Concrete CMS vs WordPress
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
WordPress
The most popular content management system in the world
| Feature | Concrete CMS | WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, one-click |
| GitHub stars | ★ 852 | ★ 21,434 |
| First released | 2008 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Wix, Squarespace | Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com |
What are Concrete CMS and WordPress?
Concrete CMS
Concrete CMS is an open-source content management system known for its intuitive in-context editing, letting users edit pages directly on the front end. It targets non-technical website owners who want easy visual control.
- In-context front-end editing
- Drag-and-drop block layouts
- Built-in marketplace
- Workflow and versioning
WordPress
WordPress is the world's most widely used open-source CMS, powering a large share of all websites. It offers a vast ecosystem of themes and plugins for building blogs, business sites, and complex web applications.
- Huge theme and plugin ecosystem
- Block-based Gutenberg editor
- Massive community support
- REST API for headless use
Concrete CMS vs WordPress: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Concrete CMS versus GPL-2.0 for WordPress. WordPress is the more established project (first released 2003), while Concrete CMS arrived in 2008. WordPress has the considerably larger community, at 21,434 GitHub stars versus 852.
Why pick each one
Choose Concrete CMS if…
- Very approachable for non-technical editors
- No separate admin needed for content
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Fewer themes available
Choose WordPress if…
- Unmatched ecosystem and documentation
- Easy for non-technical users
Watch out for
- Frequent target for attacks
- Plugin bloat can slow sites
Frequently asked questions
Is Concrete CMS or WordPress better?
Neither is universally better. WordPress has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Concrete CMS and WordPress free and open-source?
Yes. Concrete CMS is licensed under MIT and WordPress under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Concrete CMS and WordPress with Docker?
Concrete CMS: yes. WordPress: yes.