Contentful vs Kirby
Contentful is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Kirby is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 20.
- Contentful Headless · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
- Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Contentful on 29 Sept 2026, Kirby on 29 Sept 2026. Plans and releases can change after those dates.
WAYF is an official Payload partner and top contributor. Every platform in the table is classified by the same published definitions, and each answer lists the vendor page it came from.
Feature comparison
Built inPaid tierPlugin or add-onLimitedNot available
| Platform |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| What it is | Hosted headless CMS run by Contentful. Contentful stores content in its cloud and delivers it over REST and GraphQL APIs. | File-based PHP CMS with a configurable editing Panel. Content lives in text files on your own server, under a paid per-site licence. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Contentful Platform SaaS, Free, Lite and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated | Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Salesforce (acquired Contentful in September 2026) contentful.com | Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Closed source Proprietary, source available |
| Hosting | No self-hosting Vendor cloud Runs only in Contentful's cloud. The local MCP server and SDKs are open source. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud |
| Built with | Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, SDKs for JavaScript and other languages | PHP, Vue for the Panel |
| Database | Managed by Contentful | Flat files, no database required |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free plan. Lite $300 per month. Extra Lite Space $850 per month. Enterprise on request. | No free option Basic €99 per site if revenue is under €1M. Enterprise €349 per site. Both include 3 years of updates. |
| Content modelling | ||
| Content model in code You define content types in files in your repository, review them like any other code and apply them from there. Imperative migration scripts alone count as limited. | Limited Migration scripts run by the Contentful CLI change the model. No declarative schema files. 3 | Built in Blueprints are YAML files in site/blueprints. 5 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Built in 1 | Not available You edit blueprints as files. The Panel has no schema editor. 5 |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Reorderable reference fields to typed entries. Studio page building is Enterprise. 1 | Built in Blocks and Layout fields. 6 |
| Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. | Built in 2 locales on Free, 3 on Lite, custom on Enterprise. 1 | Built in Multi-language content is built in. 7 |
| Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. | Built in Images API resizes, crops and converts by URL parameter. 4 | Built in Thumbs with resize, crop and format conversion. 8 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in 1 | Built in Authenticated REST API. The official KQL plugin serves headless queries. 910 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Built in 5 | Not available |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Built in 1 | Not available PHP hooks only. No webhook settings. |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Not available | Built in PHP templates and snippets. |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in 1 | Built in Page drafts. Kirby 5 stores unsaved changes apart from the live version. 4 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Lite and Enterprise. 1 | Not available |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Built in 1 | Not available Kirby 5 keeps the live version and one set of changes. No revision history. 4 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in 6 | Built in Preview view renders unsaved changes, with shareable links. 4 |
| Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. | Built in Live preview inspector mode opens the field next to the page. Needs the live preview SDK. 6 | Not available Preview view compares versions. No click-to-edit. 4 |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Paid tier Not on the Starter Space. Up to 5 on a Lite Space at $850 a month, custom on Enterprise. 1 | Not available Fixed page statuses: draft, unlisted, listed. 11 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Plugin or add-on Launch is available on Lite and Enterprise plan families, but requires Contentful admin support to purchase and install. 78 | Not available |
| Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live. | Paid tier Live collaboration on Lite and Enterprise, with per-field presence avatars. 113 | Not available Content locking stops two editors changing one page at once. 320 |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Paid tier Premium plans, sold as Enterprise. Free has 2 fixed roles, Lite 3. 19 | Built in Roles are user blueprints with permissions. 12 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Paid tier Field and locale rules in custom roles. Premium plans only, sold as Enterprise. 10 | Not available Only by loading different blueprints per role in custom code. 13 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Paid tier SAML 2.0 SSO on Premium plans, sold as Enterprise. 11 | Not available No first-party SSO. Community OAuth plugins exist. |
| Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. | Paid tier Audit logs on selected Enterprise plans, by sales agreement. 12 | Not available |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Paid tier One Starter Space on Free and Lite, plus one paid Lite Space. Multiple spaces on Enterprise. 1 | Not available One site per installation. |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in App Framework for custom field, sidebar, entry and page apps. 14 | Built in Panel plugins add fields, sections, views and areas. 15 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Contentful Marketplace. 15 | Built in Official plugin directory at plugins.getkirby.com. 16 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available | Plugin or add-on Paid DreamForm plugin by tobimori. 17 |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Not available | Limited Frontend login is built in. Sign-up needs custom code. 14 |
| AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. | Plugin or add-on Official AI Content Generator app with your own OpenAI key. AI Actions need Enterprise. 115 | Not available No first-party AI. Kirby Copilot is a paid third-party plugin. 18 |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Built in Hosted beta server at mcp.contentful.com and an open-source local server. 16 | Not available Third-party Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick. 19 |
Contentful sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Contentful Platform SaaS, Free, Lite and Enterprise plans.
