Backdrop CMSvsCMS Made Simple
Two self-hosted Content Management projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Backdrop CMS | CMS Made Simple | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 61/100 | 64/100 |
| Rank in category | #18 of 42 in Content Management | #12 of 42 in Content Management |
| GitHub stars | 1 050 | — |
| Stars, last 30 days | +4 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 | 0 |
| Latest release | 1.35.2 · 14 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Main language | PHP | — |
Which one should you pick?
CMS Made Simple scores 64/100 against 61/100 for Backdrop CMS, so it is the safer default.
Backdrop CMS ships more often: 16 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for CMS Made Simple.
Backdrop CMS is growing faster right now (+4 stars in 30 days).
Backdrop CMS details →CMS Made Simple details →All Content Management projects →
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