FirstSpirit vs Instatic
FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Instatic is an open-source site builder that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 15.
- FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
- Instatic Site builder · Open source · 15 of 28 built in
Sources checked: FirstSpirit on 29 Sept 2026, Instatic on 30 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 | Java-based enterprise CMS with in-preview editing and a CaaS layer for headless delivery. Runs as FirstSpirit Cloud or on-premises. | Open-source, self-hosted CMS with a visual canvas editor. One Bun server runs the editor, content store and publisher, and publishing writes plain HTML files to disk. |
| 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 | Instatic 0.0.20, open source Version 0.0.20, released 13 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com | CoreBunch instatic.com |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | Self-hosting Vendor cloud | Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. You deploy the Docker image to your own server, or use the Railway and Render templates. |
| Built with | Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop app | TypeScript, Bun, React admin |
| Database | Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sources | SQLite, PostgreSQL |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | No free option Pricing on request. | Free to start Free and open source, with no paid tiers. You pay only for hosting. |
| 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. 34 | Not available Tables and fields live in the database and change in the Data workspace. Plugins can create tables through the SDK. 610 |
| 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. 412 | Built in Custom post types and data tables in the Data workspace. 616 |
| 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 Visual Components with typed parameters and named slots, placed and reordered on the canvas. 72 |
| 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. | Not available One site-wide language setting. No per-locale fields or entries. 21 |
| 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 Uploads get a set of WebP sizes, and the publisher writes srcset and sizes from the layout. 81 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in CaaS REST API. 56 | Limited The JSON API under /admin/api/cms serves the admin behind a session cookie. No token-based content API outside MCP. 920 |
| 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. 56 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available No built-in webhooks. A plugin with network access can call a URL from content hooks. 10 |
| 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. | Built in Publishing renders every page to static HTML on the server's disk. 11 |
| 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 51 |
| 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 | Built in Per page and per post-type entry. 5 |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Built in | Built in Published versions of pages and entries, restorable into the draft. Added in 0.0.20. 124 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in | Built in The canvas renders drafts in the site design. Branch preview links work without an account. 122 |
| 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 Editing happens on the rendered page canvas, with a live mode for the full-size page. 214 |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Built in 8 | Limited Branch merge requests with a review page and comments. No configurable review stages. 12 |
| 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 | Limited Publish ships all draft pages at once. Branches group edits across pages and entries, but entries still publish one by one. 125 |
| 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 | Limited Live co-editing of pages, components and layouts in the Site editor. Content workspace entries save separately. 13144 |
| 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. | Built in The Owner builds roles from a fixed list of capabilities. 1516 |
| 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 Capabilities apply per table type and edit category, not per field. 16 |
| 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. 1314 | Not available Email and password with optional TOTP two-factor. 15 |
| 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 | Built in Append-only log of logins, content changes, role edits and plugin actions. 17 |
| 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 | Not available One site per installation. 2 |
| 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 Plugins add admin pages, editor extensions, dashboard widgets and canvas modules. 10 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17 | Not available Plugins install as uploaded zip packages. No official directory. 10 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Formcentric for FirstSpirit, a partner product. 18 | Built in Forms are built on the canvas and submissions land in a data table. 18 |
| 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. 117 | Built in Built-in agent in the Site and Content workspaces, with your own Claude, OpenAI, OpenRouter or Ollama key. 19 |
| 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 Built in at /_instatic/mcp, with OAuth or scoped personal access tokens. 20 |
FirstSpirit sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises.
