Craft CMS vs Orchard Core
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Craft CMS | Orchard Core |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,608 | ★ 8,187 |
| First released | 2013 | 2018 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Sitecore | Sitecore, WordPress |
What are Craft CMS and Orchard Core?
Craft CMS
Craft CMS is a content management system focused on giving developers and designers complete control over content structure and markup. The core product is open source with optional commercial editions.
- Flexible content modeling
- Twig templating
- GraphQL API
- Plugin store
Orchard Core
Orchard Core is an open-source, modular, and multi-tenant application framework and CMS built on ASP.NET Core. It enables building content-driven sites and SaaS-style multi-site setups.
- Multi-tenant by design
- Modular architecture
- GraphQL API
- Decoupled and headless modes
Craft CMS vs Orchard Core: key differences
Craft CMS is written in PHP, while Orchard Core is built with C#. Licensing differs — MIT for Craft CMS versus BSD-3-Clause for Orchard Core. Craft CMS is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Orchard Core. Craft CMS is the more established project (first released 2013), while Orchard Core arrived in 2018. Orchard Core has the considerably larger community, at 8,187 GitHub stars versus 3,608.
Why pick each one
Choose Craft CMS if…
- Excellent for bespoke sites
- Clean control panel
Watch out for
- Pro edition is paid
- Not ideal for non-developers
Choose Orchard Core if…
- Powerful multi-tenancy
- Modern .NET architecture
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Smaller ecosystem than Umbraco
Frequently asked questions
Is Craft CMS or Orchard Core better?
Neither is universally better. Orchard Core has the larger community, while Craft CMS is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Craft CMS and Orchard Core free and open-source?
Yes. Craft CMS is licensed under MIT and Orchard Core under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Craft CMS and Orchard Core with Docker?
Craft CMS: yes. Orchard Core: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Craft CMS or Orchard Core?
Craft CMS has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Orchard Core. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.