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CMS comparison Contentstack vs Craft CMS

Contentstack vs Craft CMS

Contentstack is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Craft CMS is a closed-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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  • Contentstack Headless · Closed source · 17 of 28 built in
  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Contentstack on 29 Sept 2026, Craft CMS 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 Craft CMS feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Contentstack Headless
Craft CMS Traditional
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.Self-hosted PHP CMS with custom fields and Twig templates. Pixel & Tonic sells licences per project and runs Craft Cloud hosting.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Contentstack Content Cloud headless CMS, Free, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha. Version 5.11.3, released 18 Sept 2026
Vendor Contentstack contentstack.com Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence.
Built with Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, CLI and SDKsPHP, Yii 2, Twig
Database Managed by ContentstackMySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL
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. Free to start Solo free for one user. Team $279, Pro $399 per project, then $99 per year for updates. 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 Contentstack CLI. No declarative schema files. 2 Built in Project config YAML records sections, entry types and fields for Git. 7
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 6
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 Matrix fields with nested entry types. 8
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 Built in Per-site and per-language field translation on every edition. 61
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 10
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in 5 Plugin or add-on Free first-party Element API plugin. 12
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 4 Built in 111
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in Plugin or add-on Free first-party Webhooks plugin. 13
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 Twig templates.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in Built in 14
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in 6 Built in Post date and expiry date on entries. 15
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Built in Editors can view and restore revisions. 14
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 12 Built in 1
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. 112 Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 14
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. 17 Plugin or add-on Workflow plugin by Verbb, $49. 16
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 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. 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 Paid tier Pro. Team allows one user group. Solo has one user. 51
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. 19 Paid tier Per-field Current User Condition. Rules by user group need Pro. 65
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 Paid tier First-party SAML SSO on Enterprise. 13
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 Not available No core log. Craft 5 audit plugins exist but are niche. 20
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 Included on every edition. 19
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 18
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Contentstack Marketplace. 13 Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Plugin or add-on Formie by Verbb, $99. Pricing page lists forms as plugin-only. 171
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Paid tier Public registration needs Pro. 5
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. 113 Not available No first-party AI feature.
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 Third-party Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital. 19

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

Where they differ

Contentstack and Craft CMS get a different status on 14 of the 28 features and the same status on 14. Contentstack has 17 built in on its baseline edition, Craft CMS has 14. 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. Craft CMS can be self-hosted.

Built in on Contentstack, a different answer on Craft CMS 5

  • REST API Contentstack: Built in. Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Contentstack: Built in. Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • Visual editing Contentstack: Built in. Craft CMS: Limited.
  • Content releases Contentstack: Built in. Craft CMS: Not available.
  • Official MCP server Contentstack: Built in. Craft CMS: Not available.

Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on Contentstack 2

  • Content model in code Contentstack: Limited. Craft CMS: Built in.
  • Renders the website Contentstack: Not available. Craft CMS: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 7

  • Approval workflows Contentstack: Paid tier. Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • Real-time co-editing Contentstack: Limited. Craft CMS: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Contentstack: Limited. Craft CMS: Paid tier.
  • Audit log Contentstack: Limited. Craft CMS: Not available.
  • Form builder Contentstack: Not available. Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • Site member accounts Contentstack: Not available. Craft CMS: Paid tier.
  • AI writing assistant Contentstack: Plugin or add-on. Craft CMS: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Contentstack against other platforms

Craft CMS against other platforms

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

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