Open-Source CMS · OrchardCMS

OrchardCore

Orchard Core is an open-source, modular ASP.NET Core framework and CMS designed for building multi-tenant web applications. It provides both a low-level application framework and a ready-to-use content management system, with active maintenance and strong community support.

Talk to DEV.co Discuss Implementation

Source: GitHub — github.com/OrchardCMS/OrchardCore

8.1k

GitHub stars

2.6k

Forks

Primary language

BSD-3-Clause

License (OSI-approved)

Key facts

Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.

Field	Value
Repository	OrchardCMS/OrchardCore
Owner	OrchardCMS
Primary language	C#
License	BSD-3-Clause — OSI-approved
Stars	8.1k
Forks	2.6k
Open issues	872
Latest release	v3.0.0 (2026-06-18)
Last updated	2026-07-08
Source	https://github.com/OrchardCMS/OrchardCore

What OrchardCore is

Built on ASP.NET Core with C#, Orchard Core offers a modular architecture supporting multi-tenancy, a NuGet-based plugin system, and built-in content management features. The framework decouples the core application framework from the CMS layer, allowing flexible reuse for custom applications.

Quickstart

Get the OrchardCore source

Clone the repository and explore it locally.

terminalbash

1git clone https://github.com/OrchardCMS/OrchardCore.git2cd OrchardCore3# follow the project's README for install & configuration

Need it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.

Best use cases

Enterprise Content Management Systems

Multi-tenant SaaS platforms requiring content management, user roles, content versioning, and workflow automation. Orchard Core's modularity and multi-tenancy support are purpose-built for this use case.

Modular ASP.NET Core Applications

Custom enterprise applications needing plugin architecture and dynamic module loading without recompilation. Use the Orchard Core Framework layer independent of the CMS to build extensible business applications.

Headless CMS with Custom Frontend

Decoupled content delivery scenarios where content is managed via Orchard Core but consumed by separate frontend applications (web, mobile, etc.) via APIs.

Implementation considerations

Requires .NET 6 or later and Visual Studio or VS Code with .NET tooling; build and deployment pipeline must support .NET/NuGet ecosystem.
Module development demands C# and ASP.NET Core proficiency; insufficient expertise will slow customization and increase maintenance risk.
Multi-tenancy configuration needs careful data isolation design; review documentation and run isolation tests before production.
NuGet package dependency management is critical; pin versions and monitor security advisories for transitive dependencies.
Database schema evolution and migration strategy must be established early; Orchard Core uses Entity Framework Core and supports multiple databases.

When to avoid it — and what to weigh

Simple Marketing Website — Lightweight brochure sites are over-engineered for Orchard Core's complexity. Static site generators or simpler CMSes (WordPress, Hugo) are more appropriate.
Java/.NET Framework Lock-in — Requires .NET Core/.NET 6+ runtime. If your infrastructure is Java-only or .NET Framework (legacy), this is not a fit.
Very Small Team With No .NET Expertise — Orchard Core requires C# and ASP.NET Core knowledge for customization. Lack of .NET developers on staff will make maintenance and feature development difficult.
Immediate Production Deployment Without Vetting — While marked production-ready, 872 open issues indicate active development. Integration testing and security review against your threat model are required before live deployment.

License & commercial use

BSD-3-Clause License: a permissive OSI-approved license allowing commercial use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions. Requires preservation of copyright and license notices in redistributed source or binary form.

BSD-3-Clause explicitly permits commercial use. No viral copyleft, no per-instance fees, no dual licensing scheme mentioned in the data. However, review Orchard Core's own dependencies (transitive NuGet packages) for any incompatible licenses before shipping proprietary products. No warranty disclaimer should be acknowledged.

DEV.co evaluation signals

Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.

Signal	Assessment
Maintenance	Active
Documentation	Strong
License clarity	Clear
Deployment complexity	Moderate
DEV.co fit	Good
Assessment confidence	High

Security considerations

No security issues or vulnerabilities disclosed in provided data. Project provides a private security reporting email ([email protected]). No claims about penetration testing, OWASP compliance, or third-party audits are made in the data. Standard ASP.NET Core security features (authentication, authorization, data protection) are available. Conduct threat modeling for multi-tenancy isolation and data residency. Review dependency vulnerabilities via NuGet scanning. No framework-level encryption-at-rest or network security specifications provided; evaluate against your compliance requirements.

Alternatives to consider

Umbraco

Similar .NET-based CMS with strong multi-tenancy; consider if you prefer a more opinionated CMS layer with less framework flexibility.

Sitecore

Enterprise .NET CMS with advanced personalization and marketing automation; choose if budget allows and you need deep DXP capabilities (higher cost, vendor lock-in).

Contentful or Strapi

Headless-first, cloud-hosted, language-agnostic; prefer if you want SaaS convenience and don't require self-hosted .NET deployment.

Software development agency

Build on OrchardCore with DEV.co software developers

Orchard Core combines framework flexibility with built-in CMS features for enterprise applications. Assess your team's .NET expertise, review multi-tenancy requirements, and start with the test-drive or documentation. Our team can help architect a deployment strategy.

Talk to DEV.co

Related open-source tools

Surfaced by semantic similarity across the DEV.co open-source index.

mix.core piranha.core cms

Related on DEV.co

Explore the category and the services that help you build with it.

Open-Source CMS Web Application Development Enterprise Software Development API Development Talk to DEV.co

OrchardCore FAQ

Can I use Orchard Core for a headless CMS?

Yes. Orchard Core can serve as a content management backend with APIs consumed by separate frontend applications. Use the CMS layer for content authoring and expose content via REST/GraphQL APIs (if configured).

Is Orchard Core suitable for a SaaS product?

Yes. Multi-tenancy is a core feature, enabling per-customer data isolation and separate billing. Configure tenancy strategy early and test isolation thoroughly before launch.

What databases does Orchard Core support?

SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite are supported via Entity Framework Core. Verify driver stability and performance for your target deployment environment.

How difficult is module development?

Requires C# and ASP.NET Core knowledge. Documentation covers module structure and APIs; a mid-level .NET developer can build custom modules, but expert-level work (complex multi-tenancy, performance tuning) demands senior expertise.

Work with a software development agency

Adopting OrchardCore is usually one piece of a larger software development effort. As a software development agency, DEV.co provides software development services and web development expertise — pairing senior software developers and web developers with your team to design, build, and operate open-source cms software in production.

Ready to Build a Scalable .NET CMS?

Talk to DEV.co Schedule a Consultation