Mezzanine vs PublicCMS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Mezzanine | PublicCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 66 · Good | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,816 | ★ 2,097 |
| First released | 2010 | 2015 |
| Replaces | WordPress | WordPress |
What are Mezzanine and PublicCMS?
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
PublicCMS
PublicCMS is an open-source content management system written in Java that generates static pages for high performance and supports managing multiple sites. It is aimed at organizations needing a fast, template-driven publishing platform.
- Static page generation
- Template-driven
- Multi-site support
- High performance
Mezzanine vs PublicCMS: key differences
Mezzanine is written in Python, while PublicCMS is built with Java. Licensing differs — BSD-2-Clause for Mezzanine versus Apache-2.0 for PublicCMS. Mezzanine is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for PublicCMS. Mezzanine is the more established project (first released 2010), while PublicCMS arrived in 2015. Mezzanine has the considerably larger community, at 4,816 GitHub stars versus 2,097. Mezzanine lists first-class Docker deployment; PublicCMS does not.
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
Choose PublicCMS if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
Frequently asked questions
Is Mezzanine or PublicCMS better?
Mezzanine is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider PublicCMS if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Mezzanine and PublicCMS free and open-source?
Yes. Mezzanine is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and PublicCMS under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mezzanine and PublicCMS with Docker?
Mezzanine: yes. PublicCMS: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Mezzanine or PublicCMS?
Mezzanine has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for PublicCMS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.