head to head · open source
decap-cms vs Publii
decap-cms has 19,461 GitHub stars, 3,139 forks, 593 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Publii has 7,387 stars, 475 forks, 300 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. decap-cms leads on adoption by 163% (19,461 vs 7,387 stars). decap-cms is written in JavaScript under MIT; Publii is written in HTML under GPL-3.0. decap-cms has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, Publii 6%. decap-cms was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (cms, static-site), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| decap-cms | Publii | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 7.4K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 475 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick decap-cms if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Publii if
- You want the Publii feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and Publii fits your workflow better
About decap-cms
Documentation: decapcms.org A CMS for static site generators. Give teams a simple way to edit and add content to any site built with a static site generator. Decap CMS is the new name of Netlify CMS since February 2023. Join us on Discord for community chat. How It Works Decap CMS is a single page app that you pull into the /admin part of your site. It presents a clean UI for editing content stored in a Git repository. You setup a YAML config to describe the content model of your site, and typically tweak the main layout of the CMS a bit to fit your own site. When a user navigates to /admin/ they'll be prompted…
read the full decap-cms overview →
About Publii
Publii Static CMS for privacy focused, SEO optimized websites. Publii is a desktop based CMS for Windows, Mac and Linux that makes creating static websites fast and hassle free, even for beginners. Current version: 0.47.9 build 17481 Why Publii? Unlike static site generators that are often unwieldy and difficult to use, Publii provides an easy to understand UI much like server based CMSs such as WordPress or Joomla!, where users can create posts and other site content, and style their site using a variety of built in themes and options. Users can enjoy the benefits of a super fast and secure static website, with…
read the full Publii overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is decap-cms or Publii more popular?
decap-cms has 19,461 GitHub stars and Publii has 7,387. decap-cms has the larger community by that measure.
Are decap-cms and Publii free?
Both are open source. decap-cms is licensed under MIT and Publii under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between decap-cms and Publii?
decap-cms is written in JavaScript and Publii in HTML. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, decap-cms or Publii?
Choose decap-cms if you want the larger community (19,461 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Publii if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.