Keystatic 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.
Not the right match-up?
Keystatic
Git-based CMS for Markdown and structured content
VS
Orchard Core
Modular, multi-tenant CMS built on ASP.NET Core
| Feature | Keystatic | Orchard Core |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source, docker | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,262 | ★ 8,148 |
| First released | 2023 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Contentful, Netlify CMS | Sitecore, WordPress |
Why pick each one
Choose Keystatic if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Keystatic or Orchard Core better?
Neither is universally better. Orchard Core has the larger community, while Keystatic is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Keystatic and Orchard Core free and open-source?
Yes. Keystatic is licensed under MIT and Orchard Core under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keystatic and Orchard Core with Docker?
Keystatic: yes. Orchard Core: yes.