CMS comparison CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Hygraph

CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Hygraph

CoreMedia Content Cloud is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Hygraph 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 18.

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CoreMedia Content Cloud Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 18 of 28 built in
Hygraph Headless · Closed source · 13 of 28 built in

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

CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Hygraph feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	CoreMedia Content Cloud Enterprise DXP	Hygraph Headless
Overview
What it is	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.	Hosted headless CMS run by Hygraph, formerly GraphCMS. Serves content over a GraphQL API and can pull in data from remote REST and GraphQL sources.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	CoreMedia Content Cloud v13, or CMCC 13 Version 2512.1.1, released 10 Aug 2026	Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor	CoreMedia GmbH coremedia.com	Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) hygraph.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Event Hub webhooks are an add-on for the CoreMedia cloud service only.	No self-hosting Vendor cloud Shared regions on every plan. Dedicated clusters on Enterprise.
Built with	Java, Spring Boot, TypeScript for Studio	Hosted SaaS with a GraphQL Content API
Database	Relational database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server	Managed by Hygraph
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	Free to start Hobby free. Growth from $199 per month. 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.	Built in XML files in the project workspace define content types. 3	Limited Management SDK applies schema changes from code. No declarative schema files. 2
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code.	Not available Content type changes need a developer and a deployment. 3	Built in 1
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in Page grid placements hold reusable content items. 4	Built in Components in modular fields: 10 on Hobby, 20 on Growth. 1
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language.	Limited Each locale is a derived site linked to a master site, with a translation workflow. 5	Built in Field-level locales: 2 on Hobby, 3 on Growth, up to 80 on Enterprise. 1
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service.	Built in Named image variants and crops in the CAE and Headless Server. 6	Built in Resize, crop and format conversion by URL or GraphQL argument. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in REST endpoints mapped from persisted GraphQL queries. 7	Not available Content API is GraphQL only. 3
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in Headless Server. 7	Built in 3
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Plugin or add-on Event Hub add-on service for cloud service subscribers. 8 9	Built in 5 on Hobby, 10 on Growth. 1 5
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Built in Content Application Engine with FreeMarker templates. 1	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 DRAFT and PUBLISHED stages on every plan. 1
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Built in Valid-from and valid-to dates plus a scheduled publication workflow. 11	Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Enterprise. 1 7
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Paid tier 14 days on Growth, up to 365 on Enterprise. None on Hobby. 1
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in	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 In-preview editing in Studio, also for headless frontends. 10	Built in Click to Edit via the Hygraph Preview SDK opens the field in Studio. 6
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in Workflow Server with configurable publication workflows. 11 13	Paid tier Custom Workflows, up to 10, on Enterprise. 1 13
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Limited Projects group content. A publication set carries linked items along. 12 13	Paid tier Releases on Enterprise. 7
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live.	Not available	Not available Collaborator View shows who else is in an entry. 9
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in Rights rules per group, folder and content type. 14	Paid tier Up to 30 custom roles on Enterprise. Hobby has 2 standard roles, Growth 4. 1
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Not available Rights apply per folder and content type. 14	Not available Permissions scope by model, locale, stage, environment and condition. 8
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Built in Studio login runs on Spring Security. A project swaps in a redirect-based SSO provider. 15 16	Paid tier Enterprise. 1
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Built in Records who changed what and when; supports reversions. Retention, export and edition limits are not public: confirm in the contract. 16	Paid tier Enterprise, 90-day retention. 1
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Built in	Paid tier Multitenancy on Enterprise. 1
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in Studio plugins.	Built in App Framework for custom fields, sidebars and pages. 12
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in CoreMedia Marketplace. 17	Built in Hygraph Marketplace. 12
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Plugin or add-on Formcentric for CoreMedia, a partner product from the Marketplace. 18	Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Plugin or add-on Elastic Social module manages site users and comments. 19	Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Plugin or add-on KIO Co-Pilot needs a licence with KIO enabled. 20	Built in AI Assist on every plan, with a monthly AI token allowance. 1 10
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Not available None for content. The only official MCP server covers Engagement Cloud analytics. 20	Built in Global endpoint at mcp.hygraph.com and per-project endpoints. Also a Claude connector. 11 14 15

CoreMedia Content Cloud sources

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

Hygraph sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans.

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

Where they differ

CoreMedia Content Cloud and Hygraph get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. CoreMedia Content Cloud has 18 built in on its baseline edition, Hygraph 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.

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

Built in on CoreMedia Content Cloud, a different answer on Hygraph 10

Content model in code CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Hygraph: Limited.
REST API CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Hygraph: Not available.
Renders the website CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Hygraph: Not available.
Scheduled publishing CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Version history CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Approval workflows CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Custom roles CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Single sign-on CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Audit log CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Multiple sites CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.

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

Content model in the UI CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
Localization CoreMedia Content Cloud: Limited. Hygraph: Built in.
Webhooks CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Built in.
AI writing assistant CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Built in.
Official MCP server CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

Content releases CoreMedia Content Cloud: Limited. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Form builder CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Not available.
Site member accounts CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Not available.

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