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CMS comparison Drupal vs Hygraph

Drupal vs Hygraph

Drupal is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. 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 19.

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  • Drupal Traditional · Open source · 16 of 28 built in
  • Hygraph Headless · Closed source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Drupal 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
Drupal vs Hygraph feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Drupal Traditional
Hygraph Headless
Overview
What it is Open-source PHP CMS with fieldable content types, core JSON:API and multilingual modules. Teams self-host it or use Drupal hosting platforms.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. Drupal 11 core. Drupal CMS 2 bundles core with selected contrib modules. Version 11.4.8, released 26 Sept 2026 Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Drupal community, supported by the Drupal Association drupal.org Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) hygraph.com
Licence Open source GPL-2.0-or-later Closed source Proprietary
Hosting Self-hosting No vendor cloud Acquia, Pantheon and other companies sell managed Drupal hosting. No self-hosting Vendor cloud Shared regions on every plan. Dedicated clusters on Enterprise.
Built with PHP, Symfony, TwigHosted SaaS with a GraphQL Content API
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLiteManaged by Hygraph
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free and open source. Hosting, support and contrib services cost extra. 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 Content types and fields export to YAML config files. 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. Built in Field UI in core. Built in 1
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Layout Builder in core. Paragraphs and Drupal Canvas are contrib. 910 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 Field-level content translation in core. 7 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. Built in Image styles scale, crop and convert images. 8 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. Built in JSON:API and REST modules in core. 3 Not available Content API is GraphQL only. 3
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Plugin or add-on GraphQL contrib module. Developers build the schema. 4 Built in 3
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Plugin or add-on Webhooks contrib module. Core has no outgoing webhooks. 18 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. Built in Twig themes. Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in Drafts of published content need the core Content Moderation module. 5 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. Plugin or add-on Scheduler contrib module. 11 Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Enterprise. 17
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Revert in core. Side-by-side compare needs the Diff contrib module. 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 button on the edit form. 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 Layout Builder edits blocks on a rendered preview. Drupal Canvas is contrib. 910 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. Built in Workflows and Content Moderation modules in core. 5 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. Built in Workspaces module, stable in core since 10.3. 6 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. Built in 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. Plugin or add-on Field Permissions contrib module. 12 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. Plugin or add-on OpenID Connect or SAML Authentication contrib modules. 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. Limited Database Logging records content events by user. It caps and prunes entries. 20 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 Domain contrib module. Core multisite shares only the codebase. 14 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 field widgets, forms and admin routes. Built in App Framework for custom fields, sidebars and pages. 12
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in drupal.org module directory. Built in Hygraph Marketplace. 12
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Plugin or add-on Webform contrib module. Core Contact is deprecated in 11.4. 152 Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Plugin or add-on AI module from the Drupal AI Initiative, bundled with Drupal CMS. 1619 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 Community contrib only, e.g. the MCP Server module by Lullabot and Omedia. 17 Built in Global endpoint at mcp.hygraph.com and per-project endpoints. Also a Claude connector. 111415

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

Where they differ

Drupal and Hygraph get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. Drupal has 16 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
Drupal is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later). Hygraph is closed source (Proprietary).
Self-hosting
Drupal can be self-hosted. Hygraph cannot be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Drupal has no vendor-run cloud. Hygraph has a vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Drupal, a different answer on Hygraph 8

  • Content model in code Drupal: Built in. Hygraph: Limited.
  • REST API Drupal: Built in. Hygraph: Not available.
  • Renders the website Drupal: Built in. Hygraph: Not available.
  • Version history Drupal: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Approval workflows Drupal: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Drupal: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Custom roles Drupal: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Site member accounts Drupal: Built in. Hygraph: Not available.

Built in on Hygraph, a different answer on Drupal 5

  • GraphQL API Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Webhooks Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Visual editing Drupal: Limited. Hygraph: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Drupal: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 6

  • Scheduled publishing Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Field-level permissions Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Audit log Drupal: Limited. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Multiple sites Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Form builder Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Drupal against other platforms

Hygraph against other platforms

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

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