Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Twill VS Pico

Compare Twill VS Pico and see what are their differences

Twill logo Twill

An open source CMS toolkit for Laravel.

Pico logo Pico

A stupidly simple and blazing fast, flat file CMS
  • Twill Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-11
  • Pico Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-29

Twill features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Twill offers an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for content management, making it accessible for users without technical expertise.
  • Customizability
    Developers can easily extend and customize Twill to fit the specific needs of a project due to its flexible architecture and modular design.
  • Vue.js Integration
    Twill utilizes Vue.js for its admin user interface, providing a responsive and modern user experience with smooth transitions and interactions.
  • Laravel Compatibility
    Being built on top of Laravel, Twill seamlessly integrates with Laravel applications, benefiting from its robust features and vast ecosystem.
  • Open Source
    Twill is open-source software, allowing developers to review, modify, and contribute to the codebase, fostering community involvement and improvement.

Possible disadvantages of Twill

  • Limited Out-of-the-Box Features
    While customizable, Twill might require additional development work to implement features that are available by default in other CMS platforms.
  • Learning Curve for Customization
    Even though Twill is designed to be user-friendly, leveraging its full potential through customization may demand a deeper understanding of Laravel and Vue.js.
  • Community and Support
    As a relatively newer project, Twill may have a smaller community and fewer resources available for support compared to more established CMS platforms.
  • Dependency on Laravel
    Twill’s dependence on Laravel means it's not ideal for projects not using Laravel as a backend framework, potentially limiting its adoption.

Pico features and specs

  • Simplicity
    Pico is extremely straightforward and easy to set up, making it ideal for users who require a no-fuss CMS without complex configurations.
  • Performance
    Because Pico is a flat-file CMS, it does not require a database, which can significantly improve performance and speed.
  • Security
    Without a database, there are fewer entry points for potential security vulnerabilities, making Pico more secure by design.
  • Flexibility
    Pico allows for a high degree of customization through its use of Twig templates and markdown content, offering flexibility while maintaining simplicity.
  • Portability
    Since Pico is flat-file based, migrating a site involves simply copying files, making it easy to move websites between different environments.
  • No Database Required
    Eliminates the need for setting up and managing a database, which can be a barrier for some users.
  • Open Source
    Pico is open-source software, meaning it is free to use and customize per the user’s needs.

Possible disadvantages of Pico

  • Limited Scalability
    While fine for small to medium-sized projects, Pico's flat-file nature can be a bottleneck for very large websites with extensive content.
  • Less Feature-Rich
    Compared to more comprehensive CMSs like WordPress or Drupal, Pico lacks extensive plugins and built-in features.
  • Manual Content Management
    All content management is done through markdown files, which could be less intuitive and more cumbersome for non-technical users.
  • No Built-in GUI
    Pico doesn’t come with a graphical user interface (GUI) out of the box, requiring users to rely on text editors for content creation and management.
  • Community and Support
    The user and developer community around Pico is smaller compared to larger CMS platforms, which can result in fewer available resources for troubleshooting and support.

Analysis of Pico

Overall verdict

  • Pico is a good choice for those seeking a simple and efficient content management solution with minimal setup and maintenance needs. It is not suitable for complex websites requiring advanced features, but excels in scenarios where straightforward content delivery is required.

Why this product is good

  • Pico is a lightweight and fast CMS that uses flat files rather than a traditional database. This makes it ideal for websites where simplicity, speed, and easy deployment are priorities. It is particularly favored by developers who want to manage content without dealing with complex systems or bulky infrastructure. The use of Markdown for content creation empowers users to write and edit content with ease. Additionally, its minimalistic approach means fewer security vulnerabilities and lower maintenance requirements.

Recommended for

  • Developers or tech-savvy users who prefer a flat-file CMS over traditional database-driven systems.
  • Small to medium-sized websites, such as personal blogs or portfolios, where speed and simplicity are paramount.
  • Users who enjoy using Markdown for quick and easy content formatting.
  • Individuals or teams who value quick deployment and require a CMS with low overhead.

