What is Zotonic used for?

Zotonic is an open-source web framework and CMS built with Erlang for fast, real-time websites and applications. It is a good fit for real-time interactive websites and complex distributed web applications.

Is Zotonic open source?

Yes. Zotonic is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at zotonic/zotonic and is written mainly in Erlang.

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

Can I self-host Zotonic?

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

What are some alternatives to Zotonic?

Similar open-source tools in the CMS category include Automad, ThriveX and Strapi. SaaS products in the same category include 1FoodMenu, ABHUB and Adobe Experience Manager.

Is Zotonic actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Zotonic was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 0.94.1, published on 1 September 2026. The project has 848 stars on GitHub.

Zotonic: open-source CMS

About Zotonic

Zotonic is an open-source web framework and content management system written in Erlang. It is designed for dynamic, interactive websites and mobile solutions, offering an administration backend for managing content alongside the flexibility developers need to build custom applications.

The project emphasizes speed and stability and says it suits anything from basic websites to complex distributed applications. Real-time behavior is a design goal rather than an add-on, and the system is extensible so that developers can adapt it to their needs. Official documentation, release notes and an installation chapter are available on zotonic.com.

You can install Zotonic by downloading it from the website or by starting a Docker or Podman image. It is released under the Apache 2.0 license, and security issues should be reported to the project by email rather than through the public tracker.

Key features

Erlang-based high-speed web framework
Content management backend
Real-time capabilities
Extensible architecture
Docker and Podman images
Documentation and release notes

Good fit for

→Real-time interactive websites
→Complex distributed web applications

Built with: Erlang
Tags: erlang; cms; web-framework; real-time; docker; self-hosted

Zotonic: questions and answers

What is Zotonic used for?: Zotonic is an open-source web framework and CMS built with Erlang for fast, real-time websites and applications. It is a good fit for real-time interactive websites and complex distributed web applications.
Is Zotonic open source?: Yes. Zotonic is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at zotonic/zotonic and is written mainly in Erlang.
Is Zotonic free?: Yes. Zotonic is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Zotonic?: Yes. Zotonic can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What are some alternatives to Zotonic?: Similar open-source tools in the CMS category include Automad, ThriveX and Strapi. SaaS products in the same category include 1FoodMenu, ABHUB and Adobe Experience Manager.
Is Zotonic actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Zotonic was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 0.94.1, published on 1 September 2026. The project has 848 stars on GitHub.