ProcessWire 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.
Statamic
Laravel-powered flat-file CMS for custom sites
| Feature | ProcessWire | Statamic |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,153 | ★ 4,897 |
| First released | 2010 | 2012 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Drupal | WordPress, Contentful |
What are ProcessWire and Statamic?
ProcessWire
ProcessWire is an open-source CMS and framework that gives developers a powerful, jQuery-inspired API for working with content. It is known for flexible content modeling and clean front-end markup.
- Powerful content API
- Flexible field-based modeling
- Clean front-end output
- Module ecosystem
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
ProcessWire vs Statamic: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for ProcessWire versus MIT for Statamic. ProcessWire is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Statamic. ProcessWire is the more established project (first released 2010), while Statamic arrived in 2012. Statamic has the considerably larger community, at 4,897 GitHub stars versus 1,153.
Why pick each one
Choose ProcessWire if…
- Excellent developer API
- Highly flexible
Watch out for
- Less polished for non-developers
- Smaller community
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
Frequently asked questions
Is ProcessWire 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 ProcessWire and Statamic free and open-source?
Yes. ProcessWire is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Statamic under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ProcessWire and Statamic with Docker?
ProcessWire: yes. Statamic: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, ProcessWire or Statamic?
ProcessWire has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Statamic. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.