Which Headless CMS
Is Right for You?

We support 11 headless CMS systems. A practical comparison: strengths, weaknesses, and who each one is built for.

CMS Finder

Which CMS Fits Your Project?

Answer short yes/no questions, and we'll recommend the best systems for your project.

Our Recommendation for You

Overview

All 11 at a Glance.

Key facts side by side. Click column names to compare CMS directly.

Contentful Storyblok Strapi Sanity DatoCMS Prismic Directus Payload WordPress Hygraph TYPO3
Type Cloud Cloud Both Cloud Cloud Cloud Both Both Both Cloud Self-Hosted
Starting Price 300 €/mo $99/mo $35/mo (Cloud) $15/seat/mo €149/mo $10/mo $99/mo (Cloud) $35/mo (Cloud, paused) €9/mo $199/mo Hosting costs
Free Tier 10 users, 100K calls 1 user, 100K calls Unlimited (self-hosted) 20 seats, 250K calls 2 users, 300 records 1 user, 4M calls Free <$5M revenue MIT — fully free GPL — free 3 seats, 1K entries GPL — free
Visual Editor Add-on All tiers No Since 2025 No Slice Builder No Live Preview Gutenberg No Backend module
API REST + GraphQL REST (GQL: Premium) REST + GraphQL GROQ + GraphQL GraphQL REST REST + GraphQL REST + Local API REST (+ WPGraphQL) GraphQL REST (+ Headless Ext.)
Self-Hosting No No Yes (MIT) No No No Yes (BSL 1.1) Yes (MIT) Yes (GPL) No Yes (GPL)
i18n Locales 2 (Free), ∞ (Ent.) 2 (Free), 10 (Growth+) Unlimited Unlimited 5 (Free) 2–8 before Enterprise Unlimited Per plugin Unlimited 239 natively Unlimited
Best For Enterprise, omnichannel Agencies, marketing Self-hosting, dev teams Engineering teams Media projects, GraphQL Marketing, landing pages Legacy modernization Next.js, code-first Existing WP sites Multi-source, i18n Enterprise DACH, government
All prices and features as of August 2026. Subject to change.
In Detail

Every CMS in Detail

Strengths, weaknesses, and who it's built for. Click cards to compare side by side.

Contentful

The enterprise default. Connects to 100+ third-party services out of the box.

Cloud
  • 100+ ready-made integrations (Shopify, Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.)
  • Enterprise SLAs up to 99.99% uptime guaranteed
  • Deliver content to web, app, and IoT from one system
  • Largest CMS marketplace, proven at enterprise scale
  • Big price jump: Free → €300/mo with no mid-tier
  • Editors can't build pages without developer help
  • Visual editor costs extra (separate product)
  • Largest ecosystem (100+ integrations)
  • Custom SLAs up to 99.99% uptime
  • Omnichannel-ready (web, app, IoT)
  • Full API access in all pricing tiers
  • Steep price jump: Free → €300/mo
  • Visual editor only as add-on (Studio)
  • Editors need developer support

Best for: Enterprise teams with dedicated developers and omnichannel requirements.

Not ideal for: Small teams without budget or non-technical editors who want to build pages independently.

Free: 10 users, 100K calls · Lite: €300/mo · Enterprise: custom

Storyblok

Visual editor for everyone: editors build pages via drag & drop, developers define the components.

Cloud
  • Marketing team builds pages independently — no developer needed
  • Live preview: editors see changes before publishing
  • Visual editor included in every tier. No add-on costs
  • Component-based editing — intuitive for non-technical teams
  • Automatic overage charges on traffic spikes
  • No option to host on your own servers
  • Advanced API features locked behind premium tier
  • Visual editor with live preview in all tiers
  • Drag & drop for marketing teams
  • First-class framework bridges (Next.js, Nuxt, Astro)
  • Component-based content model maps naturally to modern frontends
  • GraphQL only on Premium tier
  • Management API limited to 3–6 req/s
  • No self-hosting option

Works well for: Agencies and marketing teams who want to build pages independently, especially in the DACH region.

Less suited for: Complex omnichannel projects or teams that need self-hosting.

Free: 1 user, 100K calls · Growth: $99/mo · Premium: custom

Strapi

The largest open-source headless CMS, self-hosted without seat or API limits.

Self-Hosted Cloud Open Source
  • No ongoing license costs: fully open source (MIT)
  • Complete data ownership on your own servers
  • Largest open-source CMS community for long-term support
  • No vendor lock-in — switch hosting anytime
  • Requires in-house dev team for setup and maintenance
  • Editors work with forms, not visual page building
  • No real-time collaboration between editors
  • MIT license — no seat/API limits (self-hosted)
  • 67K GitHub stars, largest community
  • TypeScript-first since v5
  • Dynamic Zones for flexible page structures
  • No visual page builder
  • Performance issues with populate=* on large datasets
  • No real-time collaboration

Best for: Teams with developer capacity who prioritize self-hosting and full data ownership.

