Drupal vs Keystone
Drupal is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Keystone is an open-source headless CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 22.
- Drupal Traditional · Open source · 16 of 28 built in
- Keystone Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Drupal on 29 Sept 2026, Keystone 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
| Platform |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Open-source Node.js headless CMS from Thinkmill that generates a GraphQL API and an admin UI from a TypeScript schema. |
| 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 | Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package Version 8.1.0, released 31 Aug 2026 |
| Vendor | Drupal community, supported by the Drupal Association drupal.org | Thinkmill keystonejs.com |
| Licence | Open source GPL-2.0-or-later | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud Acquia, Pantheon and other companies sell managed Drupal hosting. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. Thinkmill offers enterprise support. |
| Built with | PHP, Symfony, Twig | TypeScript, Node.js, GraphQL, Prisma, Next.js for the admin UI |
| Database | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite |
| 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 Free and open source. Enterprise support from Thinkmill 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. | Built in Lists and fields are TypeScript config. 4 |
| 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. | Not available |
| 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 Component blocks inside the document field. 8 |
| 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 | Not available No locale support documented. Model translations yourself. 12 |
| 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 | Not available Image field stores originals. The Cloudinary field hands resizing to Cloudinary. 711 |
| 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 GraphQL only. Custom REST routes through extendExpressApp. 4 |
| 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 |
| 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 | Not available No webhook settings. Call URLs from hooks in code. 10 |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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. | Not available |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in Preview button on the edit form. | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | 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. | Built in | Limited Roles are access-control functions written in code. No role editor in the admin. 5 |
| 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 | Built in Field-level access control. 5 |
| 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 | Not available The auth package covers password login. SSO means custom session code. 6 |
| 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 | 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 Domain contrib module. Core multisite shares only the codebase. 14 | Not available |
| 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 Custom admin pages, navigation and field views. 9 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in drupal.org module directory. | Not available |
| 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 | Built in createAuth works on any list, including site users. 6 |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
Drupal sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Drupal 11 core. Drupal CMS 2 bundles core with selected contrib modules..
- drupal 11.4.8 release
- drupal 11.4.0 release notes
- JSON:API module documentation
- GraphQL module
- Content Moderation module documentation
- Mark Workspaces as a stable core module (#3088643)
- Multilingual guide: translating content
- Image module: working with images
- Layout Builder module documentation
- Drupal Canvas
- Scheduler module
- Field Permissions module
- OpenID Connect / OAuth client module
- Domain module
- Webform module
- AI (Artificial Intelligence) module
- MCP Server module
- Webhooks module
- Drupal CMS 2.0 is here
- Database Logging module documentation
Keystone sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package.
- @keystone-6/core on the npm registry
- Keystone releases on GitHub
- Keystone homepage
- Keystone docs: System configuration
- Keystone docs: Access control
- Keystone docs: Authentication
- Keystone docs: Image field
- Keystone docs: Document field demo
- Keystone docs: Custom admin UI pages
- Keystone docs: Hooks guide
- Keystone docs: Cloudinary image field
- Keystone documentation index (llms.txt)
Considering more platforms? Compare Drupal and Keystone with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Drupal and Keystone get a different status on 22 of the 28 features and the same status on 6. Drupal has 16 built in on its baseline edition, Keystone has 6. 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 Drupal, a different answer on Keystone 12
- Content model in the UI Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Localization Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Image transformations Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- REST API Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Renders the website Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Drafts Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Version history Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Preview Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Approval workflows Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Content releases Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Custom roles Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Limited.
- Plugin marketplace Drupal: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
Built in on Keystone, a different answer on Drupal 2
- GraphQL API Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Built in.
- Field-level permissions Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 8
- Webhooks Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
- Scheduled publishing Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
- Visual editing Drupal: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
- Single sign-on Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
- Audit log Drupal: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
- Multiple sites Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
- Form builder Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
- AI writing assistant Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
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Keystone against other platforms
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