GovCMS vs LocalGov Drupal
GovCMS
govcms.gov.au
LocalGov Drupal
localgovdrupal.orgSide by side
| Figure | GovCMS | LocalGov Drupal |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 20 | 4 |
| Spec score · Government Website Builders | 8.5 (#2) | 8.9 (#1) |
| Accessibility | The official site states GovCMS meets WCAG 2.0 Level AA. | The CMS content and functionality are designed to meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 AA, with the administration interface also targeted at that level. |
| Audience | GovCMS is available to Australian government organisations at Commonwealth and State level. | The platform is designed for local councils across the UK and Ireland. |
| Integrations | GovCMS’s Digital Experience Platform program lists Rules as Code, content personalisation, analytics, digital asset management, and site optimisation services accessible through its Drupal Services Panel. | Drupal REST and JSON:API plus its module ecosystem can connect forms, payments, CRM, case-management, identity, mapping and directory systems. |
| Licence | GovCMS is released under the GNU General Public License version 2.0. | The distribution is released under the GNU General Public License version 2.0. |
| Notable release | GovCMS 4.5.1.1 was released on 29 September 2026 with Drupal core and Webform security updates. | LocalGov Drupal 4.0.0 added Drupal 11 support, and version 4.0.5 was released on 14 September 2026. |
| Self-hosting | The public codebase includes Docker Compose and development documentation, allowing teams to run the distribution outside the hosted service. | Local installation uses Composer with DDEV or Lando, and the project supplies step-by-step installation commands. |
| What it does | GovCMS is a whole-of-government content management and website hosting platform for Australian government agencies, built on Drupal. | LocalGov Drupal is a Drupal distribution and installation profile for UK councils publishing public-facing websites. |
Plans
GovCMS
- NanoA$9,260 a year
- SaaS Nano$9,260 a year
- MicroA$18,520 a year
- SaaS Micro$18,520 a year
- MiniA$37,045 a year
- SaaS Mini$37,045 a year
- Extra-SmallA$46,305 a year
- SaaS Extra-Small$46,305 a year
- SaaS Small$54,410 a year
- SmallA$54,410 a year
LocalGov Drupal
- LocalGov Drupal CMSFree
- LocalGov Drupal CMSFree
- LocalGov Drupal flying solo£9,999, paid once
- Council subscriptionPrice not published
In their own words
LocalGov Drupal
LocalGov Drupal is an open-source publishing platform built and maintained by councils and suppliers for local government. It is designed for local councils in the UK and Ireland, with tools for subsites, news, events, alerts, directories, service pages, guides, step-by-step pages, HTML publications and elections. Publishing features include flexible page components, patterns, styles, callouts, workflows, revisions, service contacts and shareable preview links. Optional workflow tools add roles, permissions, moderation, approval dashboards, scheduled publishing, review dates and revision records. Councils can use LocalGov Drupal Microsites to operate distinct websites from one platform; more than 50 microsites are live. The project supplies a scalable base theme and sample Scarfolk subtheme, along with quick-start installation, modular architecture, automated testing and coding-standards checks. Drupal REST and JSON:API tools and its module ecosystem can connect it with forms, payments, CRM, case management, identity providers, mapping and directories. Content and functionality are designed to meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 AA. The software is free, but installation and preparation require development resources, appropriate hosting and ongoing security updates.