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CMS comparison Contentful vs Statamic

Contentful vs Statamic

Contentful is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Statamic 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 18.

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  • Contentful Headless · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Statamic Traditional · Closed source · 8 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Contentful on 29 Sept 2026, Statamic 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
Contentful vs Statamic feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Contentful Headless
Statamic Traditional
Overview
What it is Hosted headless CMS run by Contentful. Contentful stores content in its cloud and delivers it over REST and GraphQL APIs.Laravel-based PHP CMS that stores content in flat files by default. Free Core edition. Pro adds users, APIs and multi-site. You host it.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Contentful Platform SaaS, Free, Lite and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Statamic 6, Core and Pro Version 6.34.1, released 23 Sept 2026
Vendor Salesforce (acquired Contentful in September 2026) contentful.com Statamic, LLC statamic.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Closed source Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use.
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 languagesPHP, Laravel, Vue
Database Managed by ContentfulFlat files by default, SQL databases via the Eloquent Driver
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. Free to start Core free for one admin user. Pro $349 per site, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise from $10k per year.
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 and fieldsets are YAML files in the project. 4
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 1 Built in Blueprint builder in the Control Panel. 4
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 Replicator and Bard sets. 5
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 Paid tier Multi-site and multilingual content need Pro. 61
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 Glide resizes and crops on request. 7
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in 1 Paid tier Read-only REST API on Pro. 8
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 5 Paid tier Read-only GraphQL API on Pro. 9
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in 1 Not available Laravel events only. No webhook settings in core.
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 Antlers or Blade templates.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 1 Paid tier Working copies of live entries need Revisions on Pro. Core has unpublished entries. 101
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 Limited Future-dated entries stay private until their date. Set per collection. 11
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in 1 Paid tier Revisions on Pro. 10
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 6 Built in 121
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 Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 12
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 Approval workflows are on the roadmap as planned. 19
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 Plugin or add-on Free first-party Collaboration addon. Requires Pro. 18
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 Paid tier Roles and permissions need Pro. 131
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 Field conditions depend on field values. User roles can't drive them. 4
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 Paid tier Pro via Laravel Socialite providers such as SAML2. Enterprise tier lists SSO. 1521
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 Paid tier Enterprise tier, from $10k per year, lists audit logging. 121
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 Paid tier Pro. 61
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 Custom fieldtypes, widgets and Control Panel pages. 17
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Contentful Marketplace. 15 Built in Statamic Marketplace for addons. 18
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Limited Core allows one form. Pro removes the limit. 116
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Paid tier Member accounts, registration and login tags need Pro. 1416
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
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 addons only, such as MCP Server for Statamic by Cbox. 20

Considering more platforms? Compare Contentful and Statamic with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Contentful and Statamic get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Contentful has 14 built in on its baseline edition, Statamic has 8. 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. Statamic can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Contentful has a vendor-run cloud. Statamic has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Contentful, a different answer on Statamic 8

  • Localization Contentful: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • REST API Contentful: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • GraphQL API Contentful: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Webhooks Contentful: Built in. Statamic: Not available.
  • Drafts Contentful: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Version history Contentful: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Visual editing Contentful: Built in. Statamic: Limited.
  • Official MCP server Contentful: Built in. Statamic: Not available.

Built in on Statamic, a different answer on Contentful 2

  • Content model in code Contentful: Limited. Statamic: Built in.
  • Renders the website Contentful: Not available. Statamic: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 8

  • Scheduled publishing Contentful: Paid tier. Statamic: Limited.
  • Approval workflows Contentful: Paid tier. Statamic: Not available.
  • Content releases Contentful: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Not available.
  • Real-time co-editing Contentful: Paid tier. Statamic: Plugin or add-on.
  • Field-level permissions Contentful: Paid tier. Statamic: Not available.
  • Form builder Contentful: Not available. Statamic: Limited.
  • Site member accounts Contentful: Not available. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • AI writing assistant Contentful: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Not available.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Contentful vs Payload.

Contentful against other platforms

Statamic against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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