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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs Statamic

Craft CMS vs Statamic

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Statamic is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. 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
  • Statamic Traditional · Closed source · 8 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Statamic 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 Statamic feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
Statamic Traditional
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.Laravel-based PHP CMS that stores content in flat files by default. Free Core edition. Pro adds users, APIs and multi-site. You host it.
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 Statamic 6, Core and Pro Version 6.34.1, released 23 Sept 2026
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com Statamic, LLC statamic.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available Closed source Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use.
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence. Self-hosting No vendor cloud
Built with PHP, Yii 2, TwigPHP, Laravel, Vue
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLFlat files by default, SQL databases via the Eloquent Driver
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 Core free for one admin user. Pro $349 per site, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise from $10k per year.
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 Blueprints and fieldsets are YAML files in the project. 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 Built in Blueprint builder in the Control Panel. 4
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 Replicator and Bard sets. 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 Paid tier Multi-site and multilingual content need Pro. 61
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 Glide resizes and crops on request. 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 Paid tier Read-only REST API on Pro. 8
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Paid tier Read-only GraphQL API on Pro. 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 Laravel events only. No webhook settings in core.
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 Antlers or Blade templates.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 14 Paid tier Working copies of live entries need Revisions on Pro. Core has unpublished entries. 101
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 Future-dated entries stay private until their date. Set per collection. 11
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 Paid tier Revisions on Pro. 10
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 1 Built in 121
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 Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 12
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 Approval workflows are on the roadmap as planned. 19
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 Plugin or add-on Free first-party Collaboration addon. Requires Pro. 18
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 Roles and permissions need Pro. 131
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 Field conditions depend on field values. User roles can't drive them. 4
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 Pro via Laravel Socialite providers such as SAML2. Enterprise tier lists SSO. 1521
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 Enterprise tier, from $10k per year, lists audit logging. 121
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 Pro. 61
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Built in Custom fieldtypes, widgets and Control Panel pages. 17
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Built in Statamic Marketplace for addons. 18
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 Limited Core allows one form. Pro removes the limit. 116
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 Member accounts, registration and login tags need Pro. 1416
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 Third-party addons only, such as MCP Server for Statamic by Cbox. 20

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

Where they differ

Craft CMS and Statamic 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, Statamic has 8. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Vendor cloud
Craft CMS has a vendor-run cloud. Statamic has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on Statamic 6

  • Localization Craft CMS: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • GraphQL API Craft CMS: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Drafts Craft CMS: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Scheduled publishing Craft CMS: Built in. Statamic: Limited.
  • Version history Craft CMS: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Multiple sites Craft CMS: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.

Built in on neither, with different answers 7

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Not available.
  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Not available.
  • Real-time co-editing Craft CMS: Not available. Statamic: Plugin or add-on.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. Statamic: Not available.
  • Audit log Craft CMS: Not available. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Limited.

More comparisons

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

Craft CMS against other platforms

Statamic against other platforms

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

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