Perch
The facts below are what the maker publishes about Perch, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
Plans and prices
From Perch's own pricing page, checked 12 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Perch | — | One website per license · free updates and support · One-time fee per website; amount not stated on the page |
The facts
Each one read from Perch's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Access controls
- Perch supports roles and permissions for giving groups access to different CMS content.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Add-ons
- Official Perch add-ons are free to add, and some require Perch Runway or provide extra features with it.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Content fields
- Perch templates become content forms, and developers can add custom fields to represent content.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Custom content types
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Custom user roles
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Database limit
- Perch does not support database servers other than MySQL or MariaDB, including Microsoft SQL Server and Postgres.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Design control
- Perch has no themes or built-in markup, so developers bring their own front-end code and design.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Editing
- Content editors can save drafts, preview changes, and undo edits.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Editorial workflows
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Formatting
- Text areas can use Markdown, Textile, or HTML, with or without an editor plugin.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Hosting requirements
- The listed minimum requirements include PHP 5.4 with PDO or mysqli, cURL and JSON, GD or ImageMagick, and MySQL 5.0; MariaDB is also supported.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Perch templates can edit HTML, XML, JSON, or other text formats, and Perch supports front-end frameworks such as Bootstrap and Foundation.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The maker describes Perch as aimed at professional web designers, developers, freelancers, and small agencies building client projects.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Media library
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Multilingual content
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Product
- Perch is a PHP content management system that installs on your own website.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Perch is designed for small websites and can retrofit an existing site with editable content.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Security
- The maker recommends HTTPS and PHP 7.0 or newer for most sites, particularly new builds.checked 12 Oct 2026
- SEO tools
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Support
- Support is included with a license and is provided through the Perch forum, alongside documentation and community help.checked 12 Oct 2026
Money
- Free plan
- Nochecked 20 Sep 2026
- Trial
- Perch can be downloaded and tried locally on localhost, an IP address, or a non-public domain without a full license.checked 12 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platform type
- self_hostedchecked 20 Sep 2026
Alternatives to Perch
- 1
Enonic XP
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxSelf-hosted9.0$990 usage-based - 2

CrafterCMS
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxmacOS9.0Free plan - 3

Kiln
Free planOpen sourceWebAPISelf-hosted8.4From $4.99 a month - 4
Webflow CMS
Free planWebAPI8.3From $15 a month - 5

django CMS
Free planWebAPILinuxSelf-hosted8.3From $500 a year - 6

Tumblr
Free planAndroidiOSWeb8.3From $69.99 a year
