Now booking enterprise content platform builds for 2026. Contact us

Join us
Contact us

What we build

Who it's for

How we engage

Case studies

Industries

Partnerships

About

Writing

Tools

For startups Join us
Contact us
CMS comparison Contentstack vs Wagtail

Contentstack vs Wagtail

Contentstack 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 16.

Book a call
  • Contentstack Headless · Closed source · 17 of 28 built in
  • Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Contentstack 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
Contentstack vs Wagtail feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Contentstack Headless
Wagtail 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.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. Contentstack Content Cloud headless CMS, Free, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026
Vendor Contentstack contentstack.com Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source BSD-3-Clause
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud 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, CLI and SDKsPython, Django
Database Managed by ContentstackPostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
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 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 Contentstack CLI. No declarative schema files. 2 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 Modular Blocks fields, plus the Visual Editor for page layout. 12 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 Entry-level localization in over 200 languages. 15 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 Image Delivery API resizes, crops and converts by URL parameter. 3 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 5 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 4 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 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 Built in
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in 6 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 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 12 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 Visual Editor on every plan. 112 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 Custom workflows on Growth and Enterprise. 17 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. 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 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 2 custom roles on Growth, 500 on Enterprise. None on Free. 1 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 rules inside custom roles, from Growth. 19 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. Limited SAML 2.0 documented; baseline availability unconfirmed. Eligible tiers are not public. Confirm access in the contract. 10 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. Limited Stack and organization logs documented; baseline availability unconfirmed. Confirm access and retention in the contract. 11 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. Built in Separate stacks in one organization. Scaling stacks is a Growth and Enterprise option. 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 Developer Hub apps in field, sidebar and dashboard UI locations. 13 Built in Hooks, viewsets and custom panels.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Contentstack Marketplace. 13 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 Assistant app with Contentstack-managed or your own model keys. 113 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 Official server run locally with npx @contentstack/mcp. 14 Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16

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

Where they differ

Contentstack and Wagtail get a different status on 16 of the 28 features and the same status on 12. Contentstack has 17 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
Contentstack is closed source (Proprietary). Wagtail is open source (BSD-3-Clause).
Self-hosting
Contentstack cannot be self-hosted. Wagtail can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Contentstack has a vendor-run cloud. Wagtail has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Contentstack, a different answer on Wagtail 6

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

Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on Contentstack 7

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

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • Real-time co-editing Contentstack: Limited. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Contentstack: Limited. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Site member accounts Contentstack: Not available. Wagtail: Limited.

More comparisons

Contentstack against other platforms

Wagtail against other platforms

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

We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead