Grav vs ProcessWire
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Grav
Fast flat-file CMS with no database required
VS
ProcessWire
Flexible CMS and content management framework
| Feature | Grav | ProcessWire |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 79 · Good |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,671 | ★ 1,153 |
| First released | 2014 | 2010 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Squarespace | WordPress, Drupal |
What are Grav and ProcessWire?
Grav
Grav is a modern open-source flat-file CMS that requires no database, storing content in Markdown files. It is fast to deploy and well suited to blogs, documentation, and small to medium websites.
- No database needed
- Markdown-based content
- Plugin and theme ecosystem
- Fast page rendering
ProcessWire
ProcessWire is an open-source CMS and framework that gives developers a powerful, jQuery-inspired API for working with content. It is known for flexible content modeling and clean front-end markup.
- Powerful content API
- Flexible field-based modeling
- Clean front-end output
- Module ecosystem
Grav vs ProcessWire: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Grav versus MPL-2.0 for ProcessWire. ProcessWire is the more established project (first released 2010), while Grav arrived in 2014. Grav has the considerably larger community, at 15,671 GitHub stars versus 1,153.
Why pick each one
Choose Grav if…
- Trivial to back up and migrate
- Quick to set up
Watch out for
- Less ideal for very large sites
- Admin plugin needed for GUI editing
Choose ProcessWire if…
- Excellent developer API
- Highly flexible
Watch out for
- Less polished for non-developers
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Grav or ProcessWire better?
Grav is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider ProcessWire if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Grav and ProcessWire free and open-source?
Yes. Grav is licensed under MIT and ProcessWire under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Grav and ProcessWire with Docker?
Grav: yes. ProcessWire: yes.