EmDash vs Framer
EmDash is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Framer 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 16.
- EmDash Traditional · Open source · 14 of 28 built in
- Framer Site builder · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
Sources checked: EmDash on 29 Sept 2026, Framer 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 CMS from Cloudflare that runs inside an Astro site, with the admin and pages in one app on Cloudflare Workers or Node.js. | Hosted visual site builder with a CMS, hosting and AI agents. Designers build pages on a canvas. Run by Framer. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | EmDash 1.0, open source Version 1.0.1, released 28 Sept 2026 | Framer 3.0 site plans, Free to Enterprise SaaS, continuously updated |
| Vendor | Cloudflare emdashcms.com | Framer B.V. framer.com |
| Licence | Open source MIT | Closed source Proprietary |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. You deploy to your own Cloudflare account or Node.js server. | No self-hosting Vendor cloud A paid plan is required to connect a custom domain. |
| Built with | TypeScript, Astro | Hosted SaaS with React code components |
| Database | SQLite, Cloudflare D1, PostgreSQL, libSQL | Managed by Framer |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free and open source. You pay only for hosting. | Free to start Free plan. Basic $10, Pro $30 per site per month billed yearly. Extra editors $20 per month. |
| 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. | Limited Seed files set up new sites. A live site's model changes through the admin, API or CLI. 20 | Not available You build collections in the editor or sync them through the Plugin and Server APIs. 313 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Built in Admin role only. 220 | Built in 13 |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Blocks field with versioned block types. 5 | Built in Components with properties that content editors can change on-page. 14 |
| Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. | Built in Each translation is a separate entry with its own status. 6 | Plugin or add-on Translation locales add-on, $20 per locale per month. One free locale to try. 117 |
| Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. | Built in Uses Astro's image endpoint for sizes and formats. Crop and focal point in the editor. 78 | Built in Generates 512 to 4096 px variants served through srcset. 8 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in 9 | Limited Server API in open beta, through the framer-api package over WebSocket. No plain REST. 23 |
| 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. | Plugin or add-on Official webhook-notifier plugin. 18 | Not available Webhooks cover form submissions only. 10 |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Built in The Astro site renders the pages. 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 10 | Built in CMS items can stay in draft. 13 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Built in 10 | Not available No native scheduling. Third-party Marketplace plugins add it. 18 |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Built in On revision-enabled collections. 10 | Built in Version history and rollback of published versions. 67 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in Signed preview links. 11 | Built in |
| Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. | Built in Signed-in editors get visual editing on the rendered page. 11 | Built in Canvas editing and on-page editing of the live site. 14 |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Not available Contributors cannot publish. No configurable review stages. 1210 | Limited Editors review and merge Pro branches. Only Deploy permission publishes. No stages. 45 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available | Paid tier Branching on Pro groups changes and ships them in one merge. 15 |
| 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 | Built in Free workspaces allow up to three editors. 1 |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Not available Five fixed roles from Subscriber to Admin. 12 | Limited Fixed roles plus Design, Content and Deploy permissions per project. No role builder. 4 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Not available 12 | Not available |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Limited Microsoft Entra sign-in built in. Other IdPs through Cloudflare Access. No native SAML. 12 | Paid tier Enterprise. 116 |
| Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. | Plugin or add-on Official audit-log plugin. 19 | Not available Not documented publicly. |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available | Built in A workspace holds many site projects, each on its own plan. 4 |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Plugins add admin pages and dashboard widgets. 13 | Built in Plugins add custom panels and tools to the editor. 11 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Plugin registry, launched with 1.0. 143 | Built in Framer Marketplace. 12 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Official forms plugin. 17 | Built in Native forms. Submissions can also go to a webhook. 10 |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Limited Subscriber role reads member-only content. Members share the editors' user system. 12 | Not available |
| AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. | Not available | Built in Agents write, rewrite and translate content. AI credits meter usage. 115 |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Built in Built in and on by default. 15 | Not available No MCP server. External Agents, in preview, link AI tools through a CLI and skills. 9 |
EmDash sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. EmDash 1.0, open source.