- Release notes FirstSpirit 2026.10
- [RELEASE] FirstSpirit 2026.10
- FSDevTools on GitHub
- External Synchronization: development
- CaaS Connect module documentation
- CaaS Platform REST interface documentation
- Omnichannel Manager 3.0
- ContentCreator: the standard Release workflow
- FirstSpirit docs: Specific release
- FirstSpirit docs: Schedule tasks
- FirstSpirit Collaboration user guide
- FirstSpirit docs: IN_GROUP rule
- Setting up SSO via the FirstSpirit SAML login module
- Authentication with OpenID Connect
- Audit logging in FirstSpirit
- Multisite Management user documentation
- FirstSpirit Marketplace: AI Suite
- Formcentric for FirstSpirit
- CaaS Platform MCP server documentation
- Rezolve Ai acquisition of Crownpeak
Instatic sources
Checked 30 Sept 2026. Instatic 0.0.20, open source.
- Instatic homepage
- Instatic repository on GitHub
- Instatic 0.0.20 release
- Instatic changelog
- Instatic docs: Content storage
- Instatic docs: Data workspace
- Instatic docs: Visual Components
- Instatic docs: Media
- Instatic docs: Server
- Instatic docs: Plugin system
- Instatic docs: Publisher
- Instatic docs: Site branches
- Instatic docs: Site shell and real-time co-editing
- Instatic docs: Content workspace
- Instatic docs: Auth and access
- Instatic docs: Capabilities
- Instatic docs: Audit log
- Instatic docs: CMS-native forms
- Instatic docs: AI agent
- Instatic docs: MCP connectors
- Instatic docs: Editor
Considering more platforms? Compare FirstSpirit and Instatic with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
FirstSpirit and Instatic get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. FirstSpirit has 19 built in on its baseline edition, Instatic has 15. 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
- FirstSpirit is closed source (Proprietary). Instatic is open source (MIT).
- Vendor cloud
- FirstSpirit has a vendor-run cloud. Instatic has no vendor-run cloud.
- Free option
- FirstSpirit has no free option. Instatic has a free option.
Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on Instatic 8
- Content model in code FirstSpirit: Built in. Instatic: Not available.
- Localization FirstSpirit: Built in. Instatic: Not available.
- REST API FirstSpirit: Built in. Instatic: Limited.
- GraphQL API FirstSpirit: Built in. Instatic: Not available.
- Approval workflows FirstSpirit: Built in. Instatic: Limited.
- Single sign-on FirstSpirit: Built in. Instatic: Not available.
- Multiple sites FirstSpirit: Built in. Instatic: Not available.
- Plugin marketplace FirstSpirit: Built in. Instatic: Not available.
Built in on Instatic, a different answer on FirstSpirit 4
- Content model in the UI FirstSpirit: Limited. Instatic: Built in.
- Scheduled publishing FirstSpirit: Limited. Instatic: Built in.
- Form builder FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Instatic: Built in.
- AI writing assistant FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Instatic: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 3
- Webhooks FirstSpirit: Limited. Instatic: Not available.
- Real-time co-editing FirstSpirit: Not available. Instatic: Limited.
- Field-level permissions FirstSpirit: Limited. Instatic: Not available.
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Instatic against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Instatic
- Contentful vs Instatic
- Contentstack vs Instatic
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Instatic
- Craft CMS vs Instatic
- DatoCMS vs Instatic
- Decap CMS vs Instatic
- Directus vs Instatic
- Drupal vs Instatic
- EmDash vs Instatic
- Framer vs Instatic
- Ghost vs Instatic
- HubSpot CMS vs Instatic
- Hygraph vs Instatic
- Instatic vs Joomla
- Instatic vs Keystone
- Instatic vs Kirby
- Instatic vs Liferay DXP
- Instatic vs Optimizely CMS
- Instatic vs Payload
- Instatic vs Prismic
- Instatic vs Progress Sitefinity
- Instatic vs Sanity
- Instatic vs Sitecore
- Instatic vs Squarespace
- Instatic vs Statamic
- Instatic vs Storyblok
- Instatic vs Strapi
- Instatic vs TYPO3
- Instatic vs Umbraco
- Instatic vs Wagtail
- Instatic vs Webflow
- Instatic vs Wix
- Instatic vs WordPress
- Instatic vs Xperience by Kentico
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