What is Piranha CMS used for?

Piranha CMS is an editor-focused, open-source CMS for .NET that can run as an integrated CMS or as a headless API. It is a good fit for content-managed .NET websites and headless content API for .NET back ends.

Is Piranha CMS open source?

Yes. Piranha CMS is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at PiranhaCMS/piranha.core and is written mainly in C#.

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

Can I self-host Piranha CMS?

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

What is Piranha CMS an alternative to?

Piranha CMS is an open-source alternative to Xperience by Kentico. Other open-source alternatives to Xperience by Kentico include Orchard Core, Umbraco CMS and Squidex.

Is Piranha CMS actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Piranha CMS was on 9 August 2026, and the latest release is v12.2, published on 16 July 2026. The project has 2.2k stars on GitHub.

Piranha CMS: open-source alternative to Xperience by Kentico

About Piranha CMS

Piranha CMS is a decoupled, cross-platform content management system for .NET built on ASP.NET Core and Entity Framework Core. It targets developers who want a friendly editing experience for content teams, and it can be used either as an integrated CMS inside a web app or as a headless API.

Its architecture is modular and extensible, and it supports many hosting and deployment scenarios. Developers can start from project templates installed with the dotnet new command, for example a Razor Pages web project, or clone the source and run the example MVC web app. A manager interface at the /manager URL provides the editing UI, with default admin credentials that should be changed before going to production.

Piranha is written in C# for .NET 8, is distributed through NuGet packages and uses Crowdin for localization. It is released under the MIT license, and because it runs on your own ASP.NET Core hosting, you control where the site and its data live.

Key features

Integrated or headless CMS modes
ASP.NET Core and EF Core foundation
dotnet new project templates
Built-in manager interface
Modular, extensible architecture
Cross-platform .NET hosting

Good fit for

→Content-managed .NET websites
→Headless content API for .NET back ends

Built with: C#
Tags: cms; dotnet; aspnet-core; headless-cms; csharp; entity-framework; content-management

Piranha CMS: questions and answers

What is Piranha CMS used for?: Piranha CMS is an editor-focused, open-source CMS for .NET that can run as an integrated CMS or as a headless API. It is a good fit for content-managed .NET websites and headless content API for .NET back ends.
Is Piranha CMS open source?: Yes. Piranha CMS is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at PiranhaCMS/piranha.core and is written mainly in C#.
Is Piranha CMS free?: Yes. Piranha CMS is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Piranha CMS?: Yes. Piranha CMS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Piranha CMS an alternative to?: Piranha CMS is an open-source alternative to Xperience by Kentico. Other open-source alternatives to Xperience by Kentico include Orchard Core, Umbraco CMS and Squidex.
Is Piranha CMS actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Piranha CMS was on 9 August 2026, and the latest release is v12.2, published on 16 July 2026. The project has 2.2k stars on GitHub.