CMS comparison Contentstack vs CoreMedia Content Cloud

Contentstack vs CoreMedia Content Cloud

Contentstack is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. CoreMedia Content Cloud is a closed-source enterprise DXP 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 15.

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Contentstack Headless · Closed source · 17 of 28 built in
CoreMedia Content Cloud Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Contentstack on 29 Sept 2026, CoreMedia Content Cloud 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

Contentstack vs CoreMedia Content Cloud feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Contentstack Headless	CoreMedia Content Cloud Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is	Hosted headless CMS run by Contentstack, sold alongside its AI agent and customer data products. It delivers content over REST and GraphQL APIs.	Java-based enterprise CMS with a Studio editor, a template engine and a GraphQL headless server. Runs on-premises or as CoreMedia's cloud service.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	Contentstack Content Cloud headless CMS, Free, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated	CoreMedia Content Cloud v13, or CMCC 13 Version 2512.1.1, released 10 Aug 2026
Vendor	Contentstack contentstack.com	CoreMedia GmbH coremedia.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	No self-hosting Vendor cloud	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Event Hub webhooks are an add-on for the CoreMedia cloud service only.
Built with	Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, CLI and SDKs	Java, Spring Boot, TypeScript for Studio
Database	Managed by Contentstack	Relational database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	Free to start Free plan. Growth $299 per month, extra users $25 per user per month. Enterprise on request.	No free option Pricing 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 Contentstack CLI. No declarative schema files. 2	Built in XML files in the project workspace define content types. 3
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 Content type changes need a developer and a deployment. 3
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in Modular Blocks fields, plus the Visual Editor for page layout. 12	Built in Page grid placements hold reusable content items. 4
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language.	Built in Entry-level localization in over 200 languages. 15	Limited Each locale is a derived site linked to a master site, with a translation workflow. 5
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service.	Built in Image Delivery API resizes, crops and converts by URL parameter. 3	Built in Named image variants and crops in the CAE and Headless Server. 6
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in 5	Built in REST endpoints mapped from persisted GraphQL queries. 7
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in 4	Built in Headless Server. 7
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Built in	Plugin or add-on Event Hub add-on service for cloud service subscribers. 8 9
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 Content Application Engine with FreeMarker templates. 1
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Built in	Built in
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Built in 6	Built in Valid-from and valid-to dates plus a scheduled publication workflow. 11
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Built in
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in 12	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 Visual Editor on every plan. 1 12	Built in In-preview editing in Studio, also for headless frontends. 10
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Paid tier Custom workflows on Growth and Enterprise. 1 7	Built in Workflow Server with configurable publication workflows. 11 13
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Built in Releases deploy grouped entries and assets to an environment. 6	Limited Projects group content. A publication set carries linked items along. 12 13
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live.	Limited Field-level locks and presence. Rolling out in phases with Drafts and Auto Save. 8	Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Paid tier 2 custom roles on Growth, 500 on Enterprise. None on Free. 1	Built in Rights rules per group, folder and content type. 14
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Paid tier Field rules inside custom roles, from Growth. 1 9	Not available Rights apply per folder and content type. 14
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Limited SAML 2.0 documented; baseline availability unconfirmed. Eligible tiers are not public. Confirm access in the contract. 10	Built in Studio login runs on Spring Security. A project swaps in a redirect-based SSO provider. 15 16
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Limited Stack and organization logs documented; baseline availability unconfirmed. Confirm access and retention in the contract. 11	Built in Records who changed what and when; supports reversions. Retention, export and edition limits are not public: confirm in the contract. 16
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Built in Separate stacks in one organization. Scaling stacks is a Growth and Enterprise option. 1	Built in
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in Developer Hub apps in field, sidebar and dashboard UI locations. 13	Built in Studio plugins.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in Contentstack Marketplace. 13	Built in CoreMedia Marketplace. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Not available	Plugin or add-on Formcentric for CoreMedia, a partner product from the Marketplace. 18
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Not available	Plugin or add-on Elastic Social module manages site users and comments. 19
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Plugin or add-on Official AI Assistant app with Contentstack-managed or your own model keys. 1 13	Plugin or add-on KIO Co-Pilot needs a licence with KIO enabled. 20
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Built in Official server run locally with npx @contentstack/mcp. 14	Not available None for content. The only official MCP server covers Engagement Cloud analytics. 20

Contentstack sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Contentstack Content Cloud headless CMS, Free, Growth and Enterprise plans.

CoreMedia Content Cloud sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. CoreMedia Content Cloud v13, or CMCC 13.

Considering more platforms? Compare Contentstack and CoreMedia Content Cloud with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Contentstack and CoreMedia Content Cloud get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. Contentstack has 17 built in on its baseline edition, CoreMedia Content Cloud 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.

Self-hosting: Contentstack cannot be self-hosted. CoreMedia Content Cloud can be self-hosted.
Free option: Contentstack has a free option. CoreMedia Content Cloud has no free option.

Built in on Contentstack, a different answer on CoreMedia Content Cloud 5

Content model in the UI Contentstack: Built in. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available.
Localization Contentstack: Built in. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Limited.
Webhooks Contentstack: Built in. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on.
Content releases Contentstack: Built in. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Limited.
Official MCP server Contentstack: Built in. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available.

Built in on CoreMedia Content Cloud, a different answer on Contentstack 6

Content model in code Contentstack: Limited. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in.
Renders the website Contentstack: Not available. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in.
Approval workflows Contentstack: Paid tier. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in.
Custom roles Contentstack: Paid tier. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in.
Single sign-on Contentstack: Limited. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in.
Audit log Contentstack: Limited. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

Real-time co-editing Contentstack: Limited. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available.
Field-level permissions Contentstack: Paid tier. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available.
Form builder Contentstack: Not available. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on.
Site member accounts Contentstack: Not available. CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

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