SHSelfHostIndex

Kirby 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.

Not the right match-up?
KI Kirby File-based CMS for designers and developers VS PR ProcessWire Flexible CMS and content management framework
FeatureKirbyProcessWire
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score84 · Excellent79 · Good
CategoryContent Management SystemsContent Management Systems
LicenseProprietaryMPL-2.0
LanguagePHPPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 1,531★ 1,153
First released20122010
ReplacesWordPress, SquarespaceWordPress, Drupal

What are Kirby and ProcessWire?

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

Read the full Kirby guide →

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

Read the full ProcessWire guide →

Kirby vs ProcessWire: key differences

Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — Proprietary for Kirby versus MPL-2.0 for ProcessWire. ProcessWire is the more established project (first released 2010), while Kirby arrived in 2012.

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
Kirby details

Choose ProcessWire if…

  • Excellent developer API
  • Highly flexible

Watch out for

  • Less polished for non-developers
  • Smaller community
ProcessWire details

Frequently asked questions

Is Kirby or ProcessWire better?

Neither is universally better. Kirby has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Kirby and ProcessWire free and open-source?

Yes. Kirby is licensed under Proprietary and ProcessWire under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Kirby and ProcessWire with Docker?

Kirby: yes. ProcessWire: yes.

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