Grav
Content Management SystemsFast flat-file CMS with no database required
Replaces WordPress, Squarespace
Best No-Database Content Management Systems for self-hosting
The 15 best No-Database content management systems you can self-host, ranked by community traction.
Tina CMS
Content Management SystemsGit-backed content management with visual editing
Replaces Contentful, Sanity
Statamic
Content Management SystemsLaravel-powered flat-file CMS for custom sites
Replaces WordPress, Contentful
Pico
Content Management SystemsStupidly simple flat-file CMS
Replaces WordPress
Keystatic
Content Management SystemsGit-based CMS for Markdown and structured content
Replaces Contentful, Netlify CMS
Kirby
Content Management SystemsFile-based CMS for designers and developers
Replaces WordPress, Squarespace
Bludit
Content Management SystemsSimple flat-file CMS for fast websites and blogs
Replaces WordPress, Wix
Automad
Content Management SystemsFlat-file CMS and template engine in one
Replaces WordPress
WonderCMS
Content Management SystemsTiny flat-file CMS that is one of the smallest available
Replaces WordPress
Datenstrom Yellow
Content Management SystemsFlat-file CMS for small websites that you control
Replaces WordPress
GetSimple CMS
Content Management SystemsXML-based flat-file CMS for small websites
Replaces WordPress
Monstra
Content Management SystemsLightweight flat-file CMS that needs no database
Replaces WordPress
CouchCMS
Content Management SystemsCMS that adds editable regions to plain HTML sites
Replaces WordPress
Formwork
Content Management SystemsFlat-file CMS for personal sites and blogs
Replaces WordPress, Ghost
Sphido
Content Management SystemsFlat-file CMS that builds simple websites from folders
Replaces WordPress
No apps match these filters.
At a glance
| App | Deploy effort | Difficulty | Min. RAM | License | ★ Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grav | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 256 MB | MIT | 15,686 |
| Tina CMS | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 512 MB | Apache-2.0 | 13,834 |
| Statamic | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 512 MB | MIT | 4,906 |
| Pico | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 128 MB | MIT | 3,901 |
| Keystatic | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 256 MB | MIT | 2,453 |
| Kirby | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 256 MB | Proprietary | 1,535 |
| Bludit | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 128 MB | MIT | 1,469 |
| Automad | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 128 MB | MIT | 939 |
| WonderCMS | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 64 MB | MIT | 741 |
| Datenstrom Yellow | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 64 MB | GPL-2.0 | 486 |
Quick picks
- Most adopted: Grav (15,686 GitHub stars).
- Lightest footprint: WonderCMS (from 64 MB RAM, against 512 MB for the heaviest here).
- Licensing: 9 of 15 use MIT; check the rest individually if you plan to modify and redistribute.
Every option here is open-source and self-hostable, tagged No-Database within the content management systems category. Deploy effort is graded from published container recipes, not vendor claims — see the methodology.