Orchard Core vs Sulu
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Orchard Core | Sulu |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | C# | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,187 | ★ 1,350 |
| First released | 2018 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Sitecore, WordPress | Adobe Experience Manager, Sitecore |
What are Orchard Core and Sulu?
Orchard Core
Orchard Core is an open-source, modular, and multi-tenant application framework and CMS built on ASP.NET Core. It enables building content-driven sites and SaaS-style multi-site setups.
- Multi-tenant by design
- Modular architecture
- GraphQL API
- Decoupled and headless modes
Sulu
Sulu is an open-source content management system built on the Symfony framework, targeted at mid-size and large business websites. It offers structured content, multi-site management, and a clean admin UI.
- Built on Symfony
- Multi-site and multilingual
- Structured content templates
- Clean admin interface
Orchard Core vs Sulu: key differences
Orchard Core is written in C#, while Sulu is built with PHP. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Orchard Core versus MIT for Sulu. Sulu is the more established project (first released 2015), while Orchard Core arrived in 2018. Orchard Core has the considerably larger community, at 8,187 GitHub stars versus 1,350.
Why pick each one
Choose Orchard Core if…
- Powerful multi-tenancy
- Modern .NET architecture
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Smaller ecosystem than Umbraco
Choose Sulu if…
- Great for Symfony developers
- Solid for business sites
Watch out for
- Requires Symfony knowledge
- Steeper setup
Frequently asked questions
Is Orchard Core or Sulu better?
Neither is universally better. Orchard Core has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Orchard Core and Sulu free and open-source?
Yes. Orchard Core is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Sulu under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Orchard Core and Sulu with Docker?
Orchard Core: yes. Sulu: yes.