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CMS comparison Contentful vs WordPress

Contentful vs WordPress

Contentful is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. WordPress 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 19.

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  • Contentful Headless · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • WordPress Traditional · Open source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Contentful on 29 Sept 2026, WordPress 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 WordPress feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Contentful Headless
WordPress 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 PHP CMS that renders sites through themes and extends through plugins. Teams self-host it or buy managed WordPress hosting.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Contentful Platform SaaS, Free, Lite and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org Version 7.1.2, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Salesforce (acquired Contentful in September 2026) contentful.com WordPress.org community project (Automattic is the largest contributor) wordpress.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
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 Automattic's WordPress.com and many third-party hosts sell managed WordPress.
Built with Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, SDKs for JavaScript and other languagesPHP, JavaScript, React block editor
Database Managed by ContentfulMySQL, MariaDB
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 download and self-host. Hosting and premium plugins cost extra.
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 Post types, taxonomies and meta registered in PHP.
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 1 Plugin or add-on ACF or Custom Post Type UI plugins. Core has no content type builder. 12
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 editor with patterns and synced patterns.
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 Plugin or add-on WPML or Polylang plugins. Core translates the interface only. 13
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 WordPress generates registered image sizes on upload.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in 1 Built in 5
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 5 Plugin or add-on WPGraphQL, a canonical plugin on WordPress.org. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in 1 Plugin or add-on WP Webhooks plugin. Core sends no outgoing webhooks. 16
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 Block themes and classic PHP themes.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 1 Limited Edits to a published post go live on update. PublishPress Revisions adds pending drafts. 11
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 Scheduled publishing only. Scheduled unpublishing needs a plugin.
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in 1 Built in Revisions with a visual scrubber since 7.0. 2
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 Built in Block Editor and Site Editor edit content inside the theme's styles.
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 PublishPress plugins. Core has only the Pending Review status. 711
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 Pulled from 7.0. Still experimental in the Gutenberg plugin. 3418
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 Plugin or add-on Plugins such as Members or User Role Editor. Core roles are fixed. 7
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
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 SAML or OIDC plugins, e.g. miniOrange SAML Single Sign On. 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 Plugin or add-on Simple History or WP Activity Log plugins. 14
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 Multisite network in core, with shared users. 8
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 blocks, admin pages and meta boxes.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Contentful Marketplace. 15 Built in WordPress.org plugin directory.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Plugin or add-on Form plugins such as WPForms or Contact Form 7. 17
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Built in Open registration with the Subscriber role. 7
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 Official AI plugin plus a connected provider. Core ships the AI Client only. 29
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 Plugin or add-on MCP Adapter plugin from the WordPress AI team. 10

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

Where they differ

Contentful and WordPress get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. Contentful has 14 built in on its baseline edition, WordPress has 13. 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). WordPress is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).
Self-hosting
Contentful cannot be self-hosted. WordPress can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Contentful has a vendor-run cloud. WordPress has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Contentful, a different answer on WordPress 6

  • Content model in the UI Contentful: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Localization Contentful: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • GraphQL API Contentful: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Contentful: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Drafts Contentful: Built in. WordPress: Limited.
  • Official MCP server Contentful: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on WordPress, a different answer on Contentful 5

  • Content model in code Contentful: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
  • Renders the website Contentful: Not available. WordPress: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Contentful: Paid tier. WordPress: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Contentful: Paid tier. WordPress: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Contentful: Not available. WordPress: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 8

  • Approval workflows Contentful: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Content releases Contentful: Plugin or add-on. WordPress: Not available.
  • Real-time co-editing Contentful: Paid tier. WordPress: Not available.
  • Custom roles Contentful: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Field-level permissions Contentful: Paid tier. WordPress: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Contentful: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Audit log Contentful: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Form builder Contentful: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

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

Contentful against other platforms

WordPress against other platforms

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

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