CMS comparison FirstSpirit vs Hygraph

FirstSpirit vs Hygraph

FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. 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 16.

Book a call

FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
Hygraph Headless · Closed source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: FirstSpirit 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

FirstSpirit vs Hygraph feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP	Hygraph Headless
Overview
What it is	Java-based enterprise CMS with in-preview editing and a CaaS layer for headless delivery. Runs as FirstSpirit Cloud or on-premises.	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.	FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises Version 2026.10 (5.2.261011), released 15 Sept 2026	Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor	Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com	Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) hygraph.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud	No self-hosting Vendor cloud Shared regions on every plan. Dedicated clusters on Enterprise.
Built with	Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop app	Hosted SaaS with a GraphQL Content API
Database	Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sources	Managed by Hygraph
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	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 Templates sync to files in Git through external synchronization and FSDevTools. 3 4	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.	Limited Developers build templates in SiteArchitect but write their forms as XML. 4 12	Built in 1
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in Pages consist of sections based on section templates.	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 Language-dependent fields per project language.	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 FirstSpirit automatically generates the image resolutions defined per project.	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 CaaS REST API. 5 6	Not available Content API is GraphQL only. 3
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in CaaS GraphQL API generated from the FirstSpirit data model. 5 6	Built in 3
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Limited CaaS Change Streams push change events over WebSocket. 6	Built in 5 on Hobby, 10 on Growth. 1 5
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Built in Generates pages from templates. CaaS covers headless delivery.	Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Built in Changes stay unreleased until the release workflow runs. 8	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.	Limited Admins set up timed schedule entries. Editors have no per-item publish date. 10	Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Enterprise. 1 7
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	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	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.	Built in ContentCreator in-preview editing. Omnichannel Manager for headless frontends. 7	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 8	Paid tier Custom Workflows, up to 10, on Enterprise. 1 13
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Limited Release with dependencies publishes a page with its linked media and parents. 9	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 The Collaboration module adds comments on fields. No co-editing. 11	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 Groups with permissions per store and node.	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.	Limited Form rules hide or lock single fields per user group. 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.	Built in SAML and OpenID Connect login modules. 13 14	Paid tier Enterprise. 1
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Built in Audit logging to the server log once enabled. 15	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.	Built in Several projects per server. Multisite Management shares content between them. 16	Paid tier Multitenancy on Enterprise. 1
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in ContentCreator and SiteArchitect plug-ins.	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 FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17	Built in Hygraph Marketplace. 12
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Plugin or add-on Formcentric for FirstSpirit, a partner product. 18	Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Not available	Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Plugin or add-on AI Suite module: Content, Analyze and Image assistants. 1 17	Built in AI Assist on every plan, with a monthly AI token allowance. 1 10
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Built in CaaS Platform MCP server builds and runs CaaS GraphQL queries. 19	Built in Global endpoint at mcp.hygraph.com and per-project endpoints. Also a Claude connector. 11 14 15

FirstSpirit sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises.

Hygraph sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans.

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

Where they differ

FirstSpirit and Hygraph get a different status on 16 of the 28 features and the same status on 12. FirstSpirit has 19 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.

Self-hosting: FirstSpirit can be self-hosted. Hygraph cannot be self-hosted.
Free option: FirstSpirit has no free option. Hygraph has a free option.

Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on Hygraph 9

Content model in code FirstSpirit: Built in. Hygraph: Limited.
REST API FirstSpirit: Built in. Hygraph: Not available.
Renders the website FirstSpirit: Built in. Hygraph: Not available.
Version history FirstSpirit: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Approval workflows FirstSpirit: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Custom roles FirstSpirit: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Single sign-on FirstSpirit: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Audit log FirstSpirit: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Multiple sites FirstSpirit: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.

Built in on Hygraph, a different answer on FirstSpirit 3

Content model in the UI FirstSpirit: Limited. Hygraph: Built in.
Webhooks FirstSpirit: Limited. Hygraph: Built in.
AI writing assistant FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

Scheduled publishing FirstSpirit: Limited. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Content releases FirstSpirit: Limited. Hygraph: Paid tier.
Field-level permissions FirstSpirit: Limited. Hygraph: Not available.
Form builder FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Hygraph: Not available.

More comparisons

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

FirstSpirit against other platforms

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.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead