Now booking enterprise content platform builds for 2026. Contact us

Join us
Contact us

What we build

Who it's for

How we engage

Case studies

Industries

Partnerships

About

Writing

Tools

For startups Join us
Contact us
CMS comparison Decap CMS vs Hygraph

Decap CMS vs Hygraph

Decap CMS is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Hygraph 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 17.

Book a call
  • Decap CMS Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
  • Hygraph Headless · Closed source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Decap CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Hygraph 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
Decap CMS vs Hygraph feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Decap CMS Headless
Hygraph Headless
Overview
What it is Open-source Git-based CMS. A React admin app added to your site edits Markdown, YAML or JSON files and commits them to your repository.Hosted headless CMS run by Hygraph, formerly GraphCMS. Serves content over a GraphQL API and can pull in data from remote REST and GraphQL sources.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Decap CMS 3, open source. Decap Turbo hosted backend is in public preview. Version 3.16.3, released 22 Sept 2026 Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Decap CMS project (formerly Netlify CMS), maintained in Europe decapcms.org Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) hygraph.com
Licence Open source MIT Closed source Proprietary
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Decap Turbo, a hosted backend for login and Git access, is in public preview. No self-hosting Vendor cloud Shared regions on every plan. Dedicated clusters on Enterprise.
Built with JavaScript, ReactHosted SaaS with a GraphQL Content API
Database Your Git repository on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea or AzureManaged by Hygraph
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free and open source. The Decap Turbo hosted backend, in public preview, has a Free plan and Pro at €19 per month. Free to start Hobby free. Growth from $199 per month. Enterprise 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 Collections and fields are defined in config.yml. 6 Limited Management SDK applies schema changes from code. No declarative schema files. 2
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Not available Built in 1
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in List widget with variable types. 7 Built in Components in modular fields: 10 on Hobby, 20 on Growth. 1
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Side-by-side editing per locale, stored per folder, file or field. 8 Built in Field-level locales: 2 on Hobby, 3 on Growth, up to 80 on Enterprise. 1
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Not available Media goes to the repo or an external media library. Built in Resize, crop and format conversion by URL or GraphQL argument. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Not available Content is files in Git. Read them through the Git host API. 2 Not available Content API is GraphQL only. 3
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Built in 3
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Not available Use the Git host's webhooks on commit. Built in 5 on Hobby, 10 on Growth. 15
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Not available Pairs with a static site generator. 2 Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in Editorial workflow keeps drafts on a branch until merged. 9 Built in DRAFT and PUBLISHED stages on every plan. 1
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Not available Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Enterprise. 17
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Not available History lives in Git. The CMS has no revision view. Paid tier 14 days on Growth, up to 365 on Enterprise. None on Hobby. 1
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Preview pane with custom templates and styles. 10 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 Preview pane beside the form. No click-to-edit on the live page. 10 Built in Click to Edit via the Hygraph Preview SDK opens the field in Studio. 6
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Limited Fixed Drafts, In review and Ready stages. No per-stage permissions. 9 Paid tier Custom Workflows, up to 10, on Enterprise. 113
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Paid tier Releases on Enterprise. 7
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 Collaborator View shows who else is in an entry. 9
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo, in public preview, has a custom roles add-on at €19 per month on Pro. Core uses Git access. 1214 Paid tier Up to 30 custom roles on Enterprise. Hobby has 2 standard roles, Growth 4. 1
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Not available Permissions scope by model, locale, stage, environment and condition. 8
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Limited Sign-in runs through the Git host or Turbo. SAML only where the Git host enforces it. 413 Paid tier Enterprise. 1
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo, in public preview, has an activity log on its Free plan. Core has Git history only. 12 Paid tier Enterprise, 90-day retention. 1
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo organizations share members across sites. Turbo is in public preview. Extra sites €10/month. 1412 Paid tier Multitenancy on Enterprise. 1
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in Custom widgets, preview templates and editor components. 1110 Built in App Framework for custom fields, sidebars and pages. 12
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Not available No official extension directory. Built in Hygraph Marketplace. 12
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available Built in AI Assist on every plan, with a monthly AI token allowance. 110
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Built in Global endpoint at mcp.hygraph.com and per-project endpoints. Also a Claude connector. 111415

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

Where they differ

Decap CMS and Hygraph get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Decap CMS has 6 built in on its baseline edition, Hygraph has 13. 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
Decap CMS is open source (MIT). Hygraph is closed source (Proprietary).
Self-hosting
Decap CMS can be self-hosted. Hygraph cannot be self-hosted.

Built in on Decap CMS, a different answer on Hygraph 1

  • Content model in code Decap CMS: Built in. Hygraph: Limited.

Built in on Hygraph, a different answer on Decap CMS 8

  • Content model in the UI Decap CMS: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Image transformations Decap CMS: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • GraphQL API Decap CMS: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Webhooks Decap CMS: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Visual editing Decap CMS: Limited. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Plugin marketplace Decap CMS: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Decap CMS: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Decap CMS: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 8

  • Scheduled publishing Decap CMS: Not available. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Version history Decap CMS: Not available. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Approval workflows Decap CMS: Limited. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Decap CMS: Not available. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Custom roles Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Single sign-on Decap CMS: Limited. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Audit log Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Multiple sites Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Paid tier.

More comparisons

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

Decap CMS against other platforms

Hygraph against other platforms

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

We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead