Anchor CMS vs October CMS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Anchor CMS | October CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 93 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,293 | ★ 11,147 |
| First released | 2012 | 2014 |
| Replaces | WordPress | WordPress, Wix |
What are Anchor CMS and October CMS?
Anchor CMS
Anchor CMS is a super-simple, lightweight open-source blogging platform and CMS written in PHP. It focuses on minimalism and getting out of the writer's way.
- Minimal and lightweight
- Markdown editing
- Simple theming
- Quick setup
October CMS
October CMS is a self-hosted content management system built on the Laravel framework, designed to make web development simple again. It uses flat-file templating with a clean backend for content editors.
- Built on Laravel
- Flat-file twig-style templating
- Plugin marketplace
- Clean developer experience
Anchor CMS vs October CMS: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Anchor CMS's repository is archived and no longer developed, while October CMS is actively maintained. Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Anchor CMS versus MIT for October CMS. Anchor CMS is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for October CMS. Anchor CMS is the more established project (first released 2012), while October CMS arrived in 2014. October CMS has the considerably larger community, at 11,147 GitHub stars versus 3,293.
Why pick each one
Choose Anchor CMS if…
- Very lightweight
- Easy installation
Watch out for
- Limited features
- Development inactive
Choose October CMS if…
- Great for Laravel developers
- Simple, transparent architecture
Watch out for
- Some plugins are paid
- Less suited to non-developers
Frequently asked questions
Is Anchor CMS or October CMS better?
Neither is universally better. October CMS 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 October CMS free and open-source?
Yes. Anchor CMS is licensed under GPL-3.0 and October CMS under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Anchor CMS and October CMS with Docker?
Anchor CMS: yes. October CMS: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Anchor CMS or October CMS?
Anchor CMS has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for October CMS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.