# CMS Made Simple vs penpot

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

| | CMS Made Simple | penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 64/100 | 84/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #12 of 42 in Content Management | #1 of 30 in Collaboration |
| GitHub stars | — | 61 801 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +1 489 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 12 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | 2.18.5 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Main language | — | Clojure |

## Which one should you pick?

penpot scores 84/100 against 64/100 for CMS Made Simple, so it is the safer default.

penpot ships more often: 12 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; penpot needs more configuration.

penpot is growing faster right now (+1 489 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

## Related comparisons

- [OpenDesign vs penpot](https://selfhost.directory/compare/open-design-vs-penpot)

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