head to head · open source
wagtail vs OrchardCore
wagtail has 20,503 GitHub stars, 4,608 forks, 1,007 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OrchardCore has 8,184 stars, 2,598 forks, 854 open issues and last shipped yesterday. wagtail leads on adoption by 151% (20,503 vs 8,184 stars). wagtail is written in Python under BSD-3-Clause; OrchardCore is written in C# under BSD-3-Clause. wagtail has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, OrchardCore 32%. OrchardCore was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| wagtail | OrchardCore | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 8.2K |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | Python | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.6K | ⑂ 2.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick wagtail if
- You weight community size — 21K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick OrchardCore if
- You want the OrchardCore feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and OrchardCore fits your workflow better
About wagtail
Wagtail is an open source content management system built on Django, for developers, designers and editors who need a fast authoring interface alongside precise control over front end design and content structure.
read the full wagtail overview →
About OrchardCore
Orchard Core is an open source, modular, multi tenant application framework and content management system built on ASP.NET Core, for .NET teams that want to build or self host modular web applications and content driven sites under the BSD 3 Clause licence.
read the full OrchardCore overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is wagtail or OrchardCore more popular?
wagtail has 20,503 GitHub stars and OrchardCore has 8,184. wagtail has the larger community by that measure.
Are wagtail and OrchardCore free?
Both are open source. wagtail is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and OrchardCore under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between wagtail and OrchardCore?
wagtail is written in Python and OrchardCore in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, wagtail or OrchardCore?
Choose wagtail if you want the larger community (20,503 stars) or its BSD-3-Clause licence terms. Choose OrchardCore if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.