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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs FirstSpirit

Craft CMS vs FirstSpirit

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. FirstSpirit 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 14.

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  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, FirstSpirit 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
Craft CMS vs FirstSpirit feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is Self-hosted PHP CMS with custom fields and Twig templates. Pixel & Tonic sells licences per project and runs Craft Cloud hosting.Java-based enterprise CMS with in-preview editing and a CaaS layer for headless delivery. Runs as FirstSpirit Cloud or on-premises.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha. Version 5.11.3, released 18 Sept 2026 FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises Version 2026.10 (5.2.261011), released 15 Sept 2026
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available Closed source Proprietary
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence. Self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with PHP, Yii 2, TwigJava, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop app
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLBuilt-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sources
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Solo free for one user. Team $279, Pro $399 per project, then $99 per year for updates. 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. Built in Project config YAML records sections, entry types and fields for Git. 7 Built in Templates sync to files in Git through external synchronization and FSDevTools. 34
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 6 Limited Developers build templates in SiteArchitect but write their forms as XML. 412
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Matrix fields with nested entry types. 8 Built in Pages consist of sections based on section templates.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Per-site and per-language field translation on every edition. 61 Built in Language-dependent fields per project language.
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in 10 Built in FirstSpirit automatically generates the image resolutions defined per project.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Element API plugin. 12 Built in CaaS REST API. 56
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Built in CaaS GraphQL API generated from the FirstSpirit data model. 56
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Webhooks plugin. 13 Limited CaaS Change Streams push change events over WebSocket. 6
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in Twig templates. Built in Generates pages from templates. CaaS covers headless delivery.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 14 Built in Changes stay unreleased until the release workflow runs. 8
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Post date and expiry date on entries. 15 Limited Admins set up timed schedule entries. Editors have no per-item publish date. 10
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Editors can view and restore revisions. 14 Built in
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 1 Built in
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 14 Built in ContentCreator in-preview editing. Omnichannel Manager for headless frontends. 7
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Plugin or add-on Workflow plugin by Verbb, $49. 16 Built in 8
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Limited Release with dependencies publishes a page with its linked media and parents. 9
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 The Collaboration module adds comments on fields. No co-editing. 11
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Pro. Team allows one user group. Solo has one user. 51 Built in Groups with permissions per store and node.
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Paid tier Per-field Current User Condition. Rules by user group need Pro. 65 Limited Form rules hide or lock single fields per user group. 12
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier First-party SAML SSO on Enterprise. 13 Built in SAML and OpenID Connect login modules. 1314
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Not available No core log. Craft 5 audit plugins exist but are niche. 20 Built in Audit logging to the server log once enabled. 15
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Included on every edition. 19 Built in Several projects per server. Multisite Management shares content between them. 16
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Built in ContentCreator and SiteArchitect plug-ins.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Plugin or add-on Formie by Verbb, $99. Pricing page lists forms as plugin-only. 171 Plugin or add-on Formcentric for FirstSpirit, a partner product. 18
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Paid tier Public registration needs Pro. 5 Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available No first-party AI feature. Plugin or add-on AI Suite module: Content, Analyze and Image assistants. 117
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Third-party Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital. 19 Built in CaaS Platform MCP server builds and runs CaaS GraphQL queries. 19

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

Where they differ

Craft CMS and FirstSpirit get a different status on 14 of the 28 features and the same status on 14. Craft CMS has 14 built in on its baseline edition, FirstSpirit has 19. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Free option
Craft CMS has a free option. FirstSpirit has no free option.

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

  • Content model in the UI Craft CMS: Built in. FirstSpirit: Limited.
  • Scheduled publishing Craft CMS: Built in. FirstSpirit: Limited.

Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on Craft CMS 7

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Visual editing Craft CMS: Limited. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Custom roles Craft CMS: Paid tier. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Craft CMS: Paid tier. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Audit log Craft CMS: Not available. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Craft CMS: Not available. FirstSpirit: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Limited.
  • Content releases Craft CMS: Not available. FirstSpirit: Limited.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. FirstSpirit: Limited.
  • Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. FirstSpirit: Not available.
  • AI writing assistant Craft CMS: Not available. FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

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

Craft CMS against other platforms

FirstSpirit against other platforms

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

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