Side by side

C1 CMS Foundation vs Pulse CMS

Both stand on content management systems. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

C1 CMS Foundation

Free plan Self-hostedWebWindows

C1 CMS Foundation offers a broad open-source CMS feature set with Microsoft and Azure compatibility. Teams should plan for their own hosting unless choosing Cloud and should distinguish community support from paid-plan support.

Visit C1 CMS Foundation

Pulse CMS

Free plan MacSelf-hostedWeb

Pulse CMS combines client-friendly editing with static-site deployment and broad content features. Its free Core plan has eligibility and account limits, while Premium adds upgrades and installations for an annual fee.

Visit Pulse CMS

The facts

	C1 CMS Foundation	Pulse CMS
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Self-hosted, Web, Windows	Mac, Self-hosted, Web
Lowest paid plan	C1 CMS Developer: $89 a month	Premium: $297 a year
Plans published	5	3
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	c1.orckestra.com	pulsecms.com
On content management systems	#52 of 165	#48 of 165

C1 CMS Foundation: what it does well

Free open-source Foundation edition
Editorial workflows and custom content types
Multilingual content and SEO tools
Extensible through free and professional add-ons
Azure scaling and global delivery support

What to know first

Hosting is generally not included
Local installation requires Windows and IIS
Foundation support is community-based
Paid plan prices exclude VAT

Pulse CMS: what it does well

WYSIWYG, HTML, and Markdown editing
No database required
Supports multilingual sites and SEO tools
Self-hosting with no monthly hosting fees
Premium includes unlimited domain installs

What to know first

Core is limited to organizations under $400K revenue
Core has one username and no automatic upgrades
Premium costs $297 a year
Apache hosting requires PHP 7.0 or higher

Alternatives to C1 CMS Foundation Alternatives to Pulse CMS The whole list