Craft CMS vs Keystone
Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Keystone is an open-source headless CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 19.
- Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
- Keystone Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Keystone 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
| Platform |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Open-source Node.js headless CMS from Thinkmill that generates a GraphQL API and an admin UI from a TypeScript schema. |
| 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 | Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package Version 8.1.0, released 31 Aug 2026 |
| Vendor | Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com | Thinkmill keystonejs.com |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. Thinkmill offers enterprise support. |
| Built with | PHP, Yii 2, Twig | TypeScript, Node.js, GraphQL, Prisma, Next.js for the admin UI |
| Database | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite |
| 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 and open source. Enterprise support from Thinkmill 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 Lists and fields are TypeScript config. 4 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Built in 6 | Not available |
| 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 Component blocks inside the document field. 8 |
| 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 | Not available No locale support documented. Model translations yourself. 12 |
| Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. | Built in 10 | Not available Image field stores originals. The Cloudinary field hands resizing to Cloudinary. 711 |
| 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 | Not available GraphQL only. Custom REST routes through extendExpressApp. 4 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Built in 111 | Built in |
| 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 No webhook settings. Call URLs from hooks in code. 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. | Not available |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in 14 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in 1 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available | 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. | 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 | Limited Roles are access-control functions written in code. No role editor in the admin. 5 |
| 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 | Built in Field-level access control. 5 |
| 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 | Not available The auth package covers password login. SSO means custom session code. 6 |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in 18 | Built in Custom admin pages, navigation and field views. 9 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Built in createAuth works on any list, including site users. 6 |
| AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. | Not available No first-party AI feature. | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
Craft CMS sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha..
- Craft CMS pricing
- Craft Cloud pricing
- Craft CMS Enterprise
- Craft 5 docs: Licensing and editions
- Craft 5 docs: User management
- Craft 5 docs: Custom fields
- Craft 5 docs: Project config
- Craft 5 docs: Matrix fields
- Craft 5 docs: Sites and localization
- Craft 5 docs: Image transforms
- Craft 5 docs: GraphQL API
- Element API plugin (Pixel & Tonic)
- Webhooks plugin (Pixel & Tonic)
- Craft 5 docs: Drafts and revisions
- Craft 5 docs: Entries
- Workflow plugin by Verbb
- Formie plugin by Verbb
- Craft 5 docs: Extending Craft
- Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital
- Trails audit plugin
Keystone sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package.
- @keystone-6/core on the npm registry
- Keystone releases on GitHub
- Keystone homepage
- Keystone docs: System configuration
- Keystone docs: Access control
- Keystone docs: Authentication
- Keystone docs: Image field
- Keystone docs: Document field demo
- Keystone docs: Custom admin UI pages
- Keystone docs: Hooks guide
- Keystone docs: Cloudinary image field
- Keystone documentation index (llms.txt)
Considering more platforms? Compare Craft CMS and Keystone with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Craft CMS and Keystone get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. Craft CMS has 14 built in on its baseline edition, Keystone has 6. 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
- Craft CMS is closed source (Proprietary Craft License, source available). Keystone is open source (MIT).
- Vendor cloud
- Craft CMS has a vendor-run cloud. Keystone has no vendor-run cloud.
Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on Keystone 10
- Content model in the UI Craft CMS: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Localization Craft CMS: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Image transformations Craft CMS: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Renders the website Craft CMS: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Drafts Craft CMS: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Scheduled publishing Craft CMS: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Version history Craft CMS: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Preview Craft CMS: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Multiple sites Craft CMS: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Plugin marketplace Craft CMS: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
Built in on Keystone, a different answer on Craft CMS 2
- Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. Keystone: Built in.
- Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. Keystone: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 7
- REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
- Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
- Visual editing Craft CMS: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
- Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
- Custom roles Craft CMS: Paid tier. Keystone: Limited.
- Single sign-on Craft CMS: Paid tier. Keystone: Not available.
- Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Craft CMS vs Payload.
Craft CMS against other platforms
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Keystone against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Keystone
- Contentful vs Keystone
- Contentstack vs Keystone
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Keystone
- DatoCMS vs Keystone
- Decap CMS vs Keystone
- Directus vs Keystone
- Drupal vs Keystone
- EmDash vs Keystone
- FirstSpirit vs Keystone
- Framer vs Keystone
- Ghost vs Keystone
- HubSpot CMS vs Keystone
- Hygraph vs Keystone
- Instatic vs Keystone
- Joomla vs Keystone
- Keystone vs Kirby
- Keystone vs Liferay DXP
- Keystone vs Optimizely CMS
- Keystone vs Payload
- Keystone vs Prismic
- Keystone vs Progress Sitefinity
- Keystone vs Sanity
- Keystone vs Sitecore
- Keystone vs Squarespace
- Keystone vs Statamic
- Keystone vs Storyblok
- Keystone vs Strapi
- Keystone vs TYPO3
- Keystone vs Umbraco
- Keystone vs Wagtail
- Keystone vs Webflow
- Keystone vs Wix
- Keystone vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Keystone
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