Contao
Web content management software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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€5 per month
Free Trial unavailable
Free version
Small
Medium
Large
- Construction
- Public sector and nonprofit organizations
- Agriculture, fishing, and forestry
What is Contao
Contao is an open-source web content management system used to build and maintain websites with structured pages, themes, and extensions. It targets small to mid-sized organizations, agencies, and developers that need a self-hosted CMS with a graphical backend for editors. The platform is PHP-based and commonly deployed on standard LAMP/LEMP stacks, with functionality extended through a community extension ecosystem. Contao emphasizes templating and structured content management rather than a purely headless delivery model.
Open-source and self-hosted
Contao is distributed as open-source software, which allows organizations to run it on their own infrastructure and control upgrade timing. This can reduce dependency on a single commercial hosting provider and supports custom security and compliance requirements. Teams can inspect and modify source code when needed, which is useful for bespoke implementations. It also supports common hosting environments used for PHP applications.
Editor-friendly backend UI
Contao provides a browser-based administrative interface designed for non-technical content editors to manage pages, articles, and media. Role-based permissions help separate responsibilities across editors, publishers, and administrators. Built-in features such as versioning and workflow-oriented publishing controls support day-to-day content operations. This can be a fit for organizations that want a traditional CMS editing experience rather than developer-only content pipelines.
Extensible via themes and add-ons
Contao supports customization through templates/themes and an extension ecosystem that adds features such as forms, SEO tooling, and integrations. Developers can tailor front-end output while keeping editorial workflows in the backend. The architecture supports building reusable components across multiple sites. This helps agencies standardize implementations while still delivering custom designs.
Smaller enterprise feature set
Compared with enterprise-focused web experience platforms, Contao typically requires additional development or third-party components for advanced personalization, experimentation, and omnichannel orchestration. Organizations with complex multi-brand governance, large-scale content operations, or deep marketing automation needs may find gaps. Some capabilities may be achievable but depend on custom implementation. This can increase total effort for enterprise-grade use cases.
Ecosystem and talent availability
The community and commercial ecosystem is generally smaller than that of the most widely adopted CMS platforms, which can limit the number of ready-made integrations and implementation partners. Hiring experienced Contao developers may be more difficult in some regions. Extension quality and maintenance can vary by maintainer, requiring due diligence before adoption. This can affect long-term support planning.
Less aligned to headless-first
While Contao can be integrated with APIs and custom front ends, it is primarily designed as a traditional coupled CMS. Organizations pursuing a headless-first architecture with content-as-a-service, multiple front-end channels, and modern developer workflows may need additional engineering to meet those patterns. This can introduce architectural complexity and ongoing maintenance. Teams should validate API needs and delivery requirements early.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Contao (Core CMS) | Completely free (LGPL) | Open-source CMS licensed under LGPL‑3.0; free for private and commercial use (no purchase required). Source: contao.org "Free as in free speech" page. |
| Contao Supporter | €5 per month (recurring) | Regular financial contribution to the Contao project; benefits vary by amount (from €100/month you are a sponsor). Registration via members.contao.org. (contao.org: "Become a Contao Supporter"). |
| Contao Partner — Official | €249 per year (companies) / €179 per year (freelancers) | Entry in the partner list on contao.org, details page, official partner logo. All prices include VAT. (contao.org service description). |
| Contao Partner — Premium | €599 per year (companies) / €479 per year (freelancers) | Additional presentation options, backlink on Contao network, premium partner logo. All prices include VAT. (contao.org service description). |
| Contao Partner — Platinum | €399 per month (companies) | Top positioning in partner listing, company logo & backlink in Contao's GitHub repository; listed as monthly fee for companies. All prices include VAT. (contao.org service description). |
| Contao Theme Store — Example theme (Contao DESIGN Plus) | €95 (with designer copyright notice) or €109.99 (without) — one‑time | Official Contao theme marketplace sells paid themes (one‑time license per domain); 30‑day money‑back guarantee noted on theme page. (themes.contao.org). |
Notes: All information above is taken from Contao's official website (contao.org) and the official Contao Theme Store (themes.contao.org). Where multiple customer types are shown (companies vs freelancers) the site lists both prices explicitly.
Seller details
Contao Association
Hamburg, Germany
2006
Open Source
https://contao.org/
https://x.com/contaocms
https://www.linkedin.com/company/contao-association
