What is DNN used for?

DNN, formerly DotNetNuke, is an open-source web content management platform for the Microsoft .NET ecosystem, with multi-site support and an extension store. It is a good fit for building intranets and extranets on .NET, running several websites from one CMS, and extending a CMS with custom modules.

Yes. DNN is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform and is written mainly in C#.

Yes. DNN is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Yes. DNN can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is DNN an alternative to?

DNN is an open-source alternative to Sitefinity, Xperience by Kentico, Sitecore and Adobe Experience Manager. Other open-source alternatives to Sitefinity include Sulu, TYPO3 and Concrete CMS.

Is DNN actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to DNN was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is v10.3.3, published on 23 July 2026. The project has 1.1k stars on GitHub.

DNN: open-source alternative to Sitefinity

About DNN

DNN, formerly known as DotNetNuke, is an open-source web content management platform built for the Microsoft ecosystem. It is used to build commercial websites, social intranets, community portals and partner extranets, and handles dynamic content of many types with sites that are straightforward to deploy and update.

Built-in features include a single installation with multi-site capability, file and folder management, localization with six languages out of the box, customizable site templates and themes, Azure compatibility, many REST APIs for site and content management, a drag-and-drop interface with an in-place rich-text editor, and administration tools such as security roles, protected content, SEO, a scheduler, SSL support and taxonomy. It is extensible through custom modules, with third-party extensions and skins available in the DNN Store.

DNN is written in C# and licensed under MIT, and runs on your own Windows and .NET hosting. The project has a community website, forums, documentation and a contribution process with a versioning policy and release schedule. It suits organizations and developers who already work in the Microsoft stack and want a mature open-source CMS.

Key features

Multi-site support from one installation
Localization with six built-in languages
Themes and site templates
REST APIs for site and content management
Drag-and-drop UI with in-place editing
Extensions and skins from the DNN Store

Good fit for

→Building intranets and extranets on .NET
→Running several websites from one CMS
→Extending a CMS with custom modules

Built with: C#
Tags: cms; dotnet; dnn; dotnetnuke; csharp; intranet; content-management; azure; self-hosted

DNN: questions and answers

What is DNN used for?: DNN, formerly DotNetNuke, is an open-source web content management platform for the Microsoft .NET ecosystem, with multi-site support and an extension store. It is a good fit for building intranets and extranets on .NET, running several websites from one CMS, and extending a CMS with custom modules.
Is DNN open source?: Yes. DNN is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform and is written mainly in C#.
Is DNN free?: Yes. DNN is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host DNN?: Yes. DNN can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is DNN an alternative to?: DNN is an open-source alternative to Sitefinity, Xperience by Kentico, Sitecore and Adobe Experience Manager. Other open-source alternatives to Sitefinity include Sulu, TYPO3 and Concrete CMS.
Is DNN actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to DNN was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is v10.3.3, published on 23 July 2026. The project has 1.1k stars on GitHub.