# CMS Made Simple vs Kanidm

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | CMS Made Simple | Kanidm |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 64/100 | 67/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #11 of 42 in Content Management | #3 of 3 in IAM |
| GitHub stars | — | 5 512 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +106 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 14 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | v1.11.2 · 11 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Main language | — | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Kanidm scores 67/100 against 64/100 for CMS Made Simple, so it is the safer default.

Kanidm ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for CMS Made Simple.

If you want the quickest setup, CMS Made Simple is easier to run; Kanidm needs more configuration.

Kanidm is growing faster right now (+106 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [CMS Made Simple](https://selfhost.directory/project/cms-made-simple) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/cms-made-simple.md)
- [Kanidm](https://selfhost.directory/project/kanidm) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/kanidm.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/cms-made-simple-vs-kanidm