head to head · open source
wagtail vs TinaCMS
wagtail has 20,503 GitHub stars, 4,608 forks, 1,007 open issues and last shipped yesterday. TinaCMS has 13,799 stars, 755 forks, 444 open issues and last shipped yesterday. wagtail leads on adoption by 49% (20,503 vs 13,799 stars). wagtail is written in Python under BSD-3-Clause; TinaCMS is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. wagtail has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, TinaCMS 5%. wagtail 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 | TinaCMS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 14K |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.6K | ⑂ 755 |
| 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 TinaCMS if
- You want the TinaCMS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and TinaCMS 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 TinaCMS
TinaCMS is an open source headless content management system for Git based content stored in a user's own GitHub repository. It lives in the TypeScript, React, and Next.js ecosystem and is categorized under Content & Publishing / Content Management Systems. It supports Markdown, MDX, JSON, YAML, and other content formats, with visual editing as a central feature.
read the full TinaCMS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is wagtail or TinaCMS more popular?
wagtail has 20,503 GitHub stars and TinaCMS has 13,799. wagtail has the larger community by that measure.
Are wagtail and TinaCMS free?
Both are open source. wagtail is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and TinaCMS under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between wagtail and TinaCMS?
wagtail is written in Python and TinaCMS in TypeScript. 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 TinaCMS?
Choose wagtail if you want the larger community (20,503 stars) or its BSD-3-Clause licence terms. Choose TinaCMS if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.