EmDash vs Keystone
EmDash 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 21.
- EmDash Traditional · Open source · 14 of 28 built in
- Keystone Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
Sources checked: EmDash 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 CMS from Cloudflare that runs inside an Astro site, with the admin and pages in one app on Cloudflare Workers or Node.js. | 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. | EmDash 1.0, open source Version 1.0.1, released 28 Sept 2026 | Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package Version 8.1.0, released 31 Aug 2026 |
| Vendor | Cloudflare emdashcms.com | Thinkmill keystonejs.com |
| Licence | Open source MIT | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. You deploy to your own Cloudflare account or Node.js server. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. Thinkmill offers enterprise support. |
| Built with | TypeScript, Astro | TypeScript, Node.js, GraphQL, Prisma, Next.js for the admin UI |
| Database | SQLite, Cloudflare D1, PostgreSQL, libSQL | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite |
| 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 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. | Limited Seed files set up new sites. A live site's model changes through the admin, API or CLI. 20 | 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 Admin role only. 220 | Not available |
| 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 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 Each translation is a separate entry with its own status. 6 | 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 Uses Astro's image endpoint for sizes and formats. Crop and focal point in the editor. 78 | 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 9 | Not available GraphQL only. Custom REST routes through extendExpressApp. 4 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Built in |
| 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 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 The Astro site renders the pages. 2 | Not available |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in 10 | Not available |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Built in 10 | Not available |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Built in On revision-enabled collections. 10 | Not available |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in Signed preview links. 11 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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. | Not available Five fixed roles from Subscriber to Admin. 12 | 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. | Not available 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. | Limited Microsoft Entra sign-in built in. Other IdPs through Cloudflare Access. No native SAML. 12 | 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. | Plugin or add-on Official audit-log plugin. 19 | Not available |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available | Not available |
| 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 Custom admin pages, navigation and field views. 9 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Plugin registry, launched with 1.0. 143 | Not available |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Official forms plugin. 17 | Not available |
| 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 | 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. | Not available | Not available |
| 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 |
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
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 EmDash and Keystone with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
EmDash and Keystone get a different status on 21 of the 28 features and the same status on 7. EmDash has 14 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 EmDash, a different answer on Keystone 12
- Content model in the UI EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Localization EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Image transformations EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- REST API EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Renders the website EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Drafts EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Scheduled publishing EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Version history EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Preview EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Visual editing EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Plugin marketplace EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Official MCP server EmDash: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
Built in on Keystone, a different answer on EmDash 4
- Content model in code EmDash: Limited. Keystone: Built in.
- GraphQL API EmDash: Not available. Keystone: Built in.
- Field-level permissions EmDash: Not available. Keystone: Built in.
- Site member accounts EmDash: Limited. Keystone: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 5
- Webhooks EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
- Custom roles EmDash: Not available. Keystone: Limited.
- Single sign-on EmDash: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
- Audit log EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
- Form builder EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Keystone: Not available.
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Keystone against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Keystone
- Contentful vs Keystone
- Contentstack vs Keystone
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Keystone
- Craft CMS vs Keystone
- DatoCMS vs Keystone
- Decap CMS vs Keystone
- Directus vs Keystone
- Drupal vs Keystone
- FirstSpirit vs Keystone
- Framer vs Keystone
- Ghost vs Keystone
- HubSpot CMS vs Keystone
- Hygraph vs Keystone
- Instatic vs Keystone
- Joomla vs Keystone
- Keystone vs Kirby
- Keystone vs Liferay DXP
- Keystone vs Optimizely CMS
- Keystone vs Payload
- Keystone vs Prismic
- Keystone vs Progress Sitefinity
- Keystone vs Sanity
- Keystone vs Sitecore
- Keystone vs Squarespace
- Keystone vs Statamic
- Keystone vs Storyblok
- Keystone vs Strapi
- Keystone vs TYPO3
- Keystone vs Umbraco
- Keystone vs Wagtail
- Keystone vs Webflow
- Keystone vs Wix
- Keystone vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Keystone
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