Not ideal for: Editorial teams without developer support, or projects that need managed cloud hosting.

Self-hosted: free (MIT) · Cloud: from $35/mo · Enterprise: custom

Sanity

Code-first studio with real-time collaboration, like Google Docs for structured content.

Cloud
  • Multiple editors work simultaneously (like Google Docs)
  • Content studio fully customizable to your workflow
  • Generous free tier: 20 seats, 250K API calls
  • Structured content reusable across all channels
  • Switching to another CMS is costly (proprietary query language)
  • Extra environments cost $999/mo
  • Requires developer team for initial setup
  • Real-time collaboration (multiple editors simultaneously)
  • GROQ — powerful, expressive query language
  • Studio fully customizable (React app)
  • Portable Text instead of HTML blobs
  • GROQ (Sanity's proprietary query language) creates vendor lock-in
  • Extra dataset costs $999/mo
  • Code-first setup, difficult without devs

Great fit for: Engineering teams with complex content structures and real-time editing needs.

Consider alternatives if: Teams without developer resources, self-hosting requirements, or simple websites.

Free: 20 seats, 250K calls · Growth: $15/seat/mo · Enterprise: custom

DatoCMS

GraphQL-first with built-in image pipeline, ideal for media-heavy projects.

Cloud
  • Built-in image & video processing, no extra services needed
  • Test changes safely in sandbox environments (free tier)
  • Fast global delivery via Cloudflare CDN
  • Strong media management for image/video-heavy sites
  • Editors work with forms, not drag & drop
  • Smaller ecosystem — fewer ready-made integrations
  • Only one API type (GraphQL), which limits flexibility
  • GraphQL-first with strong typing
  • Built-in image pipeline (Imgix-compatible) + video (Mux)
  • Sandbox environments in free tier
  • Cloudflare CDN with high cache efficiency
  • No visual page builder
  • GraphQL only — no REST
  • Smaller plugin ecosystem

Best for: Media-heavy projects where image/video processing matters, especially teams that want sandbox environments.

Not ideal for: Non-technical content teams or projects that prefer REST.

Free: 2 users, 300 records · Professional: from ~€149/mo · Enterprise: custom

Prismic

Slice-based page builder with the most affordable entry point for marketing teams.

Cloud
  • Most affordable cloud CMS (starts at $10/mo)
  • Editors assemble pages from pre-built components
  • AI-powered translation included in all plans
  • Quick onboarding — intuitive slice-based editing
  • Maximum 8 languages before expensive Enterprise tier
  • Staging environments only at $675/mo (Platinum)
  • Limited content relationships for complex data models
  • Slice-based component builder for editors
  • Most affordable entry of all cloud CMS ($10/mo)
  • AI translation since 2025 (all tiers)
  • First-class Next.js/Nuxt/SvelteKit integration
  • Max 8 locales before Enterprise tier
  • No deep nested content relationships
  • Sandbox environments only at $675/mo

Best for: Marketing teams and small businesses who want to build landing pages independently.

Not ideal for: Heavily multilingual projects (>8 languages) or complex relational data models.

Free: 1 user, 4M calls · Starter: $10/mo · Medium: $150/mo · Platinum: $675/mo

Directus

Turn your existing database into a CMS — supports Postgres, MySQL, SQLite, and more.

Self-Hosted Cloud
  • Use your existing database. No data migration needed
  • Free for companies under $5M revenue
  • Supports all major databases (Postgres, MySQL, MSSQL, etc.)
  • Visual admin panel for content and user management
  • Interface feels technical — steep learning curve for editors
  • No visual page builder: form-based editing only
  • Requires technical team for configuration
  • Broadest DB support (Postgres, MySQL, MSSQL, SQLite, etc.)
  • Visual schema management via GUI
  • Use your existing database as CMS
  • Free for companies under $5M revenue
  • Interface shows DB terminology — steep learning curve for non-technical users
  • No visual editor / drag & drop
  • Schema changes not Git-versioned

Best for: Legacy modernization, internal tools, and teams with existing SQL databases.

Not ideal for: Content publishing teams or non-technical admins.

Self-hosted: free (BSL 1.1, <$5M revenue) · Cloud: from $99/mo · Enterprise: from $15,000/yr

Payload

Open-source CMS that lives inside your website project — simpler hosting, full ownership.

