open-source intranet comparison

Why Your Organization Needs an Open Source Intranet

Open Intranet Team ·

The Hidden Costs of SaaS Intranets

When organizations evaluate intranet solutions, the initial price tag often looks reasonable. $5 per user per month? That’s nothing. But let’s do the math for a growing organization.

1,000 employees × $5/month × 12 months × 5 years = $300,000

And that’s just the license fee. Add customization, integration, and the inevitable price increases that come with SaaS contracts, and you’re looking at significantly more.

What “Open Source” Actually Means for Your Organization

Open source isn’t just about cost savings — though those are significant. It’s about control.

Full Code Access

Your security team can inspect every line of code. Your developers can modify authentication flows, add custom encryption, or build integrations that SaaS vendors would charge extra for.

Data Sovereignty

Employee data never leaves your infrastructure. This isn’t just a nice-to-have — for organizations in healthcare, finance, and the public sector, it’s a compliance requirement.

No Vendor Lock-in

With a proprietary intranet, switching vendors means losing your data, your customizations, and your training investment. With open source, any Drupal developer can maintain and extend your intranet.

The Drupal Advantage

Open Intranet is built on Drupal 11, the same enterprise-grade CMS that powers whitehouse.gov, the European Commission, and millions of websites worldwide. This means:

  • 50,000+ modules to extend functionality
  • Millions of developers worldwide who can work with your code
  • Battle-tested security with a dedicated security team
  • Enterprise-grade performance for thousands of concurrent users

When to Choose Open Source

An open source intranet is the right choice when:

  • You have more than 200 employees (the cost savings become significant)
  • You need data sovereignty (healthcare, finance, government)
  • You want full customization (unique workflows, integrations)
  • You plan to grow (no per-user fees means predictable costs)
  • You value independence (no vendor lock-in, full control)

Getting Started

Open Intranet is available for free on GitHub. Download it, install it on your servers, and start using it today. If you need professional installation, customization, or managed services, our team at Droptica is here to help.