Comparison
Contensio vs. OctoberCMS
OctoberCMS was once the most developer-friendly Laravel CMS. In 2021 it changed its license to a proprietary model. Contensio is what OctoberCMS v1 promised: a Laravel CMS that stays open source.
What changed with OctoberCMS
OctoberCMS v1 was open source (MIT), built on Laravel, and had a loyal developer community. In 2021, version 2.0 shipped with a new license that restricts commercial use without purchasing a subscription. Version 3.0 continued in this direction.
For agencies building client sites, this means a per-project license cost that didn't exist before. For developers who built on OctoberCMS because it was open source, the rules changed mid-game.
Contensio is AGPL-3.0 — the same license term applies to every project, any number of sites, any team size. Multilingual, custom fields, and an editorial workflow are all in the core package. It tracks current Laravel and is installed as a Composer package, not a standalone download.
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | OctoberCMS | Contensio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| License |
Proprietary
Proprietary (v2+) — commercial use requires a license |
Built into core
AGPL-3.0 — fully open source |
OctoberCMS changed from MIT to a proprietary license in v2 (2021). |
| Laravel version |
Limited
v1: Laravel 5/6 (EOL); v2/v3: proprietary |
Built into core
Current Laravel — tracks each major release |
OctoberCMS diverged from upstream Laravel in v2. |
| Distribution |
—
Standalone download or Composer |
—
Composer package only |
|
| Custom fields |
Plugin required
Builder plugin required |
Built into core
12 field types, translatable, repeaters, relationships |
|
| Multilingual |
Plugin required
Translate plugin required |
Built into core
Per-field translatable flag, translated slugs, language switcher |
|
| Editorial workflow |
Not available
Not available |
Built into core
Submit → approve / soft-reject / hard-reject + audit log |
|
| Content approval emails |
Not available
Not available |
Built into core
Reviewers and authors notified automatically |
|
| SEO metadata |
Plugin required
SEO plugin required |
Built into core
Meta title, description, OG image per item per language |
|
| Redirects manager |
Plugin required
Plugin required |
Built into core
301/302 redirects with hit counter |
|
| Custom content types |
—
Builder plugin (in v1); built-in in v2+ |
Built into core
Admin-managed content types, no code |
|
| Visual installer |
—
Web installer available |
—
Browser-based installer — no CLI required |
|
| Admin UI |
—
Backend builder — powerful, technical |
—
Content-focused admin — clean for non-technical editors |
|
| Plugin ecosystem |
—
Marketplace (mostly free, some paid) |
—
Early — growing Composer-based marketplace |
OctoberCMS has a larger plugin library due to its age. |
FAQ
Is OctoberCMS v1 still usable?
Technically yes, but it runs on Laravel 5/6, which reached end of life years ago. Running v1 in production means no security updates on the underlying framework. Migrating from it is a practical necessity at some point.
Can I migrate an OctoberCMS site to Contensio?
There's no automated migration tool. OctoberCMS stores content in a relational database (similar to Contensio), so the data is accessible — migrating the content itself is a database script task rather than a flat-file import. The Blade templates require porting but the template concepts are similar.
Does Contensio have the OctoberCMS backend builder (CMS section)?
No. OctoberCMS has a "CMS" section where developers can edit layout/page/partial files through the admin. Contensio does not expose theme file editing through the admin panel — themes are files in your project, edited in your editor. This is intentional: in-browser file editing is a security risk on production servers.
What about the OctoberCMS plugin marketplace?
OctoberCMS has a mature plugin marketplace built up over a decade. Contensio's plugin ecosystem is newer. The trade-off: Contensio ships significantly more in core (multilingual, custom fields, editorial workflow), which reduces how many plugins you need to find in the first place.
Open source. Current Laravel. No license surprises.
Contensio is AGPL-3.0, tracks current Laravel, and ships multilingual and editorial workflow in core.