head to head · open source
Strapi vs Twill CMS
Strapi has 73,425 GitHub stars, 10,050 forks, 558 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Twill CMS has 3,972 stars, 591 forks, 136 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Strapi leads on adoption by 1,749% (73,425 vs 3,972 stars). Strapi is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Twill CMS is written in PHP under Apache-2.0. Strapi has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, Twill CMS 15%. Strapi was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (cms, cms-framework, content-management-system, headless-cms), 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
| Strapi | Twill CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 73K | ★ 4.0K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 591 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Strapi if
- You weight community size — 73K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Twill CMS if
- You want the Twill CMS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and Twill CMS fits your workflow better
About Strapi
Open source headless CMS, self hosted or Cloud you're in control. The leading open source headless CMS, 100% JavaScript/TypeScript, flexible and fully customizable. Docs · Strapi Cloud · Roadmap · Discord · Discussions Strapi is an open source, self hosted headless CMS that lets developers build content APIs fast while giving content creators a friendly editing interface. Define your content models and Strapi generates a full API, ready to consume from any frontend, mobile app, or IoT device. Design content structures visually with the Content Type Builder , no code required Auto generated REST & GraphQL APIs…
read the full Strapi overview →
About Twill CMS
About Twill Twill is an open source Laravel package that helps developers rapidly create a custom CMS that is beautiful, powerful, and flexible. By standardizing common functions without compromising developer control, Twill makes it easy to deliver a feature rich admin console that focuses on modern publishing needs. Twill is an AREA 17 product. It was crafted with the belief that content management should be a creative, productive, and enjoyable experience for both publishers and developers. Benefits overview With a vast number of pre built features and custom built Vue.js UI components, developers can focus…
read the full Twill CMS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Strapi or Twill CMS more popular?
Strapi has 73,425 GitHub stars and Twill CMS has 3,972. Strapi has the larger community by that measure.
Are Strapi and Twill CMS free?
Both are open source. Strapi has no licence declared in this registry, and Twill CMS is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Strapi and Twill CMS?
Strapi is written in TypeScript and Twill CMS in PHP. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Strapi or Twill CMS?
Choose Strapi if you want the larger community (73,425 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Twill CMS if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.