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Mezzanine vs MODX Revolution

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?
ME Mezzanine Lightweight content management framework for Django VS MO MODX Revolution CMS and application framework with creative freedom
FeatureMezzanineMODX Revolution
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score66 · Good80 · Excellent
CategoryContent Management SystemsContent Management Systems
LicenseBSD-2-ClauseGPL-2.0
LanguagePythonPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 4,816★ 1,411
First released20102005
ReplacesWordPressWordPress, Drupal

What are Mezzanine and MODX Revolution?

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

Read the full Mezzanine guide →

MODX Revolution

MODX Revolution is an open-source content management system and web application framework that imposes no constraints on markup or design. It is used to build custom websites and applications.

  • Complete design freedom
  • Flexible templating
  • Extensible with packages
  • Granular permissions

Read the full MODX Revolution guide →

Mezzanine vs MODX Revolution: key differences

Mezzanine is written in Python, while MODX Revolution is built with PHP. Licensing differs — BSD-2-Clause for Mezzanine versus GPL-2.0 for MODX Revolution. MODX Revolution is the more established project (first released 2005), while Mezzanine arrived in 2010. Mezzanine has the considerably larger community, at 4,816 GitHub stars versus 1,411.

Why pick each one

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
Mezzanine details

Choose MODX Revolution if…

  • No markup constraints
  • Good for custom builds

Watch out for

  • Steeper learning curve
  • Smaller community
MODX Revolution details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mezzanine or MODX Revolution 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 Mezzanine and MODX Revolution free and open-source?

Yes. Mezzanine is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and MODX Revolution under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Mezzanine and MODX Revolution with Docker?

Mezzanine: yes. MODX Revolution: yes.

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