
Umbraco
✓ Verified by EU AltsOpen-source .NET CMS trusted by 800,000+ websites — a Danish alternative to WordPress.
Overview
Umbraco is a Odense, Denmark-based European company building cms and open source software since 2003. Despite its EU base, EU Alts has verified that Umbraco owned by Monterro (Sweden) — majority owner since 2021; minority stakes held by Bonnier Capital, Alcur Fonder, and Grenspecialisten (all Sweden) (Denmark (Umbraco A/S, HQ Odense); majority-owned by Monterro, a Sweden-based growth equity firm), and hosts customer data with Microsoft Azure (with Cloudflare for CDN/security) in Customer-selectable region; EU data centers available, plus a US (Virginia) option added in 2022, so it may still fall under the reach of the US CLOUD Act — worth weighing against WordPress.com and WP Engine on this specific point.
Why European teams pick Umbraco
Teams in Europe still consider Umbraco for its cms product and Denmark presence, operating since 2003, but unlike a fully EU-owned provider, Umbraco owned by Monterro (Sweden) — majority owner since 2021; minority stakes held by Bonnier Capital, Alcur Fonder, and Grenspecialisten (all Sweden) (Denmark (Umbraco A/S, HQ Odense); majority-owned by Monterro, a Sweden-based growth equity firm), and hosts customer data with Microsoft Azure (with Cloudflare for CDN/security) in Customer-selectable region; EU data centers available, plus a US (Virginia) option added in 2022 — so it does not fully avoid US CLOUD Act exposure the way some other alternatives to WordPress.com and WP Engine do.
See more EU cms tools or browse other startups from Denmark.
About
Umbraco is a Danish open-source .NET CMS founded in Odense in 2000, one of the most widely deployed CMS platforms in Denmark and the Nordics. It is used by thousands of European organisations including local governments, educational institutions, and enterprises. Umbraco is fully open-source (MIT) and self-hostable on any Windows or Linux server in the EU. Umbraco Cloud, the managed hosting service, is hosted in Azure EU regions with GDPR compliance and a DPA. It has a strong Danish and European support community and integrates well with Microsoft's technology stack (Azure, Active Directory, SharePoint). Umbraco is the natural CMS choice for .NET-focused European development teams.
Details
- Founded
- 2003
- Headquarters
- Odense, Denmark
- Ownership
- Owned by Monterro (Sweden) — majority owner since 2021; minority stakes held by Bonnier Capital, Alcur Fonder, and Grenspecialisten (all Sweden) (Denmark (Umbraco A/S, HQ Odense); majority-owned by Monterro, a Sweden-based growth equity firm)
- Hosting
- Microsoft Azure (with Cloudflare for CDN/security), Customer-selectable region; EU data centers available, plus a US (Virginia) option added in 2022
- CLOUD Act
- Exposed
- Company size
- 51–200 employees
Categories
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Frequently asked questions
What is Umbraco?
Umbraco is a Danish open-source .NET CMS founded in Odense in 2000, one of the most widely deployed CMS platforms in Denmark and the Nordics. It is used by thousands of European organisations including local governments, educational institutions, and enterprises. Umbraco is fully open-source (MIT) and self-hostable on any Windows or Linux server in the EU. Umbraco Cloud, the managed hosting service, is hosted in Azure EU regions with GDPR compliance and a DPA. It has a strong Danish and European support community and integrates well with Microsoft's technology stack (Azure, Active Directory, SharePoint). Umbraco is the natural CMS choice for .NET-focused European development teams.
What does Umbraco do?
Umbraco is open-source .net cms trusted by 800,000+ websites — a danish alternative to wordpress. It is listed under cms and open source on EU Alts because its core functionality serves teams looking for a European cms tool with EU data residency, typically as a switch away from WordPress.com and WP Engine.
Is Umbraco a good European cms alternative?
Umbraco is a fit for European businesses evaluating cms options where data residency and GDPR alignment matter — typical buyers include EU-based SaaS teams, public-sector projects, regulated industries (healthcare, finance, legal), and any organisation that needs to demonstrate that customer data does not leave the EU. It also overlaps with open source use cases.
Is Umbraco GDPR compliant?
Umbraco is headquartered in Odense, Denmark and processes user data under the GDPR by default. Customer data processing is supervised by Denmark's data protection authority, the Datatilsynet (Danish DPA). However, EU Alts has verified that Umbraco owned by Monterro (Sweden) — majority owner since 2021; minority stakes held by Bonnier Capital, Alcur Fonder, and Grenspecialisten (all Sweden) (Denmark (Umbraco A/S, HQ Odense); majority-owned by Monterro, a Sweden-based growth equity firm), and hosts customer data with Microsoft Azure (with Cloudflare for CDN/security) in Customer-selectable region; EU data centers available, plus a US (Virginia) option added in 2022, which means — unlike a fully EU-owned provider — it may still be reachable under the US CLOUD Act, similar to WordPress.com and WP Engine in that respect.
How do teams switch from WordPress.com to Umbraco?
Teams evaluating a move from WordPress.com and WP Engine to Umbraco should note: Umbraco owned by Monterro (Sweden) — majority owner since 2021; minority stakes held by Bonnier Capital, Alcur Fonder, and Grenspecialisten (all Sweden) (Denmark (Umbraco A/S, HQ Odense); majority-owned by Monterro, a Sweden-based growth equity firm), and hosts customer data with Microsoft Azure (with Cloudflare for CDN/security) in Customer-selectable region; EU data centers available, plus a US (Virginia) option added in 2022, so this switch narrows but may not fully close the US CLOUD Act gap. Weigh that against the cms workflow fit before treating it as a complete Schrems II fix.
Where is Umbraco based?
Umbraco is headquartered in Odense, Denmark. The company was founded in 2003. Its main website is https://umbraco.com.