Kirby vs Mezzanine
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Kirby | Mezzanine |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 66 · Good |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | Proprietary | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,531 | ★ 4,816 |
| First released | 2012 | 2010 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Squarespace | WordPress |
What are Kirby and Mezzanine?
Kirby
Kirby is a flexible file-based content management system that stores content in plain text files and gives developers full control over markup. It is popular for portfolios and custom-designed websites.
- File-based content storage
- Flexible panel for editors
- No database required
- Developer-friendly templating
Mezzanine
Mezzanine is an open-source content management platform built on Django that provides a simple yet flexible CMS out of the box. It includes a blog engine, in-line editing, and rich content tools.
- Built-in blog engine
- In-line content editing
- Hierarchical page tree
- Django integration
Kirby vs Mezzanine: key differences
Kirby is written in PHP, while Mezzanine is built with Python. Licensing differs — Proprietary for Kirby versus BSD-2-Clause for Mezzanine. Kirby is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Mezzanine. Mezzanine is the more established project (first released 2010), while Kirby arrived in 2012. Mezzanine has the considerably larger community, at 4,816 GitHub stars versus 1,531.
Why pick each one
Choose Kirby if…
- Easy backups and version control
- Highly customizable
Watch out for
- Commercial license required for production
- Free only for personal use
Choose Mezzanine if…
- Quick to get a Django site running
- Includes blogging out of the box
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Smaller community now
Frequently asked questions
Is Kirby or Mezzanine better?
Neither is universally better. Mezzanine has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kirby and Mezzanine free and open-source?
Yes. Kirby is licensed under Proprietary and Mezzanine under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kirby and Mezzanine with Docker?
Kirby: yes. Mezzanine: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Kirby or Mezzanine?
Kirby has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Mezzanine. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.