An open-source CMS for structured websites and multilingual publishing.
Editorial sites and structured publishing.
| Content | Multiple websites in one page tree |
|---|---|
| Languages | Built-in multilingual website support |
| Access | Permissions down to individual backend fields |
| Best suited to | Editorial sites and structured publishing. |
| Before you commit | Hosting must meet PHP, database and extension requirements for the chosen release. |
| Pricing & plans | Free license; hosting billed separately Official website ↗ |
| Source | contao.org ↗ contao.org ↗ docs.contao.org ↗ |
Oct 20, 2026
Das Contao CMS in 5 Minuten · Contao Academy
Free license; hosting billed separately
Software license only; hosting and operations cost extra.
Pricing & plans ↗| Country | Live websites |
|---|---|
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 58,277 |
| 🇺🇸 United States | 7,425 |
| 🇧🇼 Botswana | 6,682 |
| 🇧🇾 Belarus | 6,091 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 5,733 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 5,728 |
| 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | 4,239 |
| 🇸🇳 Senegal | 3,195 |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 3,015 |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | 2,962 |
Live websites detected by BuiltWith. Leading countries; partial coverage. · Source ↗
| Company name | Contao open-source project |
|---|---|
| Founders | Leo Feyer |
Contao released TYPOlight 1.0 as open source, allowing the community to inspect, modify and redistribute the software.
TYPOlight became Contao, replacing a name that repeatedly caused confusion with the separate TYPO3 content management system.
Contao 4 adopted Symfony / Composer, changing runtime and extension compatibility requirements.
Contao 4.4 introduced the Contao Manager public beta, a browser interface for installing and managing Composer packages.
Contao listed CVE-2024-45398: backend users with file-manager access could upload malicious files and execute them on the server.
Contao listed CVE-2024-45398: backend users with file-manager access could upload malicious files and execute them on the server. This required backend access; the advisory is not evidence of a universal public compromise.
Source ↗Hosting must meet PHP, database and extension requirements for the chosen release.
Your practical checklist
An open-source CMS with themes, plugins and control over your own hosting.
Languages: Four multilingual modules in core.
Verified detail: Multilingual CMS with multi-user permissions.
Verified detail: Democratically governed open-source CMS project.
