CouchCMS vs Docsify
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?
| Feature | CouchCMS | Docsify |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 375 | ★ 31,442 |
| First released | 2009 | 2024 |
| Replaces | WordPress | — |
Why pick each one
Choose CouchCMS if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Docsify if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 31.4k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is CouchCMS or Docsify better?
Neither is universally better. Docsify has the larger community, while CouchCMS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are CouchCMS and Docsify free and open-source?
Yes. CouchCMS is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Docsify under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CouchCMS and Docsify with Docker?
CouchCMS: check the project docs for container support. Docsify: check the project docs for container support.