CMS Made Simple vs django CMS
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?
CMS Made Simple
Flexible CMS for small and medium business sites
VS
django CMS
Enterprise CMS built on the Django framework
| Feature | CMS Made Simple | django CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | GPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 20 | ★ 10,658 |
| First released | 2004 | 2009 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Joomla | Adobe Experience Manager, Sitecore |
Why pick each one
Choose CMS Made Simple if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is CMS Made Simple or django CMS better?
Neither is universally better. django CMS has the larger community, while CMS Made Simple is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are CMS Made Simple and django CMS free and open-source?
Yes. CMS Made Simple is licensed under GPL-2.0 and django CMS under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CMS Made Simple and django CMS with Docker?
CMS Made Simple: check the project docs for container support. django CMS: yes.