SHSelfHostIndex

Sulu vs Wagtail

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?
SU Sulu Symfony-based CMS for business and enterprise websites VS WA Wagtail Developer-friendly Django CMS with a great editor experience
FeatureSuluWagtail
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score84 · Excellent96 · Excellent
CategoryContent Management SystemsContent Management Systems
LicenseMITBSD-3-Clause
LanguagePHPPython
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 1,350★ 20,505
First released20152014
ReplacesAdobe Experience Manager, SitecoreAdobe Experience Manager, WordPress

What are Sulu and Wagtail?

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

Read the full Sulu guide →

Wagtail

Wagtail is an open-source Django content management system focused on a refined editor experience and developer flexibility. It powers many large, content-rich websites with structured page models.

  • Refined editor interface
  • StreamField flexible content
  • Headless API option
  • Strong accessibility focus

Read the full Wagtail guide →

Sulu vs Wagtail: key differences

Sulu is written in PHP, while Wagtail is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Sulu versus BSD-3-Clause for Wagtail. Wagtail has the considerably larger community, at 20,505 GitHub stars versus 1,350.

Why pick each one

Choose Sulu if…

  • Great for Symfony developers
  • Solid for business sites

Watch out for

  • Requires Symfony knowledge
  • Steeper setup
Sulu details

Choose Wagtail if…

  • Excellent editing experience
  • Great for Python developers

Watch out for

  • Requires Django expertise
  • Heavier hosting needs
Wagtail details

Frequently asked questions

Is Sulu or Wagtail better?

Wagtail is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Sulu if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Sulu and Wagtail free and open-source?

Yes. Sulu is licensed under MIT and Wagtail under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Sulu and Wagtail with Docker?

Sulu: yes. Wagtail: yes.

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