Pico
Content Management SystemsStupidly simple flat-file CMS
Replaces WordPress
Best Single-User Content Management Systems for self-hosting
The 5 best Single-User content management systems you can self-host, ranked by community traction.
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
Formwork
Content Management SystemsFlat-file CMS for personal sites and blogs
Replaces WordPress, Ghost
No apps match these filters.
At a glance
| App | Deploy effort | Difficulty | Min. RAM | License | ★ Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pico | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 128 MB | MIT | 3,901 |
| 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 |
| Formwork | Read-the-docs project | Easy | 64 MB | MIT | 79 |
Quick picks
- Most adopted: Pico (3,901 GitHub stars).
- Lightest footprint: WonderCMS (from 64 MB RAM, against 128 MB for the heaviest here).
- Licensing: 4 of 5 use MIT; check the rest individually if you plan to modify and redistribute.
Every option here is open-source and self-hostable, tagged Single-User within the content management systems category. Deploy effort is graded from published container recipes, not vendor claims — see the methodology.