CMS Made Simple vs Subrion 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 | CMS Made Simple | Subrion CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 62 · Good | 8 · At risk |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 20 | ★ 284 |
| First released | 2004 | 2011 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Joomla | WordPress, Joomla |
What are CMS Made Simple and Subrion CMS?
CMS Made Simple
CMS Made Simple is an open-source content management system aimed at developers and designers who need to build manageable websites for clients. It provides a smart caching system, a flexible template engine, and a large module repository.
- Smart caching
- Module repository
- Template inheritance
- Designer-friendly
Subrion CMS
Subrion is a full-featured PHP and MySQL content management system with a drag-and-drop layout editor and an extensible plugin and template marketplace. It targets blogs, business sites, and directory-style portals.
- Drag-and-drop layouts
- Plugin marketplace
- Multi-language support
- Built-in SEO tools
CMS Made Simple vs Subrion CMS: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for CMS Made Simple versus GPL-3.0 for Subrion CMS. CMS Made Simple is the more established project (first released 2004), while Subrion CMS arrived in 2011. Subrion CMS has the considerably larger community, at 284 GitHub stars versus 20.
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
Choose Subrion CMS if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is CMS Made Simple or Subrion CMS better?
Neither is universally better. Subrion CMS has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are CMS Made Simple and Subrion CMS free and open-source?
Yes. CMS Made Simple is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Subrion CMS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CMS Made Simple and Subrion CMS with Docker?
CMS Made Simple: check the project docs for container support. Subrion CMS: check the project docs for container support.