- emdash on the npm registry
- EmDash homepage
- EmDash 1.0: an open source CMS for Astro
- EmDash repository on GitHub
- EmDash docs: Blocks
- EmDash docs: Internationalization
- EmDash docs: Configuration reference
- EmDash docs: Media Library
- EmDash docs: REST API
- EmDash docs: Content lifecycle
- EmDash docs: Preview mode
- EmDash docs: Authentication
- EmDash docs: Plugins overview
- EmDash docs: Plugin registry
- EmDash docs: AI tools and MCP server
- EmDash docs: Database options
- @emdash-cms/plugin-forms on the npm registry
- @emdash-cms/plugin-webhook-notifier on the npm registry
- @emdash-cms/plugin-audit-log on the npm registry
- EmDash docs: Evolving a deployed site
Framer sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Framer 3.0 site plans, Free to Enterprise.
- Framer pricing
- Framer update: Server API (February 2026)
- Framer Developers: Server API introduction
- Framer Help: members, roles and permissions
- Framer: collaboration with branches, reviews and staging
- Framer: publish with staging, hosting and rollback
- Framer Help: staging and versions
- Framer Help: how Framer optimizes images
- Framer External Agents
- Framer Help: connect Framer forms to a webhook
- Framer Developers: plugins introduction
- Framer Marketplace plugins
- Framer CMS
- Framer Help: on-page editing
- Framer blog: Framer 3.0 with Agents and Branching
- Framer Enterprise
- Framer Help: localization
- Framer CMS Scheduler plugin (third party)
Considering more platforms? Compare EmDash and Framer with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
EmDash and Framer get a different status on 16 of the 28 features and the same status on 12. EmDash has 14 built in on its baseline edition, Framer has 14. 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
- EmDash is open source (MIT). Framer is closed source (Proprietary).
- Self-hosting
- EmDash can be self-hosted. Framer cannot be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- EmDash has no vendor-run cloud. Framer has a vendor-run cloud.
Built in on EmDash, a different answer on Framer 4
- Localization EmDash: Built in. Framer: Plugin or add-on.
- REST API EmDash: Built in. Framer: Limited.
- Scheduled publishing EmDash: Built in. Framer: Not available.
- Official MCP server EmDash: Built in. Framer: Not available.
Built in on Framer, a different answer on EmDash 4
- Real-time co-editing EmDash: Not available. Framer: Built in.
- Multiple sites EmDash: Not available. Framer: Built in.
- Form builder EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Framer: Built in.
- AI writing assistant EmDash: Not available. Framer: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 8
- Content model in code EmDash: Limited. Framer: Not available.
- Webhooks EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Framer: Not available.
- Approval workflows EmDash: Not available. Framer: Limited.
- Content releases EmDash: Not available. Framer: Paid tier.
- Custom roles EmDash: Not available. Framer: Limited.
- Single sign-on EmDash: Limited. Framer: Paid tier.
- Audit log EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Framer: Not available.
- Site member accounts EmDash: Limited. Framer: Not available.
More comparisons
EmDash against other platforms
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- EmDash vs WordPress
- EmDash vs Xperience by Kentico
Framer against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Framer
- Contentful vs Framer
- Contentstack vs Framer
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Framer
- Craft CMS vs Framer
- DatoCMS vs Framer
- Decap CMS vs Framer
- Directus vs Framer
- Drupal vs Framer
- FirstSpirit vs Framer
- Framer vs Ghost
- Framer vs HubSpot CMS
- Framer vs Hygraph
- Framer vs Instatic
- Framer vs Joomla
- Framer vs Keystone
- Framer vs Kirby
- Framer vs Liferay DXP
- Framer vs Optimizely CMS
- Framer vs Payload
- Framer vs Prismic
- Framer vs Progress Sitefinity
- Framer vs Sanity
- Framer vs Sitecore
- Framer vs Squarespace
- Framer vs Statamic
- Framer vs Storyblok
- Framer vs Strapi
- Framer vs TYPO3
- Framer vs Umbraco
- Framer vs Wagtail
- Framer vs Webflow
- Framer vs Wix
- Framer vs WordPress
- Framer vs Xperience by Kentico
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