with other Microsoft-based systems and services.
- .NET-based CMS for teams using Microsoft stacks.
- Open source core with a strong partner and add-on ecosystem.
- Flexible content modeling, media management, and API access.
Best for: Organizations and agencies that standardize on .NET and want an open source CMS that fits naturally into that environment.
How to choose the right open source CMS
There is no single “best” open source CMS for every project. Instead, focus on matching the tool to your goals, skills, and constraints.
If you want a general-purpose website or blog and prefer a low learning curve, WordPress or Joomla is often the most straightforward path. For highly structured, large-scale, or governance-heavy sites, Drupal or TYPO3 usually provide better long-term control. If content is mostly articles and newsletters, Ghost may be the easiest to live with.
For multi-channel, app-first, or decoupled architectures, headless systems like Strapi or Directus fit better. If you value simple deployment and Git-based workflows, flat-file or static approaches such as Grav and Hugo are compelling. If you are in a Microsoft-centric environment, Umbraco is likely the most natural choice.
- Technical skill level: Non-developers will be more comfortable in WordPress, Joomla, or Ghost; developers may prefer Drupal, TYPO3, Strapi, Directus, Grav, Hugo, or Umbraco.
- Type of site: Blogs and content hubs vs. portals, intranets, or applications.
- Architecture: Traditional server-rendered vs. decoupled/headless vs. static.
- Stack preference: PHP, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, or .NET.
- Governance: How many editors, what permissions, and what workflows you need.
Make a short list of two or three CMS options that match your use case, then test them with a small prototype before committing to one for a full build.
Open source CMS FAQs
What is an open source CMS?
An open source CMS is content management software whose source code is publicly available under licenses such as GPL, MIT, or Apache 2.0. This allows anyone to download, use, modify, and redistribute the software under the terms of that license.
Is an open source CMS really free?
The core software of an open source CMS is usually free to download and use. However, you still pay for hosting, domains, optional premium themes, plugins, and development work. The benefit is that you are not locked into a single vendor’s pricing model and can move your site between hosts or providers when needed.
Which open source CMS is easiest for beginners?
For most non-technical users, WordPress is the easiest starting point thanks to its user-friendly admin interface, huge theme and plugin ecosystem, and abundant tutorials. Joomla and Ghost are also approachable for beginners who are comfortable learning a bit of new tooling.
Which open source CMS is best for enterprise or government websites?
Drupal and TYPO3 are common choices for enterprise and public sector sites because of their strong security track records, flexible content models, and support for complex workflows and multilingual setups. Umbraco is another good option when organizations prefer a .NET-based stack.
What is a headless CMS, and when should I use one?
A headless CMS separates the content repository (backend) from the presentation layer (frontend). Platforms like Strapi and Directus expose content through APIs, and you build your frontend with frameworks such as React, Vue, or native mobile tools. Use a headless CMS when you need to serve content to multiple channels (web, mobile, IoT) or want full control over your frontend stack.
Can I migrate from one open source CMS to another?
Yes, migration is possible, but the difficulty depends on how your content is structured and which features you use. Data usually needs to be exported, transformed, and imported into the new CMS. Many popular CMS combinations have existing migration tools or scripts, but complex sites may require custom development and careful planning.
Are open source CMS platforms secure?
Open source CMS platforms can be very secure when kept up to date and configured correctly. Security depends on timely updates, strong passwords, appropriate permissions, and safe plugin or extension choices. Large projects like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and TYPO3 have dedicated security teams and disclosure processes, but you are responsible for applying updates and following best practices on your server.
Conclusion
The “best” open source CMS is the one that aligns with your content strategy, technical skills, and long-term plans. WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, TYPO3, Ghost, Strapi, Directus, Grav, Hugo, and Umbraco each excel in different scenarios—from simple blogs to enterprise portals and headless application backends.
Start by clarifying what you are building, who will maintain it, and which technologies your team is comfortable with. Then shortlist two or three CMS platforms from this list, install them in a test environment, and experiment with real content and workflows.
Once you have a feel for how each system handles your actual use case, choosing the right open source CMS becomes much easier—and you will be confident that your content is built on a flexible, future-friendly foundation.