Keystone vs PHPBoost
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
PHPBoost
Content management system (CMS)
| Feature | Keystone | PHPBoost |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0-only |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,938 | ★ 42 |
| First released | 2013 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Contentful, Strapi | — |
Why pick each one
Choose PHPBoost if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0-only license
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Keystone or PHPBoost 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 PHPBoost free and open-source?
Yes. Keystone is licensed under MIT and PHPBoost under GPL-3.0-only. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keystone and PHPBoost with Docker?
Keystone: yes. PHPBoost: check the project docs for container support.