CMS comparison Contentstack vs Storyblok

Contentstack vs Storyblok

Contentstack is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Storyblok is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 8.

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Contentstack Headless · Closed source · 17 of 28 built in
Storyblok Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Contentstack on 29 Sept 2026, Storyblok 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 Storyblok feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Contentstack Headless	Storyblok Headless
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.	Hosted headless CMS with a Visual Editor where editors compose pages from developer-defined blocks. Run by Storyblok GmbH.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	Contentstack Content Cloud headless CMS, Free, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated	Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor	Contentstack contentstack.com	Storyblok GmbH storyblok.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	No self-hosting Vendor cloud	No self-hosting Vendor cloud Spaces run in Storyblok's EU, US, Canada or Australia regions.
Built with	Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, CLI and SDKs	SaaS, JavaScript SDKs and CLI
Database	Managed by Contentstack	Managed by Storyblok
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 Starter free. Growth $99, Growth Plus $349 per space per month. Premium and Elite 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 The CLI pulls and pushes JSON component schemas. Typed @storyblok/schema is in preview. 2 3 4
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 1
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 Nestable blocks inside stories. 1
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 Starter includes 2 locales. Growth adds locales at $20 each per month. 1
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 Image Optimization Service on all plans. 1
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in 5	Built in Content Delivery API and Management API. 1
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in 4	Paid tier GraphQL Content Delivery API on Premium and Elite. 1
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Built in	Built in 3 webhooks on Starter, 5 on Growth, 15 on Premium. 1
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Not available	Not available
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	Paid tier Single story scheduling from Growth. Growth allows 2 scheduled stories, Premium 100. 1
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Limited Starter keeps 1 day of versions. Growth 30 days, Premium 180, Elite unlimited. 1
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. 1 12	Built in Visual Editor on all plans. 1
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	Paid tier Custom workflows and stages on Premium and Elite. Lower plans get fixed default stages. 1
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	Paid tier 20 releases on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 1
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 Comments and content locking. No simultaneous editing of one story. 1 10
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 10 custom roles on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 1 5
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	Paid tier Field permissions come with custom roles on Premium and Elite. 1 5
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 Premium and Elite. 1
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	Limited Activity log on all plans. Starter keeps 1 day, Growth 30 days, Elite unlimited. 1
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 One account can own many spaces, each on its own plan. 6
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 Field plugins on all plans. Tool and space plugins on Premium and Elite. 1 7
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in Contentstack Marketplace. 13	Built in Storyblok App Directory. 8
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Not available	Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Not available	Not available
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	Built in AI content generation and translation on all plans, metered by AI credits. 1
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	Built in Hosted server over the Management API. 9

Contentstack sources

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

Storyblok sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans.

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

Where they differ

Contentstack and Storyblok get a different status on 8 of the 28 features and the same status on 20. Contentstack has 17 built in on its baseline edition, Storyblok has 15. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Built in on Contentstack, a different answer on Storyblok 4

GraphQL API Contentstack: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Scheduled publishing Contentstack: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Version history Contentstack: Built in. Storyblok: Limited.
Content releases Contentstack: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.

Built in on Storyblok, a different answer on Contentstack 2

Content model in code Contentstack: Limited. Storyblok: Built in.
AI writing assistant Contentstack: Plugin or add-on. Storyblok: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 2

Real-time co-editing Contentstack: Limited. Storyblok: Not available.
Single sign-on Contentstack: Limited. Storyblok: Paid tier.

More comparisons

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

Contentstack against other platforms

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