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CMS comparison Decap CMS vs Instatic

Decap CMS vs Instatic

Decap CMS is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Instatic is an open-source site builder that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 18.

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  • Decap CMS Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
  • Instatic Site builder · Open source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Decap CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Instatic on 30 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 Instatic feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Decap CMS Headless
Instatic Site builder
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.Open-source, self-hosted CMS with a visual canvas editor. One Bun server runs the editor, content store and publisher, and publishing writes plain HTML files to disk.
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 Instatic 0.0.20, open source Version 0.0.20, released 13 Sept 2026
Vendor Decap CMS project (formerly Netlify CMS), maintained in Europe decapcms.org CoreBunch instatic.com
Licence Open source MIT Open source MIT
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Decap Turbo, a hosted backend for login and Git access, is in public preview. Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. You deploy the Docker image to your own server, or use the Railway and Render templates.
Built with JavaScript, ReactTypeScript, Bun, React admin
Database Your Git repository on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea or AzureSQLite, PostgreSQL
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 Free and open source, with no paid tiers. You pay only for hosting.
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 Not available Tables and fields live in the database and change in the Data workspace. Plugins can create tables through the SDK. 610
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 Custom post types and data tables in the Data workspace. 616
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 Visual Components with typed parameters and named slots, placed and reordered on the canvas. 72
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 Not available One site-wide language setting. No per-locale fields or entries. 21
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 Uploads get a set of WebP sizes, and the publisher writes srcset and sizes from the layout. 81
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 Limited The JSON API under /admin/api/cms serves the admin behind a session cookie. No token-based content API outside MCP. 920
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Not available
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. Not available No built-in webhooks. A plugin with network access can call a URL from content hooks. 10
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 Built in Publishing renders every page to static HTML on the server's disk. 11
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 51
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Not available Built in Per page and per post-type entry. 5
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. Built in Published versions of pages and entries, restorable into the draft. Added in 0.0.20. 124
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 The canvas renders drafts in the site design. Branch preview links work without an account. 122
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 Editing happens on the rendered page canvas, with a live mode for the full-size page. 214
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 Limited Branch merge requests with a review page and comments. No configurable review stages. 12
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Limited Publish ships all draft pages at once. Branches group edits across pages and entries, but entries still publish one by one. 125
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 Limited Live co-editing of pages, components and layouts in the Site editor. Content workspace entries save separately. 13144
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 Built in The Owner builds roles from a fixed list of capabilities. 1516
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Not available Capabilities apply per table type and edit category, not per field. 16
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 Not available Email and password with optional TOTP two-factor. 15
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 Built in Append-only log of logins, content changes, role edits and plugin actions. 17
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 Not available One site per installation. 2
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 Plugins add admin pages, editor extensions, dashboard widgets and canvas modules. 10
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Not available No official extension directory. Not available Plugins install as uploaded zip packages. No official directory. 10
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Built in Forms are built on the canvas and submissions land in a data table. 18
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 Built-in agent in the Site and Content workspaces, with your own Claude, OpenAI, OpenRouter or Ollama key. 19
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Built in Built in at /_instatic/mcp, with OAuth or scoped personal access tokens. 20

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

Where they differ

Decap CMS and Instatic get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Decap CMS has 6 built in on its baseline edition, Instatic 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.

Vendor cloud
Decap CMS has a vendor-run cloud. Instatic has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Decap CMS, a different answer on Instatic 2

  • Content model in code Decap CMS: Built in. Instatic: Not available.
  • Localization Decap CMS: Built in. Instatic: Not available.

Built in on Instatic, a different answer on Decap CMS 11

  • Content model in the UI Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Built in.
  • Image transformations Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Built in.
  • Renders the website Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Built in.
  • Version history Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Built in.
  • Visual editing Decap CMS: Limited. Instatic: Built in.
  • Custom roles Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Instatic: Built in.
  • Audit log Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Instatic: Built in.
  • Form builder Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • REST API Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Limited.
  • Content releases Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Limited.
  • Real-time co-editing Decap CMS: Not available. Instatic: Limited.
  • Single sign-on Decap CMS: Limited. Instatic: Not available.
  • Multiple sites Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Instatic: Not available.

More comparisons

Decap CMS against other platforms

Instatic against other platforms

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

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