SHSelfHostIndex

Mezzanine vs Statamic

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 Statamic Laravel-powered flat-file CMS for custom sites
FeatureMezzanineStatamic
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score66 · Good89 · Excellent
CategoryContent Management SystemsContent Management Systems
LicenseBSD-2-ClauseMIT
LanguagePythonPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 4,816★ 4,897
First released20102012
ReplacesWordPressWordPress, Contentful

What are Mezzanine and Statamic?

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 →

Statamic

Statamic is a content management system built on Laravel that can run flat-file or database-backed. It offers a friendly control panel and a developer-focused workflow for building custom websites.

  • Flat-file or database storage
  • Built on Laravel
  • Git-friendly content
  • Polished control panel

Read the full Statamic guide →

Mezzanine vs Statamic: key differences

Mezzanine is written in Python, while Statamic is built with PHP. Licensing differs — BSD-2-Clause for Mezzanine versus MIT for Statamic. Mezzanine is the more established project (first released 2010), while Statamic arrived in 2012.

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 Statamic if…

  • Great for Laravel developers
  • Easy version control of content

Watch out for

  • Solo and Pro licenses can be paid
  • Best suited to developers
Statamic details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mezzanine or Statamic better?

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

Are Mezzanine and Statamic free and open-source?

Yes. Mezzanine is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Statamic under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Mezzanine and Statamic with Docker?

Mezzanine: yes. Statamic: yes.

Related comparisons