Best Free CMS Software 2026: 6 Options Compared
Best free CMS Software compared: WordPress (self-hosted), Drupal, Joomla, Ghost and 2 more, with free-plan limits, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 23, 2026.
•3 min read•Website Builders & Landing Pages
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress (self-hosted) | Free (Free to download; you pay for hosting. Recommended PHP 8.3+ and MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.11+) | Self-hosted, Web | Most websites, from blogs to shops | Docs only |
| Drupal | Free (Free and open source) | Self-hosted | Complex content models and permissions | Docs only |
| Joomla | Free (Free and open source) | Self-hosted | Multilingual sites with member areas | Docs only |
| Ghost | Free (Self-hosted Ghost is open source (source linked from the pricing page); no self-host price shown); paid from $18 per per month, billed yearly (Ghost(Pro) Starter) | Web | Publications with memberships and newsletters | Docs only |
| Strapi | Free (Community edition is free forever and open source under MIT); paid from $45 per month (Growth, 3 users included, extra users $15/month) | Self-hosted, Cloud | Developers feeding a site and an app from one API | Docs only |
| Payload | Free (Completely free and open source per the repository; deploy anywhere) | Self-hosted (Node.js) | TypeScript teams who want code-first content | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You want a standard website this week (WordPress (self-hosted) is the pick)
- You need strict roles and many content types (Drupal is the pick)
- You build a custom front end (Strapi is the pick)
- You write in TypeScript and want code-defined schemas (Payload is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You need paid-tier features, uptime guarantees or support that these free plans leave out
A content management system is free to download in most cases, and the real cost is hosting and the time to keep it patched. WordPress, Drupal and Joomla are the traditional PHP choices: WordPress is GPL-2.0-or-later with the biggest plugin library, Drupal is GPL-2.0 and aimed at complex content structures and permissions, and Joomla is GPL-2.0-or-later with built-in multilingual and user management. Ghost is a lighter open-source option for publishing and memberships. Strapi and Payload are headless systems, meaning they store and serve your content through an API while you build the front end yourself. Strapi's Community edition is MIT and its Growth plan is $45 a month for cloud use; Payload is MIT and its repository says it can be deployed anywhere, including serverless. Pick WordPress when you want a working website this week. Pick a headless system when you have a developer and several channels, such as a website and an app, to feed from one source. The trade-off with the PHP systems is security upkeep, because popular platforms attract attacks on old plugins, while headless systems move that burden into your own front-end code.
WordPress (self-hosted)
GPL-2.0-or-later, free to download, with thousands of themes and plugins. You pay for hosting and handle updates; recommended PHP 8.3+ and MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.11+.
Price: Free (Free to download; you pay for hosting. Recommended PHP 8.3+ and MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.11+) (WordPress (self-hosted) pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Self-hosted, Web. GPL-2.0-or-later (open source).
Best for: Most websites, from blogs to shops.
Worth knowing: WordPress.org software, not the WordPress.com hosted service.
Compare: WordPress (self-hosted) alternatives
Drupal
GPL-2.0 and free; hosting is separate. Strong for content with many types, roles and workflows, but a steeper learning curve than WordPress.
Price: Free (Free and open source) (Drupal pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Self-hosted. GPL-2.0 (open source).
Project activity: 4.3k GitHub stars · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Complex content models and permissions.
Joomla
GPL-2.0-or-later and free; hosting is separate. Built-in features for users and multiple languages without as many add-ons.
Price: Free (Free and open source) (Joomla pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Self-hosted. GPL-2.0-or-later (open source).
Project activity: 5.2k GitHub stars · latest release 6.2.0 (Oct 13, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Multilingual sites with member areas.
Ghost
Open-source publishing platform; self-hosting is free, but the license is not named on the pricing page. Hosted plans start at $18 a month billed yearly.
Price: Free (Self-hosted Ghost is open source (source linked from the pricing page); no self-host price shown); paid from $18 per per month, billed yearly (Ghost(Pro) Starter) (Ghost pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web. Open source (license not named on ghost.org/pricing) (open source).
Project activity: 55.6k GitHub stars · latest release v6.73.0 (Oct 27, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Publications with memberships and newsletters.
Compare: Ghost alternatives
Strapi
Headless CMS with a Community edition under MIT, free forever. You build the front end yourself; the Growth plan is $45 a month and cloud prices were not confirmed.
Price: Free (Community edition is free forever and open source under MIT); paid from $45 per month (Growth, 3 users included, extra users $15/month) (Strapi pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Self-hosted, Cloud. MIT (Community edition) (open source).
Project activity: 73.4k GitHub stars · latest release v5.59.0 (Oct 21, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Developers feeding a site and an app from one API.
Payload
MIT-licensed headless CMS and app framework, completely free and open source per its repository, deployable anywhere including serverless on Vercel.
Price: Free (Completely free and open source per the repository; deploy anywhere) (Payload pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Self-hosted (Node.js). MIT (open source).
Project activity: 45.5k GitHub stars · latest release v3.92.1 (Oct 27, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: TypeScript teams who want code-first content.
Which one to pick
- You want a standard website this week: WordPress (self-hosted)
- You need strict roles and many content types: Drupal
- You build a custom front end: Strapi
- You write in TypeScript and want code-defined schemas: Payload
Limits of this review
Docs-only for WordPress (self-hosted), Drupal, Joomla, Ghost, Strapi, Payload: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: WordPress (self-hosted), Drupal, Joomla, Ghost, Strapi, Payload. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.