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CMS comparison Contentful vs Umbraco

Contentful vs Umbraco

Contentful is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Umbraco is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 14.

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  • Contentful Headless · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Umbraco Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Contentful on 29 Sept 2026, Umbraco 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 Umbraco feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Contentful Headless
Umbraco 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.Open-source .NET CMS that renders sites with Razor or serves content headless. Self-hosted or run on Umbraco Cloud.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Contentful Platform SaaS, Free, Lite and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release. Version 17.7.0, released 17 Sept 2026
Vendor Salesforce (acquired Contentful in September 2026) contentful.com Umbraco A/S umbraco.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source MIT
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Runs only in Contentful's cloud. The local MCP server and SDKs are open source. Self-hosting Vendor cloud Forms and Deploy are paid add-ons when self-hosted. Umbraco Cloud includes both.
Built with Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, SDKs for JavaScript and other languagesC#, ASP.NET Core on .NET 10, TypeScript backoffice
Database Managed by ContentfulSQL Server, SQLite
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 Free to self-host. Umbraco Cloud Starter €45, Standard €280, Professional €730 per month. Enterprise on request.
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 Plugin or add-on Umbraco Deploy saves document types as .uda files in Git. Paid on-premises, included on Umbraco Cloud. 45
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 Document types are built in the backoffice.
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 Block List and Block Grid editors. 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 Culture variants per property.
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 ImageSharp crops and resizes images from query string parameters. 9
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in 1 Built in Content Delivery API. 7
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 5 Not available No official GraphQL. Community package Nikcio.UHeadless adds one. 20
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in 1 Built in 8
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 Razor templates.
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
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 Built in 10
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in 1 Built in Rollback compares and restores earlier versions. 11
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 6 Built in
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
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 Plugin or add-on Umbraco Workflow add-on. Its free version is capped at five approval groups. Full use is paid. 1221
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 Plugin or add-on Release Sets in a licensed Umbraco Workflow. 13
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
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 User groups with granular permissions.
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 Limited Per-property read and write limits per user group, enforced in the UI only. 14
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 Built in OpenID Connect providers such as Entra ID, configured in code. 15
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 Limited Audit trail per item plus a log viewer. No installation-wide audit screen in core. 16
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 Built in Several root nodes, each with its own domains.
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 Backoffice extensions.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Contentful Marketplace. 15 Built in Umbraco Marketplace.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Plugin or add-on Umbraco Forms, paid licence. Included on Umbraco Cloud. 217
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Built in Members, separate from backoffice users.
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 Plugin or add-on Free Umbraco.AI packages add prompts and an editor copilot. 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 Built in Umbraco CMS Developer MCP server. 19

Contentful sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Contentful Platform SaaS, Free, Lite and Enterprise plans.

  1. Contentful pricing
  2. Salesforce signs definitive agreement to acquire Contentful
  3. contentful-migration on GitHub
  4. Contentful docs: Images
  5. Contentful docs: GraphQL Content API
  6. Contentful docs: Live preview
  7. Contentful Marketplace: Launch
  8. Contentful Help Center: Launch
  9. Contentful Help Center: Create a custom role
  10. Contentful Help Center: Content permissions
  11. Contentful Help Center: Single sign-on (SSO)
  12. Contentful docs: Set up audit logs
  13. Contentful Help Center: The entry editor
  14. Contentful docs: Create a custom app
  15. Contentful Marketplace: AI Content Generator
  16. Contentful docs: MCP server
  17. MarketScreener (S&P Capital IQ): Salesforce completed the acquisition of Contentful on September 1, 2026

Umbraco sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release..

  1. Umbraco releases
  2. Umbraco pricing
  3. Umbraco 18 release
  4. Umbraco Deploy licensing
  5. Umbraco Cloud: UDA files
  6. Umbraco docs: Block Grid
  7. Umbraco docs: Content Delivery API
  8. Umbraco docs: Webhooks
  9. Umbraco docs: Image Cropper
  10. Umbraco docs: Scheduled Publishing
  11. Umbraco docs: Rollback to a previous version
  12. Umbraco Workflow
  13. Umbraco Workflow docs: Release Sets
  14. Umbraco docs: Property Level UI Permissions
  15. Umbraco docs: External Login Providers
  16. Umbraco docs: Log Viewer
  17. Umbraco Forms licensing
  18. Umbraco.AI on GitHub
  19. Umbraco MCP on GitHub
  20. Nikcio.UHeadless on Umbraco Marketplace
  21. Umbraco Workflow docs: Licensing

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

Where they differ

Contentful and Umbraco get a different status on 14 of the 28 features and the same status on 14. Contentful has 14 built in on its baseline edition, Umbraco has 18. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Licence
Contentful is closed source (Proprietary). Umbraco is open source (MIT).
Self-hosting
Contentful cannot be self-hosted. Umbraco can be self-hosted.

Built in on Contentful, a different answer on Umbraco 2

  • GraphQL API Contentful: Built in. Umbraco: Not available.
  • Visual editing Contentful: Built in. Umbraco: Not available.

Built in on Umbraco, a different answer on Contentful 6

  • Renders the website Contentful: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Contentful: Paid tier. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Custom roles Contentful: Paid tier. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Contentful: Paid tier. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Contentful: Paid tier. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Contentful: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 6

  • Content model in code Contentful: Limited. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • Approval workflows Contentful: Paid tier. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • Real-time co-editing Contentful: Paid tier. Umbraco: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Contentful: Paid tier. Umbraco: Limited.
  • Audit log Contentful: Paid tier. Umbraco: Limited.
  • Form builder Contentful: Not available. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

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

Contentful against other platforms

Umbraco against other platforms

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

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