Anchor CMS vs Drupal

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureAnchor CMSDrupal
CategoryContent Management SystemsContent Management Systems
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguagePHPPHP
Setup difficultyEasyHard
Min. RAM128 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, docker, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 3,298★ 4,280
First released20122001
ReplacesWordPressAdobe Experience Manager, Sitecore

Why pick each one

Choose Anchor CMS if…

  • Very lightweight
  • Easy installation
Anchor CMS details

Choose Drupal if…

  • Scales to very large sites
  • Enterprise-grade security track record
Drupal details

Frequently asked questions

Is Anchor CMS or Drupal better?

Neither is universally better. Drupal has the larger community, while Anchor CMS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Anchor CMS and Drupal free and open-source?

Yes. Anchor CMS is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Drupal under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Anchor CMS and Drupal with Docker?

Anchor CMS: yes. Drupal: yes.

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