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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs Storyblok

Craft CMS vs Storyblok

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Storyblok 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
  • Storyblok Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Storyblok 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 Storyblok feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
Storyblok 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 CMS with a Visual Editor where editors compose pages from developer-defined blocks. Run by Storyblok GmbH.
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 Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com Storyblok GmbH storyblok.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 Spaces run in Storyblok's EU, US, Canada or Australia regions.
Built with PHP, Yii 2, TwigSaaS, JavaScript SDKs and CLI
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLManaged by Storyblok
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 Starter free. Growth $99, Growth Plus $349 per space per month. Premium and Elite 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 The CLI pulls and pushes JSON component schemas. Typed @storyblok/schema is in preview. 234
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 1
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 Nestable blocks inside stories. 1
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 Starter includes 2 locales. Growth adds locales at $20 each per month. 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 Service 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 Content Delivery API and Management API. 1
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Paid tier GraphQL Content Delivery API on Premium and Elite. 1
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 3 webhooks on Starter, 5 on Growth, 15 on Premium. 1
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 Paid tier Single story scheduling from Growth. Growth allows 2 scheduled stories, Premium 100. 1
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 Limited Starter keeps 1 day of versions. Growth 30 days, Premium 180, Elite unlimited. 1
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 1 Built in 1
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 Visual Editor on all plans. 1
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 Custom workflows and stages on Premium and Elite. Lower plans get fixed default stages. 1
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Paid tier 20 releases on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 1
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 Comments and content locking. No simultaneous editing of one story. 110
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 10 custom roles on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 15
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 Paid tier Field permissions come with custom roles on Premium and Elite. 15
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 Premium and Elite. 1
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 Limited Activity log on all plans. Starter keeps 1 day, Growth 30 days, Elite unlimited. 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 Built in One account can own many spaces, each on its own plan. 6
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Built in Field plugins on all plans. Tool and space plugins on Premium and Elite. 17
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Built in Storyblok App Directory. 8
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. Built in AI content generation and translation on all plans, metered by AI credits. 1
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 server over the Management API. 9

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

Where they differ

Craft CMS and Storyblok 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, Storyblok has 15. 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. Storyblok cannot be self-hosted.

Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on Storyblok 4

  • GraphQL API Craft CMS: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
  • Renders the website Craft CMS: Built in. Storyblok: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Craft CMS: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
  • Version history Craft CMS: Built in. Storyblok: Limited.

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

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

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Storyblok: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Craft CMS: Not available. Storyblok: Paid tier.
  • Audit log Craft CMS: Not available. Storyblok: Limited.
  • Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Storyblok: Not available.
  • Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. Storyblok: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Craft CMS against other platforms

Storyblok against other platforms

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

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