Twill videos

The Bespoke Dudes Eyewear Twill Review

More videos:

  • Review - H&M HAUL: Twill Shorts Review
  • Review - Review katun twill

Pico videos

Beretta Pico

More videos:

  • Review - iStick Pico Review by Eleaf! | IndoorSmokers
  • Review - Pico Model C review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Twill and Pico)
CMS
39 39%
61% 61
Blogging
41 41%
59% 59
Blogging Platform
100 100%
0% 0
Tech
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Twill and Pico. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Twill might be a bit more popular than Pico. We know about 11 links to it since March 2021 and only 9 links to Pico. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Twill mentions (11)

  • Have you used Nova?
    You might also want to take a look at twill.io, which is not very well known. It's less crud-focussed and more content manament focussed. They have a very nice block building system that filament lacks. In other aspects it's being outperformed by filament. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Workplaces for digital nomads: the API
    I've worked with Twill before, so I decided to use it for my project: an open, free system with rich features and good support. Why not? :-). - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Any suggestions for a "client-oriented" CMS? More info into the post.
    Twill is a great one for content focused admins. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • What technologies for these requirements?
    PHP Headless Or you go with a Headless PHP CMS. Some options for that are Bolt CMS, Suru, Twill and ExpressionEngine. A Headless CMS doesn't have any frontend. It can provide you with a REST API or you create it in their template engine and integrate your JS stuff there. There are so many, I can't count them all. You can also search for Cockpit and Strapi. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Strapi-like Laravel CMS?
    Perhaps Twill comes close. It supports running it as a headless CMS. However, I am not so sure whether RESTful API's are provided out of the box. But it seems like the Twill (PHP) API allows you to relatively easy create the required REST API's. Source: about 3 years ago
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Pico mentions (9)

  • EZ Question: Image Files in Obsidian Vault
    I'm cooking up a really cheap publishing solution using Pico CMS ("stupidly simple") and rsync or something from my Obsidian Vault to my PHP server. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • How to Start Your Blog in 2023
    I'm using https://picocms.org/. It is PHP based, works on a cheap limited web hoster. The concept is: Upload a markdown file plus associated media, and it does the rest for you. For customisation, you can use Twig and CSS, or a predefined theme (I didn't look into these, I wanted a custom appearance). For feeds there are plugins, for comments I use a "mail me at post023@mydomain.url" approach. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Do I need a CMS for a tech blog?
    Have you tried Pico? No database required and. You can either use Markdown or plain text for posting. Each post is just a file... https://picocms.org/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Les Pas 2.6.0, Photo blogging
    Ever since version 2.0, Les Pas has been able to share albums with other Nextcloud users, you can even co-edit the same album with others if you publish the album as 'Joint Album'. But how about people not in your Nextcloud server, like those friends who attended your wedding? Create temporary guest accounts for them is just not feasible. Photo blog is here to help! And luckily, we have Pico, the stupidly simple &... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Easiest static site generator
    You can try Pico CMS. But if you have the time, try Hugo. The latter has a learning curve, and the docs are frustratingly non-beginner friendly, but once you get the basics, there is no going back! Source: almost 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Twill and Pico, you can also consider the following products

WordPress - WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

Mastodon - Mastodon is a decentralized, open source social network. This is just one part of the network, run by the main developers of the project It is not focused on any particular niche interest - everyone is welcome!

SquareSpace - Squarespace is the easiest way for anyone to create an exceptional website. Pages, galleries, blogs, e-commerce, domains, hosting, analytics, 24/7 support - all included.

Blogger - Publish your passions, your way. Create a unique and beautiful blog. It’s easy and free.

WiX - Create a free website with Wix.com. Customize with Wix' website builder, no coding skills needed. Choose a design, begin customizing and be online today