Anchor CMS vs Pico

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 CMSPico
CategoryContent Management SystemsContent Management Systems
LicenseGPL-3.0MIT
LanguagePHPPHP
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, docker, sourcebare-metal, docker, source
GitHub stars★ 3,298★ 3,904
First released20122012
ReplacesWordPressWordPress

Why pick each one

Choose Anchor CMS if…

  • Very lightweight
  • Easy installation
Anchor CMS details

Choose Pico if…

  • Extremely lightweight
  • Zero configuration to start
Pico details

Frequently asked questions

Is Anchor CMS or Pico better?

Neither is universally better. Pico has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Anchor CMS and Pico free and open-source?

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

Can I run Anchor CMS and Pico with Docker?

Anchor CMS: yes. Pico: yes.

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