Statamic vs Tina CMS
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
VS
Tina CMS
Git-backed content management with visual editing
| Feature | Statamic | Tina CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,897 | ★ 13,803 |
| First released | 2012 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Contentful | Contentful, Sanity |
What are Statamic and Tina CMS?
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
Tina CMS
Tina CMS is an open-source, Git-backed content management system that adds visual editing to web projects. Its self-hosted backend stores content in your repository and provides a live, in-context editing experience.
- Git-backed content
- Visual in-context editing
- GraphQL content API
- Markdown and JSON support
Statamic vs Tina CMS: key differences
Statamic is written in PHP, while Tina CMS is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Statamic versus Apache-2.0 for Tina CMS. Statamic is the more established project (first released 2012), while Tina CMS arrived in 2021. Tina CMS has the considerably larger community, at 13,803 GitHub stars versus 4,897.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Tina CMS if…
- Content lives in Git
- Visual editing for editors
- Works with static site frameworks
Watch out for
- React-focused
- Self-hosting setup effort
Frequently asked questions
Is Statamic or Tina CMS better?
Neither is universally better. Tina CMS has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Statamic and Tina CMS free and open-source?
Yes. Statamic is licensed under MIT and Tina CMS under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Statamic and Tina CMS with Docker?
Statamic: yes. Tina CMS: yes.