Best open-source alternatives to Webflow

Payload is a headless CMS designed for projects built with Next.js. It is positioned as a native CMS that can be installed directly into an existing `/app` folder, making it suitable for teams that want their frontend and backend to live together in one codebase. The README emphasizes that it is open source, extensible, and intended to reduce the friction of working with a traditional CMS. The project appears aimed at developers building websites, ecommerce stores, blogs, and portfolios who want a customizable admin experience and a tightly integrated development workflow. It supports server components, direct database querying from React Server Components, automated TypeScript types, authentication, localization, drafts, hooks, access control, and a customizable React admin UI. The README also highlights one-click deployment paths on Vercel and Cloudflare, plus templates and plugins for extending the platform.

Onlook is an open-source, visual-first code editor aimed at helping people craft websites, prototypes, and designs with AI. It focuses on Next.js and TailwindCSS projects, letting users start from scratch, from text or image prompts, or from prebuilt templates, then edit the resulting app visually in the browser. The project is designed for builders who want a tighter connection between design and code. Its editor supports real-time preview, direct DOM editing, code-side navigation, checkpoint-based saving, branching for experimentation, and deployment-oriented features like shareable links and custom domains. The README also indicates a web-based product with local development support, backed by a stack that includes Supabase, tRPC, Bun, Docker, and multiple AI/model providers.

WordPress is a self-hosted publishing platform intended for creating websites, blogs, and other content-driven sites. The README presents it as the “Semantic Personal Publishing Platform” and frames it as a widely used project supported by a large contributor community. It is meant for users who want to install the software on their own web server and manage a site through a browser-based admin interface. The installation process described is the classic five-minute setup: upload the files, open the installer, configure database connection details, and complete the setup through the login page. The README also notes built-in upgrade procedures, import tools for migrating from other systems, and a plugin API for extending core functionality. It positions WordPress as free software released under the GPL, with requirements centered on PHP and MySQL-compatible databases.

Wagtail is an open source content management system built on Django. It is aimed at organizations and teams that need a flexible CMS with strong editorial user experience and detailed control for designers and developers. The README highlights that it is used by large organizations and can scale from small deployments to very large sites. The project is installed with Python and Django tooling, typically through pip and a virtual environment, then initialized as a new Django project. It supports a content API for headless use, multi-site and multi-language setups, and search backed by Elasticsearch or PostgreSQL. The README also points users to extensive documentation for getting started, integration into existing Django projects, and release notes.

Keystone is a developer-focused CMS and application framework built to turn a defined schema into a working content and data backend. It is aimed at developers who want a flexible, custom backend without the boilerplate of building core CRUD and admin functionality from scratch. The project provides a GraphQL API and a management UI for working with content and data. Its README points users to online documentation, getting-started materials, examples, and API reference pages, and notes that the packages are published to npm for use in Node environments. It also indicates the project is maintained by Thinkmill and released under the MIT license.

Webstudio is presented as an open-source visual development platform aimed at developers, designers, and cross-functional teams. It is positioned as a product that lets users build visually while retaining ownership of their data, components, and infrastructure. The README indicates that the project can be used as a hosted service or self-hosted by rolling out one’s own instance. It also points readers to documentation, design resources, contributing guides, community discussions, and project tracking links, suggesting an active ecosystem around both usage and contribution. The license section further shows that the core is open source under AGPL-3.0-or-later, while one optional package is proprietary.

Craft CMS is a self-hosted content management system designed for teams and developers who want to build custom digital experiences rather than adapt to a rigid content structure. It emphasizes a user-friendly control panel, flexible content modeling, and a templating workflow centered on Twig, making it suitable for websites, headless backends, and bespoke commerce experiences. The project also includes a built-in plugin marketplace and an extension framework for customization, along with an auto-generated GraphQL API for headless use cases. The README points users to official docs, tutorials, and installation guidance, and notes that the application runs as a PHP service that connects to MySQL or PostgreSQL for content storage.

Lowdefy is a config-first web stack aimed at teams building production-ready business applications, internal tools, and other configurable web apps. It emphasizes using declarative YAML instead of large amounts of application code, making apps easier for AI to generate, humans to review, and teams to maintain over time. The project is built on Next.js and Auth.js and provides a library of UI blocks, logic operators, actions, and data connections to common services such as MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, REST APIs, Google Sheets, S3, Elasticsearch, and Stripe. It also supports authentication and role-based access control, and it can be extended through npm plugins. The README positions it as a framework for fast app development and deployment anywhere Next.js can run.

Saltcorn is an open source no-code platform for building database-driven web and mobile applications. It is aimed at users who want to assemble custom apps from existing data, using configurable views, datatypes, layouts, and actions rather than writing a full application from scratch. The project can be self-hosted or run as a multitenant instance, and the README highlights several deployment paths: a desktop local setup, Docker Compose quickstart, package-based installation, and source installation for developers. It uses PostgreSQL and Node.js, and its service-oriented installation guidance suggests it is intended for both hobbyist experimentation and production hosting. The README also points to hosted online trial access and notes support for reverse-proxy deployments.

Winter CMS is an open-source content management system for developers, agencies, and other teams that want a flexible web application platform built on Laravel. The README emphasizes fast prototyping, a safe and secure codebase, and a simple development experience, suggesting it is aimed at users who want to build and manage PHP-based sites and applications with a familiar framework foundation. The project is installed through Composer and then initialized with Winter-specific Artisan commands to generate environment configuration, run migrations, and create an administrator account. Its README also points users to official documentation, tutorials, and a Discord community for learning and support. Winter is presented as a community-driven project backed by the Frostbyte Foundation and distributed under the MIT license.