All three are free, open-source, self-hosted PHP alternatives to WordPress, but they take different bets on how templating should work. If your site needs…
Free/Open Source · From Free
Best for: Teams building a structured, multi-page site (not just a blog) who want one-click modules for things like news, forms, and galleries, plus a Smarty template layer that lets designers work without touching PHP.
Free / Open Source (with optional paid commercial license) · From Free
Best for: Designers or agencies who already have a finished static HTML/CSS template and want to couchify it into an editable, database-backed site with cloned pages for portfolios, event listings, or galleries, without rebuilding from scratch.
Open Source / Free · From Free
Best for: Bloggers and site owners on minimal shared hosting who want a fast, databaseless blog with no MySQL to install, back up, or secure, and who are comfortable with a smaller plugin ecosystem in exchange for that simplicity.
| CMS Made Simple | CouchCMS | HTMLy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary category | CMS | CMS | CMS |
| Rating | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| Pricing model | Free/Open Source | Free / Open Source (with optional paid commercial license) | Open Source / Free |
| Starting price | Free | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| Platforms | Web | Not documented | Web |
| Team collaboration | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| AI features | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| Public API | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
HTMLy skips the database entirely
HTMLy stores every post as a plain text file and indexes it with a custom algorithm, so there is no MySQL to install, configure, back up, or secure. It runs on shared hosting with as little as 512 MB of RAM and stays fast even past 20,000 posts.
HTMLy
CouchCMS turns existing templates into a CMS instead of replacing them
Rather than requiring a new theming system, CouchCMS lets a designer take an already-built static HTML/CSS template and couchify it by inserting XHTML-style tags, with Cloned Pages generating repeatable structures like blogs, portfolios, or event listings from one template.
CouchCMS
CMS Made Simple pairs template separation with one-click modules
Its Smarty template engine strictly separates content, business logic, and templates, and its Module Manager adds one-click community modules for e-commerce, forms, and galleries, features neither CouchCMS nor HTMLy document.
CMS Made Simple
All three are free and self-hosted with no per-seat cost
CMS Made Simple and HTMLy are fully free under GPL licenses with no paid tier, while CouchCMS is free under a Common Public Attribution License and only requires a one-time commercial license if you want to remove the attribution link.
CMS Made Simple, CouchCMS, HTMLy
Track record varies
CMS Made Simple has the longest continuous history, dating to 2004 with two decades of releases, followed by CouchCMS from 2009; HTMLy's founding year and team size are not publicly documented.
CMS Made Simple, CouchCMS, HTMLy
| Feature | CMS Made Simple | CouchCMS | HTMLy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Databaseless, flat-file storage | Unavailable | Unavailable | Available |
| Runs on minimal shared hosting (low RAM, no database setup) | Not documented | Not documented | Available |
| Feature | CMS Made Simple | CouchCMS | HTMLy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reuse an existing static HTML/CSS template directly | Not documented | Available | Not documented |
| Repeatable content structures beyond blog posts (portfolios, galleries, event listings) | Limited | Available | Limited |
| One-click module or plugin marketplace | Available | Limited | Limited |
| Feature | CMS Made Simple | CouchCMS | HTMLy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in visitor commenting with moderation | Not documented | Available | Not documented |
| Two-factor authentication for admin login | Not documented | Not documented | Available |
| Free commercial use with no attribution requirement | Available | Limited | Available |
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
Yes, HTMLy is the only one of the three that is fully databaseless, storing posts as plain text files and indexing them directly. CMS Made Simple and CouchCMS both run on a MySQL database.
CMS Made Simple and CouchCMS are built as general-purpose page-based CMS platforms, with modules for news, galleries, and forms (CMS Made Simple) or cloned pages for portfolios and event listings (CouchCMS). HTMLy is positioned specifically as a blogging platform and flat-file CMS, so it is the least suited to complex, non-blog sites.
CouchCMS is purpose-built for this: it lets you insert XHTML-style tags directly into an already-built static template to make it editable, without learning a new templating language. CMS Made Simple uses its own Smarty templating layer instead, and HTMLy is oriented around its own theme structure for blogs.
CouchCMS is free under a Common Public Attribution License, which requires a visible attribution link in the source unless you purchase its one-time Commercial License (CCCL), which removes the attribution link, rebrands the admin panel, and includes one month of premium support.
HTMLy is designed to run on very modest shared hosting, including as little as 512 MB of RAM, since it has no database layer. CMS Made Simple and CouchCMS both require PHP hosting with a MySQL database, which adds setup and maintenance overhead but supports more structured content models.
None of the three approaches WordPress's ecosystem size. CMS Made Simple is the only one that documents a dedicated Module Manager for one-click community modules like e-commerce and forms; CouchCMS and HTMLy are both described as having smaller plugin and theme ecosystems than WordPress.
Read the full CMS Made Simple review · Read the full CouchCMS review · Read the full HTMLy review