Keystone vs Omeka
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?
Keystone
Headless CMS framework with a powerful GraphQL API
VS
Omeka
Create complex narratives and share rich collections, adhering to
| Feature | Keystone | Omeka |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,938 | ★ 548 |
| First released | 2013 | 2025 |
| Replaces | Contentful, Strapi | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Omeka if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Keystone or Omeka better?
Neither is universally better. Keystone has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Keystone and Omeka free and open-source?
Yes. Keystone is licensed under MIT and Omeka under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keystone and Omeka with Docker?
Keystone: yes. Omeka: check the project docs for container support.