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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs Prismic

Craft CMS vs Prismic

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

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  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Prismic Headless · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Prismic 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 Prismic feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
Prismic Headless
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.Hosted headless page builder where marketers compose pages from developer-built slices. Run by Prismic, with SDKs for Next.js, Nuxt and SvelteKit.
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 Prismic SaaS, Free to Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com Prismic prismic.io
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, TwigSaaS with SDKs for Next.js, Nuxt and SvelteKit
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLManaged by Prismic
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. Starter $10, Small $25, Medium $150, Platinum $675 per repository per month, billed yearly.
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 Model files live in the project. The Prismic CLI pushes and pulls them. 2
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 6 Built in Type Builder in the web app. 3
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 Slices with variations. 4
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 2 locales on Free, 8 on Platinum, custom 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 10 Built in Image optimization and processing on all plans. 1
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 Document API. 15
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Built in 15
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 Built in 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. 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 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 Scheduled through releases on every plan. 18
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 Full revision history on every plan. 1
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 1 Built in Shareable previews on every plan. 17
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 Page Builder shows live slice previews from your site next to the fields. 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 Limited Writer and Publisher roles from Medium. No configurable review stages. 9
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Built in Up to 200 pages per release. 8
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 In progress with a waitlist. A status indicator shows who is editing. 10
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 Enterprise only. Fixed Read-only, Writer or Publisher levels set per locale. No role builder. 19
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 Enterprise. 19
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 Not documented publicly.
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 Each site is a repository on its own plan. Spaces group content inside one. 111
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Limited Integration fields load external catalog data into a picker. No custom UI code. 12
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Not available Integration guides only. No installable marketplace. 13
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 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. Limited Beta on request: AI translation and SEO metadata suggestions. 114
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 Hosted at mcp.prismic.io, activated per repository. 15

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

Where they differ

Craft CMS and Prismic 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, Prismic 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. Prismic cannot be self-hosted.

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

  • Renders the website Craft CMS: Built in. Prismic: Not available.
  • Extensible admin UI Craft CMS: Built in. Prismic: Limited.
  • Plugin marketplace Craft CMS: Built in. Prismic: Not available.

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

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Prismic: Built in.
  • Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Prismic: Built in.
  • Visual editing Craft CMS: Limited. Prismic: Built in.
  • Content releases Craft CMS: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Craft CMS: Not available. Prismic: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 6

  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Prismic: Limited.
  • Custom roles Craft CMS: Paid tier. Prismic: Limited.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. Prismic: Not available.
  • Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Prismic: Not available.
  • Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. Prismic: Not available.
  • AI writing assistant Craft CMS: Not available. Prismic: Limited.

More comparisons

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

Craft CMS against other platforms

Prismic against other platforms

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

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