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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs HubSpot CMS

Craft CMS vs HubSpot CMS

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. HubSpot CMS is a closed-source site builder that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 13.

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  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • HubSpot CMS Site builder · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, HubSpot 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
Craft CMS vs HubSpot CMS feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
HubSpot CMS Site builder
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.HubSpot's hosted CMS and site builder, sold as Content Hub. Pages and blogs connect to the HubSpot CRM, and HubSpot hosts every site.
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 Content Hub: Free, Starter, Professional, Enterprise SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com HubSpot, Inc. hubspot.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. No self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with PHP, Yii 2, TwigHubL templates, HubSpot CLI
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLManaged by HubSpot, with HubDB for structured data
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. Free to start Free plan for 2 users. Starter $20 per seat per month. Pro from $450 per month for 3 seats. Enterprise from $1,500.
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 Theme and module fields live in fields.json, synced with the HubSpot CLI. 3
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 6 Paid tier Module fields in Design manager on Starter. HubDB tables on Professional. 14
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 Drag-and-drop modules and sections. 5
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 Free tools cover 3 languages, Starter 50, Professional unlimited. 16
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 Automatic resizing plus the HubL resize_image_url function. 7
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 CMS APIs for pages, blog posts and HubDB. 8
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Paid tier Content Hub Professional. 9
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 Not available Webhooks API covers CRM objects. No page publish events. 10
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 HubL themes and templates on HubSpot hosting.
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
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 Built in 118
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 Restore previous versions on all plans. 12
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 Drag-and-drop editor edits the rendered page. 5
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 Paid tier Content approvals on Enterprise. 1
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Paid tier Content staging on Professional publishes staged pages together. 13
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
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 Paid tier Permission sets on Enterprise. Per-user permissions on all plans. 14
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 Not available
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 Paid tier SAML SSO on Content Hub Professional and Enterprise. 15
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 Paid tier Activity logging on Enterprise. 1
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 Paid tier Multisites on Enterprise. 1
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Built in Custom modules and their fields appear in the page editor. 3
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Built in HubSpot Marketplace for apps and themes. 16
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 Built in
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 Paid tier Memberships on Professional with 2 access groups and Enterprise with 100. 12
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available No first-party AI feature. Built in Breeze generates and refines content in editors on all plans. 17
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 Remote HubSpot MCP server reads site pages, landing pages and blog posts. 18

Craft CMS sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha..

  1. Craft CMS pricing
  2. Craft Cloud pricing
  3. Craft CMS Enterprise
  4. Craft 5 docs: Licensing and editions
  5. Craft 5 docs: User management
  6. Craft 5 docs: Custom fields
  7. Craft 5 docs: Project config
  8. Craft 5 docs: Matrix fields
  9. Craft 5 docs: Sites and localization
  10. Craft 5 docs: Image transforms
  11. Craft 5 docs: GraphQL API
  12. Element API plugin (Pixel & Tonic)
  13. Webhooks plugin (Pixel & Tonic)
  14. Craft 5 docs: Drafts and revisions
  15. Craft 5 docs: Entries
  16. Workflow plugin by Verbb
  17. Formie plugin by Verbb
  18. Craft 5 docs: Extending Craft
  19. Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital
  20. Trails audit plugin

HubSpot CMS sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Content Hub: Free, Starter, Professional, Enterprise.

  1. HubSpot Content Hub pricing
  2. HubSpot Product & Services Catalog
  3. HubSpot docs: Modules overview
  4. HubSpot KB: Create and populate HubDB tables
  5. HubSpot KB: Edit content in the content editor
  6. HubSpot KB: Create pages in multiple languages
  7. HubSpot docs: HubL functions
  8. HubSpot API: Schedule a website page
  9. HubSpot docs: Query HubSpot data using GraphQL
  10. HubSpot docs: Webhooks API guide
  11. HubSpot KB: Set a blog post's publish date and time
  12. HubSpot KB: Restore a previous version of content
  13. HubSpot KB: Redesign and relaunch a site with content staging
  14. HubSpot KB: Create and assign permission sets
  15. HubSpot KB: Set up single sign-on (SSO)
  16. HubSpot Marketplace
  17. HubSpot KB: Generate and refine content with AI
  18. Remote HubSpot MCP server is now generally available

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

Where they differ

Craft CMS and HubSpot CMS get a different status on 13 of the 28 features and the same status on 15. Craft CMS has 14 built in on its baseline edition, HubSpot CMS has 16. 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
Craft CMS can be self-hosted. HubSpot CMS cannot be self-hosted.

Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on HubSpot CMS 3

  • Content model in the UI Craft CMS: Built in. HubSpot CMS: Paid tier.
  • GraphQL API Craft CMS: Built in. HubSpot CMS: Paid tier.
  • Multiple sites Craft CMS: Built in. HubSpot CMS: Paid tier.

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

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. HubSpot CMS: Built in.
  • Visual editing Craft CMS: Limited. HubSpot CMS: Built in.
  • Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. HubSpot CMS: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Craft CMS: Not available. HubSpot CMS: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Craft CMS: Not available. HubSpot CMS: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. HubSpot CMS: Not available.
  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. HubSpot CMS: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Craft CMS: Not available. HubSpot CMS: Paid tier.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. HubSpot CMS: Not available.
  • Audit log Craft CMS: Not available. HubSpot CMS: Paid tier.

More comparisons

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

Craft CMS against other platforms

HubSpot CMS against other platforms

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

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