Hey everyone! I'm searching for a free and open-source CMS that I can self-host. No paywalls or annoying license restrictions, please! I'm looking for something that covers as many of the following features as possible:
1. No premium features or paywalls - everything should work out of the box.
2. Supports multiple languages natively.
3. Ability to define custom collections and categories through configuration files or the UI.
4. A wide range of field types such as text, numbers, dates, etc.
5. Integrated media management with a library for images, videos, and documents.
6. A solid plugin/extension system for adding community features.
7. Support for SSO through plugins or built-in systems like OAuth2.
8. Ideally has headless functionality with APIs for front-end frameworks.
9. An active community and regularly updated plugins/themes.
10. Tools for handling breaking changes in schema migrations.
I'm open to various tech stacks like Node.js, PHP, Python, or Go—good documentation is a bonus! Thanks for your help!
5 Answers
You might want to look at Joomla; it covers most of your needs except for being truly headless. It's got a flexible system for field types and doesn't really require plugins for core functionality. However, if you're looking for a community-heavy system, Statamic or Filament (if you like Laravel) are good recommendations.
Drupal could fit your needs, especially being full-featured with a lot of options. However, I found upkeep to be quite a task, making it better suited for teams rather than solo developers.
You might consider whether these features are worth paying for. We switched from WordPress to Statamic and haven’t looked back. Having responsive support when things go wrong is invaluable!
It’s tough to find a fully open-source CMS without some kinds of fees for extra features. If you want true open-source, you might want to check out Directus or Strapi. For something slightly different, Statamic is a great choice if you're looking for a more advanced WordPress experience. If you prefer a focus on the editor experience, try Storyblok. Lastly, for an all-around solid option, Contentful is mature and well-supported.
Payload CMS has a lot of the features you’re looking for. I’ve been using it for about two weeks now and have been really impressed with its capabilities. Definitely worth checking out!
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