ApostropheCMS Community Edition is a fully open source CMS released under the MIT License. The Community Edition includes the tools teams need to build production websites and applications: in-context visual editing, editorial workflows, localization, SEO tools, media management, APIs, and more — with unlimited users, pages, and content.
Open source can mean different things in practice. A permissive license matters, but so do the features available, the health of the project, and whether you can trust the platform for long-term development.
ApostropheCMS Community Edition is released under the MIT License: use it commercially, modify it, self-host it, no fees, no restrictions. Our Community Edition isn't a stripped-down trial: it includes in-context visual editing, editorial workflow, localization, REST API, SSO, permissions, SEO tools, media management, and built-in modules with no limits on users, pages, or content types.
ApostropheCMS has been in active development since 2013. The repository is public, with a complete history of changes, issues, and contributions. You can review the codebase, follow development activity, and evaluate the project for yourself.
ApostropheCMS is maintained by a dedicated core engineering team. The same team responsible for Pro and Assembly also maintains the open source core.
ApostropheCMS has over 4,000 github stars and a number of community-contributed extensions. We engage regularly with independent contributors, especially around security. Our Discord is a great place to get community help and talk to the team.
One important signal of a healthy open source project is whether organizations trust it in production. The production deployments of Michelin and iCIMS represent long-term use at significant scale — the kind of environments where reliability, maintainability, and platform maturity matter.
Michelin + iCIMS
Michelin
iCIMS
The MIT License allows you to use, modify, and distribute ApostropheCMS. The complete source code is available publicly, making it possible to audit, customize, or fork the platform if your needs require it.
ApostropheCMS stores your content in standard databases. Your content is not trapped in a proprietary cloud platform or inaccessible export format. If you self-host, your data stays within your infrastructure. If you use managed hosting and later decide to move, you retain access to your database and content.
Your hosting decision is operational, not architectural. Move between managed hosting and self-hosted infrastructure without rebuilding your application around a different platform.
No CMS migration is effortless, but open source gives you more control. Your content is stored in a documented database structure rather than locked behind proprietary APIs, restricted exports, or vendor-controlled migration processes.
| Features | Recommended ApostropheCMS Community | Strapi Community | Payload Open Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Features | |||
| Content modeling | Included for ApostropheCMS Community | Included for Strapi Community | Included for Payload Open Source |
| REST API | Included for ApostropheCMS Community | Included for Strapi Community | Included for Payload Open Source |
| In-context visual editing | Included for ApostropheCMS Community | — Not included for Strapi Community | Paid only |
| Editorial workflow & approvals | Included for ApostropheCMS Community | Enterprise only | Paid only |
| Localization | Included for ApostropheCMS Community | Included for Strapi Community | Included for Payload Open Source |
| SSO | Included for ApostropheCMS Community | Enterprise only | Paid only |
| Document Versions | Pro | Enterprise only | Paid only |
| Advanced permissions / RBAC | Pro | Enterprise only | Included for Payload Open Source |
| Multisite | Assembly | — Not included for Strapi Community | — Not included for Payload Open Source |
| All three leading open source Node.js CMS platforms — ApostropheCMS, Strapi, and Payload — are MIT licensed. The meaningful comparison is not only the license. It is what capabilities are available in the open source edition. | |||
Yes. ApostropheCMS Community Edition is open source under the MIT License. The source code is publicly available, and anyone can use, modify, and distribute it according to the terms of that license. Certain features are part of our Pro and Assembly licensed products. In order to create a sustainable business model, we charge for features that come into play in larger projects.
Yes. The MIT License permits commercial use without a licensing fee.
You can build commercial websites, applications, and products with ApostropheCMS Community Edition. The costs are infrastructure if you self-host, and Pro and Assembly subscriptions if you need additional capabilities, support, or enterprise features.
The Community Edition is a complete CMS, not a limited trial. It includes visual editing, workflows, localization, SSO, SEO tools, media management, APIs, and more. Pro and Assembly extend the Community Edition with advanced permissions, translations, AI-powered SEO, multisite management, and more. The open source core is never limited just to push you toward paid options. Extensionsabout what is free, and what is part of Pro or Assembly.
Yes. The MIT License permits forking, modification, and redistribution.
You can customize ApostropheCMS for your own needs while continuing to contribute improvements back to the project if you choose.
In almost all cases forking is not necessary thanks to the intentionally extensible architecture of ApostropheCMS.
ApostropheCMS has been actively developed since 2013 by a dedicated engineering team.
The repository includes the full development history, and the team continues to maintain both the open source core and commercial extensions.
Your content remains accessible through standard databases and APIs.
ApostropheCMS does not use a proprietary export format or prevent access to your content. You maintain control over your data and infrastructure. Our REST APIs greatly facilitate migration both to and from ApostropheCMS.
Yes. ApostropheCMS supports headless and hybrid architectures through its APIs while also providing an in-context visual editing experience for teams that want a traditional CMS workflow.
Yes.
Organizations including Michelin and iCIMS use ApostropheCMS and Apostrophe Assembly for large-scale, multilingual production deployments.
The same open source foundation is available to every project, from small websites to enterprise applications.
The fastest way to try ApostropheCMS is the quick start guide. You can go from installation to your first content edit in minutes. The GitHub repository includes the full source code, issue tracker, and commit history if you want to evaluate the project before installing anything.