Self-Hosted Open Source (MIT)
  • Completely free (MIT license, zero restrictions)
  • One project, one deploy — simpler infrastructure
  • No vendor lock-in or recurring license fees
  • Full ownership of your content infrastructure
  • Admin interface needs developer customization for editors
  • Cloud hosting currently paused (Figma acquisition)
  • Requires strong development team
  • MIT license without any restrictions
  • TypeScript-native, end-to-end type safety
  • Local API — zero HTTP overhead
  • Lives in the Next.js /app folder (one repo, one deploy)
  • Editor UX needs customization (2/5 out of the box)
  • PostgreSQL or MongoDB only
  • Cloud hosting paused (Figma acquisition)

Strongest for: Next.js teams who work code-first and want full control over their content infrastructure.

Less suited for: Teams without strong developer resources or those who prefer managed cloud.

Self-hosted: free (MIT) · Cloud: currently paused · Enterprise: custom

WordPress (Headless)

The most familiar editor worldwide. Your existing WordPress becomes a headless CMS.

Self-Hosted Open Source (GPL)
  • Editors already know the interface, zero retraining
  • 60,000+ plugins for any business need
  • Keep all existing content — no migration required
  • Full GDPR compliance with data on your servers
  • Headless setup requires developer involvement
  • Preview and multilingual features need extra plugins
  • Server maintenance and updates are your responsibility
  • Most familiar editor worldwide (42.8% market share)
  • 60,000+ plugins, massive community
  • Migration without content export. Same DB, new frontend
  • Full data ownership and GDPR compliance
  • Headless setup requires technical effort
  • No native headless preview out of the box
  • i18n only via plugin (WPML, Polylang)

Best for: Existing WordPress sites migrating to a modern frontend without losing the familiar editor.

Not ideal for: Greenfield projects without WordPress experience or multi-channel delivery.

Software: free (GPL) · Managed hosting: from ~$25/mo · WP Engine Atlas: from $49/mo

Hygraph

Pulls data from external systems (e.g. Shopify, ERP) into one content hub — no custom code needed.

Cloud
  • Pull data from external systems (Shopify, ERP) into one content hub
  • 239 languages natively — the widest language support of any CMS here
  • EU hosting in Frankfurt, GDPR-compliant by default
  • Single API for all your content sources
  • Steep pricing: Free → $199/mo with no mid-tier
  • Smaller marketplace — fewer ready-made integrations
  • No visual page builder for editors
  • GraphQL as core architecture, not a bolt-on
  • Content federation: integrate external data sources directly
  • 239 locales natively supported
  • EU hosting (Frankfurt), Berlin-based company
  • Steep pricing: Free → $199/mo
  • Small marketplace
  • No visual builder

Best for: Multi-source projects (e.g. Shopify + CMS), GraphQL teams, and heavily multilingual sites.

Not ideal for: Budget-sensitive projects or teams that need self-hosting.

Free: 3 seats, 1K entries · Growth: $199/mo · Enterprise: custom

TYPO3 (Headless)

Enterprise CMS from the DACH region, proven with government agencies, corporations, and universities.

Self-Hosted Open Source (GPL)
  • Proven at scale — used by government, corporations, universities
  • Granular permissions and editorial approval workflows
  • Strong multi-site management for large organizations
  • Long-term professional support ecosystem
  • Requires TYPO3 specialists, limited talent pool
  • Headless mode requires additional extension
  • Higher infrastructure costs (dedicated servers)
  • Proven in enterprise use (government, DAX corporations, universities)
  • Strong multi-site and multi-language architecture
  • DACH community with professional support network
  • Granular permissions, workflows, and editorial approvals
  • Headless mode requires an additional plugin, not built in
  • Steep learning curve, TYPO3 specialists required
  • Resource-intensive operation (PHP, caching, server)

Best for: DACH enterprises, government agencies, and institutions with existing TYPO3 or need for granular workflows.

Not ideal for: Greenfield projects without TYPO3 expertise or small teams looking for a lightweight headless CMS.

Software: free (GPL) · Managed hosting: from ~€50/mo · Enterprise support: custom

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Decision Helper

Which Scenario Fits You?

Three common starting points, plus our recommendation.

1

You don't have a CMS yet

If your marketing team should build pages independently: Storyblok (visual editor, DACH support) or Prismic (affordable, slice builder). Neither requires a developer for content changes.

2

You already use WordPress

No switch needed. We use your existing WordPress as a headless CMS. Your editors keep the familiar dashboard, your visitors get a fast, modern frontend. Your content stays where it is.

3

Your dev team wants full control

Payload (MIT license, TypeScript-native, lives in Next.js) or Strapi (self-hosted, largest community). Both offer full data ownership and zero vendor lock-in.

Not sure? We'll help you choose, no cost, no commitment.

Tell us what your website needs. We'll recommend the right CMS and deliver an estimate within 24 hours.

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