- Contentful pricing
- Salesforce signs definitive agreement to acquire Contentful
- contentful-migration on GitHub
- Contentful docs: Images
- Contentful docs: GraphQL Content API
- Contentful docs: Live preview
- Contentful Marketplace: Launch
- Contentful Help Center: Launch
- Contentful Help Center: Create a custom role
- Contentful Help Center: Content permissions
- Contentful Help Center: Single sign-on (SSO)
- Contentful docs: Set up audit logs
- Contentful Help Center: The entry editor
- Contentful docs: Create a custom app
- Contentful Marketplace: AI Content Generator
- Contentful docs: MCP server
- MarketScreener (S&P Capital IQ): Salesforce completed the acquisition of Contentful on September 1, 2026
Kirby sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha..
- Kirby pricing
- Kirby releases
- Kirby 5 release overview
- Kirby 5: Preview your changes
- Kirby docs: Blueprints
- Kirby docs: Blocks field
- Kirby docs: Languages
- Kirby docs: $file->thumb()
- Kirby docs: REST API
- Kirby Query Language (KQL) plugin
- Kirby docs: Publishing workflow
- Kirby docs: Permissions
- Kirby cookbook: Extending permissions
- Kirby docs: Frontend login
- Kirby docs: Plugin extensions
- Kirby plugin directory
- DreamForm plugin
- Kirby Copilot plugin
- Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick
- Kirby docs: Content options (locking)
Considering more platforms? Compare Contentful and Kirby with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Contentful and Kirby get a different status on 20 of the 28 features and the same status on 8. Contentful has 14 built in on its baseline edition, Kirby has 11. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.
- Self-hosting
- Contentful cannot be self-hosted. Kirby can be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- Contentful has a vendor-run cloud. Kirby has no vendor-run cloud.
- Free option
- Contentful has a free option. Kirby has no free option.
Built in on Contentful, a different answer on Kirby 6
- Content model in the UI Contentful: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- GraphQL API Contentful: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Webhooks Contentful: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Version history Contentful: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Visual editing Contentful: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Official MCP server Contentful: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
Built in on Kirby, a different answer on Contentful 3
- Content model in code Contentful: Limited. Kirby: Built in.
- Renders the website Contentful: Not available. Kirby: Built in.
- Custom roles Contentful: Paid tier. Kirby: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 11
- Scheduled publishing Contentful: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Approval workflows Contentful: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Content releases Contentful: Plugin or add-on. Kirby: Not available.
- Real-time co-editing Contentful: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Field-level permissions Contentful: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Single sign-on Contentful: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Audit log Contentful: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Multiple sites Contentful: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Form builder Contentful: Not available. Kirby: Plugin or add-on.
- Site member accounts Contentful: Not available. Kirby: Limited.
- AI writing assistant Contentful: Plugin or add-on. Kirby: Not available.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Contentful vs Payload.
Contentful against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Contentful
- Contentful vs Contentstack
- Contentful vs CoreMedia Content Cloud
- Contentful vs Craft CMS
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- Contentful vs Directus
- Contentful vs Drupal
- Contentful vs EmDash
- Contentful vs FirstSpirit
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- Contentful vs Ghost
- Contentful vs HubSpot CMS
- Contentful vs Hygraph
- Contentful vs Instatic
- Contentful vs Joomla
- Contentful vs Keystone
- Contentful vs Liferay DXP
- Contentful vs Optimizely CMS
- Contentful vs Payload
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- Contentful vs Sanity
- Contentful vs Sitecore
- Contentful vs Squarespace
- Contentful vs Statamic
- Contentful vs Storyblok
- Contentful vs Strapi
- Contentful vs TYPO3
- Contentful vs Umbraco
- Contentful vs Wagtail
- Contentful vs Webflow
- Contentful vs Wix
- Contentful vs WordPress
- Contentful vs Xperience by Kentico
Kirby against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Kirby
- Contentstack vs Kirby
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Kirby
- Craft CMS vs Kirby
- DatoCMS vs Kirby
- Decap CMS vs Kirby
- Directus vs Kirby
- Drupal vs Kirby
- EmDash vs Kirby
- FirstSpirit vs Kirby
- Framer vs Kirby
- Ghost vs Kirby
- HubSpot CMS vs Kirby
- Hygraph vs Kirby
- Instatic vs Kirby
- Joomla vs Kirby
- Keystone vs Kirby
- Kirby vs Liferay DXP
- Kirby vs Optimizely CMS
- Kirby vs Payload
- Kirby vs Prismic
- Kirby vs Progress Sitefinity
- Kirby vs Sanity
- Kirby vs Sitecore
- Kirby vs Squarespace
- Kirby vs Statamic
- Kirby vs Storyblok
- Kirby vs Strapi
- Kirby vs TYPO3
- Kirby vs Umbraco
- Kirby vs Wagtail
- Kirby vs Webflow
- Kirby vs Wix
- Kirby vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Kirby
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