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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs Webflow

Craft CMS vs Webflow

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Webflow 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 17.

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  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Webflow Site builder · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Webflow 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 Webflow feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
Webflow 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.Hosted visual site builder with a built-in CMS, hosting and a Data API. Designers build pages on a canvas. Run by Webflow, Inc.
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 Webflow Site plans, Starter to Enterprise SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com Webflow, Inc. webflow.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 Publishing to a custom domain requires a paid Site plan.
Built with PHP, Yii 2, TwigHosted SaaS, Webflow Cloud for app hosting
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLManaged by Webflow
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 Starter site. Basic $15, Premium $25 per site per month billed yearly. Team $2,500 per month.
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 Not available The Data API can create collections and fields. No schema files. 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 Built in
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 Components with properties. Limited seats build pages from designer-approved blocks. 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 Plugin or add-on Webflow Localize add-on from $9 per month. The Team plan includes it. 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 Generates responsive image sizes automatically. 10
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 Data API. 60 requests per minute on Starter, 120 on Premium. 111
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Not available
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 Data API webhooks for CMS items, forms and site publishes. 4
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
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 Scheduled CMS item publishing on the Premium Site plan. 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 Whole-site backups. Free Starter sites restore only the two most recent. 5
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
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 Design approvals with designated reviewers on Enterprise. 1
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Limited A site publish ships all staged changes together. No named release bundles. 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 Built in Available on every Workspace and Site plan. 6
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 Enterprise. 1
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 Enterprise access controls stop at pages and Collections. 1
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. 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 Paid tier Site activity log on Team, audit logs API 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 Built in A Workspace holds many sites with shared seats. Each site needs its own Site plan. 1
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Built in Apps can add Designer Extensions to the editor. 12
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Built in Webflow Apps marketplace. 9
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 50 submissions on Starter, unlimited on paid Site plans. 1
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 Webflow retired User Accounts on 29 January 2026. 8
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available No first-party AI feature. Paid tier Copy generation needs a paid Site or Workspace plan and uses 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 Available on all Site plans, including free Starter. 7

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

Where they differ

Craft CMS and Webflow get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Craft CMS has 14 built in on its baseline edition, Webflow 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. Webflow cannot be self-hosted.

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

  • Content model in code Craft CMS: Built in. Webflow: Not available.
  • Localization Craft CMS: Built in. Webflow: Plugin or add-on.
  • GraphQL API Craft CMS: Built in. Webflow: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Craft CMS: Built in. Webflow: Paid tier.
  • Version history Craft CMS: Built in. Webflow: Limited.

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

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Webflow: Built in.
  • Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Webflow: Built in.
  • Visual editing Craft CMS: Limited. Webflow: Built in.
  • Real-time co-editing Craft CMS: Not available. Webflow: Built in.
  • Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Webflow: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Craft CMS: Not available. Webflow: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 6

  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Webflow: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Craft CMS: Not available. Webflow: Limited.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. Webflow: Not available.
  • Audit log Craft CMS: Not available. Webflow: Paid tier.
  • Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. Webflow: Not available.
  • AI writing assistant Craft CMS: Not available. Webflow: Paid tier.

More comparisons

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

Craft CMS against other platforms

Webflow against other platforms

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

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