SHSelfHostIndex

Backdrop CMS vs Wagtail

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?
BA Backdrop CMS Comprehensive CMS forked from Drupal for smaller sites VS WA Wagtail Developer-friendly Django CMS with a great editor experience
FeatureBackdrop CMSWagtail
CategoryContent Management SystemsContent Management Systems
LicenseGPL-2.0BSD-3-Clause
LanguagePHPPython
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 1,044★ 20,433
First released20152014
ReplacesWordPress, DrupalAdobe Experience Manager, WordPress

Why pick each one

Choose Backdrop CMS if…

  • Cheaper to run than Drupal
  • Familiar to Drupal users
Backdrop CMS details

Choose Wagtail if…

  • Excellent editing experience
  • Great for Python developers
Wagtail details

Frequently asked questions

Is Backdrop CMS or Wagtail better?

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

Are Backdrop CMS and Wagtail free and open-source?

Yes. Backdrop CMS is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Wagtail under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Backdrop CMS and Wagtail with Docker?

Backdrop CMS: yes. Wagtail: yes.

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