Now booking enterprise content platform builds for 2026. Contact us

CMS comparison EmDash vs TYPO3

EmDash vs TYPO3

EmDash is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. TYPO3 is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 15.

  • EmDash Traditional · Open source · 14 of 28 built in
  • TYPO3 Traditional · Open source · 20 of 28 built in

Sources checked: EmDash on 29 Sept 2026, TYPO3 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
EmDash vs TYPO3 feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
EmDash Traditional
TYPO3 Traditional
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 PHP CMS for multi-site, multilingual websites, with workspaces and granular backend permissions. Self-hosted, often run by agencies.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. EmDash 1.0, open source Version 1.0.1, released 28 Sept 2026 TYPO3 v14 LTS, version 14.3, open source Version 14.3.7, released 8 Sept 2026
Vendor Cloudflare emdashcms.com TYPO3 Association (project); TYPO3 GmbH sells support and extended LTS typo3.org
Licence Open source MIT Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
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 vendor SaaS. TYPO3 agencies and hosts run managed installations.
Built with TypeScript, AstroPHP, Symfony components, Fluid
Database SQLite, Cloudflare D1, PostgreSQL, libSQLMySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, 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. Commercial support and extended LTS are sold separately.
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 TCA in PHP. The Content Blocks extension adds YAML definitions. 11
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 Plugin or add-on Mask extension builds content elements in the backend. 12
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 Content elements on pages, reordered by drag and drop.
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 Built in Page and record translations. Guided translation wizard in v14. 2
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 Server-side image processing with crop variants. 10
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in 9 Plugin or add-on EXT:headless outputs pages as JSON. Core has no content API. 13
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 Built in Webhooks system extension, in core since v12. 6
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 Fluid templates. Camino default theme in v14. 2
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 Via the Workspaces system extension. 5
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in 10 Built in Start and stop dates on pages and content.
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 Record history with diff and undo.
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Signed preview links. 11 Built in Workspace preview links. 5
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 Plugin or add-on Visual Editor extension from Friends of TYPO3. TYPO3 plans core support for v15. 3
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 Built in Custom stages in Workspaces. 5
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Built in Workspaces publish staged changes together. 5
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 Built in Backend user groups. 9
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available 12 Built in Exclude fields per backend group. 9
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 Plugin or add-on OpenID Connect extensions such as causal/oidc. 14
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 Built in Log module records backend changes by user.
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Not available Built in Several site configurations in one installation.
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 Backend modules and custom form elements.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Plugin registry, launched with 1.0. 143 Built in TYPO3 Extension Repository. 16
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Plugin or add-on Official forms plugin. 17 Built in Form Framework with a backend form editor. 7
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 Frontend users and the felogin extension. 8
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available Not available Core ships AI integration points only. Third-party extensions such as AI Suite. 417
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 Third-party only, e.g. hauptsache.net's TYPO3 MCP Server. 15

Considering more platforms? Compare EmDash and TYPO3 with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.


Where they differ

EmDash and TYPO3 get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. EmDash has 14 built in on its baseline edition, TYPO3 has 20. 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 TYPO3 4

  • Content model in the UI EmDash: Built in. TYPO3: Plugin or add-on.
  • REST API EmDash: Built in. TYPO3: Plugin or add-on.
  • Visual editing EmDash: Built in. TYPO3: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server EmDash: Built in. TYPO3: Not available.

Built in on TYPO3, a different answer on EmDash 10

  • Content model in code EmDash: Limited. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Webhooks EmDash: Plugin or add-on. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Approval workflows EmDash: Not available. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Content releases EmDash: Not available. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Custom roles EmDash: Not available. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions EmDash: Not available. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Audit log EmDash: Plugin or add-on. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Multiple sites EmDash: Not available. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Form builder EmDash: Plugin or add-on. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Site member accounts EmDash: Limited. TYPO3: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 1

  • Single sign-on EmDash: Limited. TYPO3: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

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


We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.