Pagekit vs Winter CMS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Pagekit | Winter CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 84 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,454 | ★ 1,520 |
| First released | 2014 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WordPress | WordPress |
What are Pagekit and Winter CMS?
Pagekit
Pagekit is a modular, open-source content management system with a clean, modern interface built on Symfony components and Vue.js. It includes a blog and a marketplace for extensions.
- Modern Vue.js interface
- Modular architecture
- Built-in blog
- Marketplace for extensions
Winter CMS
Winter CMS is a free, open-source content management system based on the Laravel framework, created as a community-driven fork of October CMS. It offers a clean backend, a plugin marketplace, and developer-friendly tooling.
- Laravel foundation
- Plugin marketplace
- Clean admin backend
- Developer tooling
Pagekit vs Winter CMS: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Pagekit's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Winter CMS is actively maintained. Both projects are written in PHP. Pagekit is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Winter CMS. Pagekit is the more established project (first released 2014), while Winter CMS arrived in 2021. Pagekit has the considerably larger community, at 5,454 GitHub stars versus 1,520.
Why pick each one
Choose Pagekit if…
- Clean, modern admin
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Development has stalled
- Limited active maintenance
Choose Winter CMS if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Watch out for
- Requires PHP knowledge
- Smaller plugin catalog
Frequently asked questions
Is Pagekit or Winter CMS better?
Pagekit is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Pagekit if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Pagekit and Winter CMS free and open-source?
Yes. Pagekit is licensed under MIT and Winter CMS under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pagekit and Winter CMS with Docker?
Pagekit: yes. Winter CMS: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pagekit or Winter CMS?
Pagekit has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Winter CMS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.