Bludit Review, Pricing & Features

Bludit is a free, open-source flat-file CMS storing content as JSON with no database required. See features, plugins, themes, and who it's built for.

Category
CMS
Pricing
Free, from Free
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 18, 2026
Founded
2015
Web AppOpen SourceTemplatesSelf-Hosted

Overview

Bludit is a free, open-source flat-file CMS that has been in active development since 2015 and is released under the MIT license. Instead of using a database, it stores all content, pages, and settings as JSON files directly on the server's file system.

This architecture means the only server requirement is PHP with a handful of standard extensions, making Bludit faster to install and simpler to maintain than database-driven platforms, since there is no database server to configure or back up.

Key Features

Bludit supports both a Markdown editor and a WYSIWYG rich text editor, plus raw HTML in content. It includes built-in SEO tools and is designed to be privacy-first, tracking no visitor data by default.

Like larger CMS platforms, Bludit can be extended with community plugins and themes distributed through an official plugins directory, covering contact forms, galleries, RSS feeds, and SEO utilities, and it can be deployed via a web installer or Docker.

Pricing

Bludit is completely free and open source under the MIT license, with no paid tiers, subscriptions, or commercial support plans. Costs are limited to whatever web hosting or server the user chooses to run it on.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • No database required, simplifying installation, backups, and hosting requirements
  • Free and open source under the permissive MIT license
  • Lightweight and fast, suitable for standard shared hosting
  • Built-in SEO tools and privacy-first, no default visitor tracking

Cons

  • No built-in multi-language admin interface without third-party plugins
  • Smaller plugin and theme ecosystem compared to WordPress
  • Flat-file storage can be less efficient than a database at larger content scale
  • No official company or commercial support; relies on community forums

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bludit free to use?

Yes, Bludit is completely free and open source under the MIT license, with no paid tiers or subscriptions.

Does Bludit require a database?

No, Bludit is a flat-file CMS that stores all content as JSON files on the file system, so no database server is needed.

Can Bludit be extended with plugins and themes?

Yes, Bludit has an official plugins and themes directory maintained by the community, covering functionality like contact forms, galleries, and SEO tools.

What are the server requirements for Bludit?

Bludit requires PHP 7 or higher along with the mbstring, GD, DOM, and JSON PHP extensions; no database is required.

Is Bludit good for multilingual websites?

Bludit's core admin interface lacks native multi-language switching, so multilingual sites typically rely on community plugins or separate installations per language.

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