CMS comparison Decap CMS vs Squarespace

Decap CMS vs Squarespace

Decap CMS is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Squarespace 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 18.

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Decap CMS Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
Squarespace Site builder · Closed source · 9 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Decap CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Squarespace 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 Squarespace feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Decap CMS Headless	Squarespace 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.	Hosted website builder with templates, a visual editor, blogging and commerce. Squarespace runs the hosting.
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	Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor	Decap CMS project (formerly Netlify CMS), maintained in Europe decapcms.org	Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.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
Built with	JavaScript, React	Hosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plans
Database	Your Git repository on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea or Azure	Managed by Squarespace
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.	No free option Basic $19, Core $29, Plus $49, Advanced $99 per month billed annually in the US. 14-day free trial.
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 Custom post types in template.conf, only with Developer Mode on version 7.0. 2 3
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code.	Not available	Not available Fixed page and collection types. No custom fields in the editor. 2
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 Editors add and reorder sections and blocks.
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	Plugin or add-on Weglot extension. Without it, editors duplicate pages per language. 4 5
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 Squarespace serves uploaded images in generated sizes.
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 Commerce APIs for products, orders and inventory on Core and up. No API for pages. 1 6
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.	Limited Commerce events only, through the Webhook Subscriptions API. 7
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
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	Paid tier Page drafts need a Premium or Enterprise plan. Blog posts can be drafts on any plan. 8
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Not available	Limited Blog posts only. 9
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.	Not available Undo and redo within an editing session only. 10
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 Editing happens on the rendered page.
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
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 Enterprise Draft editor role drafts pages for an admin to publish. No custom stages. 8 11
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	Not available
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. 12 14	Not available Fixed contributor permission types. 11
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Not available	Not available
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. 4 13	Paid tier Premium and Enterprise plans. OpenID Connect through Entra ID, SAML through Google. 17 18
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	Not available
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. 14 12	Limited Each site needs its own plan. Enterprise teams manage several sites from one account. 11
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. 11 10	Not available
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Not available No official extension directory.	Built in Squarespace Extensions, a directory of third-party tools. 12
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Not available	Built in Form blocks store submissions. 13
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Not available	Built in Customer accounts on all plans. Member sites for gated content. 1 14
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Not available	Built in Squarespace AI writer. Monthly AI credits vary by plan. 1 15
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Not available	Not available The official MCP server covers domain search only. It can't reach site content. 16

Decap CMS sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Decap CMS 3, open source. Decap Turbo hosted backend is in public preview..

Squarespace sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Squarespace website plans on version 7.1.

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

Where they differ

Decap CMS and Squarespace 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, Squarespace has 9. 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). Squarespace is closed source (Proprietary).
Self-hosting: Decap CMS can be self-hosted. Squarespace cannot be self-hosted.
Free option: Decap CMS has a free option. Squarespace has no free option.

Built in on Decap CMS, a different answer on Squarespace 4

Content model in code Decap CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
Localization Decap CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Plugin or add-on.
Drafts Decap CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Paid tier.
Extensible admin UI Decap CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.

Built in on Squarespace, a different answer on Decap CMS 7

Image transformations Decap CMS: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
Renders the website Decap CMS: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
Visual editing Decap CMS: Limited. Squarespace: Built in.
Plugin marketplace Decap CMS: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
Form builder Decap CMS: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
Site member accounts Decap CMS: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
AI writing assistant Decap CMS: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 7

REST API Decap CMS: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.
Webhooks Decap CMS: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.
Scheduled publishing Decap CMS: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.
Custom roles Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Squarespace: Not available.
Single sign-on Decap CMS: Limited. Squarespace: Paid tier.
Audit log Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Squarespace: Not available.
Multiple sites Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Squarespace: Limited.

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