django CMS vs Umbraco
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | django CMS | Umbraco |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Python | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,670 | ★ 5,255 |
| First released | 2009 | 2005 |
| Replaces | Adobe Experience Manager, Sitecore | Sitecore, Kentico |
What are django CMS and Umbraco?
django CMS
django CMS is an open-source content management system built on Python's Django framework. It offers front-end editing, a plugin architecture, and strong multilingual support for enterprise sites.
- Front-end editing
- Plugin-based content
- Strong multilingual support
- Django ecosystem integration
Umbraco
Umbraco is a popular open-source CMS built on ASP.NET Core, known for its flexible content modeling and editor-friendly backoffice. It is widely used for corporate and marketing websites on the Microsoft stack.
- Flexible document types
- Editor-friendly backoffice
- Headless delivery API
- Strong .NET integration
django CMS vs Umbraco: key differences
Django CMS is written in Python, while Umbraco is built with C#. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for django CMS versus MIT for Umbraco. Umbraco is the more established project (first released 2005), while django CMS arrived in 2009. Django CMS has the considerably larger community, at 10,670 GitHub stars versus 5,255.
Why pick each one
Choose django CMS if…
- Great for Python teams
- Scalable enterprise architecture
Watch out for
- Requires Django knowledge
- More setup than PHP CMSes
Choose Umbraco if…
- Great choice on the .NET stack
- Polished editor experience
Watch out for
- Requires Windows or .NET hosting knowledge
- Cloud add-ons are paid
Frequently asked questions
Is django CMS or Umbraco better?
Neither is universally better. django CMS has the larger community, while Umbraco is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are django CMS and Umbraco free and open-source?
Yes. django CMS is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Umbraco under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run django CMS and Umbraco with Docker?
django CMS: yes. Umbraco: yes.