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CMS comparison Decap CMS vs Umbraco

Decap CMS vs Umbraco

Decap CMS is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Umbraco is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 21.

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  • Decap CMS Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
  • Umbraco Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Decap CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Umbraco 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 Umbraco feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Decap CMS Headless
Umbraco Traditional
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 .NET CMS that renders sites with Razor or serves content headless. Self-hosted or run on Umbraco Cloud.
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 Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release. Version 17.7.0, released 17 Sept 2026
Vendor Decap CMS project (formerly Netlify CMS), maintained in Europe decapcms.org Umbraco A/S umbraco.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 Vendor cloud Forms and Deploy are paid add-ons when self-hosted. Umbraco Cloud includes both.
Built with JavaScript, ReactC#, ASP.NET Core on .NET 10, TypeScript backoffice
Database Your Git repository on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea or AzureSQL Server, SQLite
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 to self-host. Umbraco Cloud Starter €45, Standard €280, Professional €730 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 Plugin or add-on Umbraco Deploy saves document types as .uda files in Git. Paid on-premises, included on Umbraco Cloud. 45
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 Document types are built in the backoffice.
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 Block List and Block Grid editors. 6
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 Culture variants per property.
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 ImageSharp crops and resizes images from query string parameters. 9
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 Built in Content Delivery API. 7
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Not available No official GraphQL. Community package Nikcio.UHeadless adds one. 20
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 8
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 Razor templates.
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
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Not available Built in 10
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 Rollback compares and restores earlier versions. 11
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
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 Not available
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 Plugin or add-on Umbraco Workflow add-on. Its free version is capped at five approval groups. Full use is paid. 1221
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Plugin or add-on Release Sets in a licensed Umbraco Workflow. 13
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. 1214 Built in User groups with granular permissions.
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Limited Per-property read and write limits per user group, enforced in the UI only. 14
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 Built in OpenID Connect providers such as Entra ID, configured in code. 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 Limited Audit trail per item plus a log viewer. No installation-wide audit screen in core. 16
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 Built in Several root nodes, each with its own domains.
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 Backoffice extensions.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Not available No official extension directory. Built in Umbraco Marketplace.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Plugin or add-on Umbraco Forms, paid licence. Included on Umbraco Cloud. 217
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Built in Members, separate from backoffice users.
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available Plugin or add-on Free Umbraco.AI packages add prompts and an editor copilot. 18
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Built in Umbraco CMS Developer MCP server. 19

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

Where they differ

Decap CMS and Umbraco get a different status on 21 of the 28 features and the same status on 7. Decap CMS has 6 built in on its baseline edition, Umbraco has 18. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

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

  • Content model in code Decap CMS: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on Umbraco, a different answer on Decap CMS 13

  • Content model in the UI Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Image transformations Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
  • REST API Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Webhooks Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Renders the website Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Version history Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Custom roles Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Decap CMS: Limited. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Plugin marketplace Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 7

  • Visual editing Decap CMS: Limited. Umbraco: Not available.
  • Approval workflows Decap CMS: Limited. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • Content releases Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • Field-level permissions Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Limited.
  • Audit log Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Umbraco: Limited.
  • Form builder Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Decap CMS: Not available. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

Decap CMS against other platforms

Umbraco against other platforms

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