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CMS comparison Contentful vs Wagtail

Contentful vs Wagtail

Contentful is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Wagtail is an open-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
  • Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Contentful on 29 Sept 2026, Wagtail 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 Wagtail feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Contentful Headless
Wagtail 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 CMS built on Django. Content types are Python models, and you host it yourself on any Python stack.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Contentful Platform SaaS, Free, Lite and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026
Vendor Salesforce (acquired Contentful in September 2026) contentful.com Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source BSD-3-Clause
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 The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app.
Built with Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, SDKs for JavaScript and other languagesPython, Django
Database Managed by ContentfulPostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, 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 and open source. No licence fee.
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 Page and snippet types are Django models. 2
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 Developers define content types in Python only.
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 StreamField blocks. 2
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 Core i18n with simple_translation. The wagtail-localize package adds a translation workflow. 3
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 Renditions with resize, crop and format filters. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in 1 Built in Read-only v2 API. Writable v3 API in preview since 8.0. 51
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 5 Plugin or add-on wagtail-grapple, maintained by Torchbox. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in 1 Not available Django signals such as page_published. No webhook settings. 18
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
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 Go-live and expiry dates. 7
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in 1 Built in Editors can compare and revert revisions. 11
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 6 Built in 20
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 Preview panel beside the edit form. No click-to-edit on the page. 20
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 Built in Moderation workflows with tasks assigned to groups. 8
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 Concurrent editing notifications warn editors. No live co-editing. 12
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 Groups with page, collection and model permissions. 9
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 Built in Set in code with the permission argument on panels. 10
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 Plugin or add-on django-allauth supports SAML and OpenID Connect. 19
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 Built in Site-wide history report of logged actions. 11
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 sites in one installation with shared users. 9
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 Hooks, viewsets and custom panels.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Contentful Marketplace. 15 Built in Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Built in wagtail.contrib.forms form builder. 13
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Limited Login for private pages is built in. Public sign-up needs a package such as django-allauth. 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 Plugin or add-on Wagtail AI, an officially supported package. 15
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 Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16

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

Where they differ

Contentful and Wagtail 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, Wagtail 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). Wagtail is open source (BSD-3-Clause).
Self-hosting
Contentful cannot be self-hosted. Wagtail can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Contentful has a vendor-run cloud. Wagtail has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Contentful, a different answer on Wagtail 5

  • Content model in the UI Contentful: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
  • GraphQL API Contentful: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Contentful: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Visual editing Contentful: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
  • Official MCP server Contentful: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.

Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on Contentful 9

  • Content model in code Contentful: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Renders the website Contentful: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Contentful: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Approval workflows Contentful: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Custom roles Contentful: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Contentful: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Audit log Contentful: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Contentful: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Form builder Contentful: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

  • Content releases Contentful: Plugin or add-on. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Real-time co-editing Contentful: Paid tier. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Contentful: Paid tier. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Site member accounts Contentful: Not available. Wagtail: Limited.

More comparisons

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

Contentful against other platforms

Wagtail against other platforms

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

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