FirstSpirit vs Kirby
FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Kirby is a closed-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.
- FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
- Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in
Sources checked: FirstSpirit on 29 Sept 2026, Kirby 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 | Java-based enterprise CMS with in-preview editing and a CaaS layer for headless delivery. Runs as FirstSpirit Cloud or on-premises. | File-based PHP CMS with a configurable editing Panel. Content lives in text files on your own server, under a paid per-site licence. |
| 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 | Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com | Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Closed source Proprietary, source available |
| Hosting | Self-hosting Vendor cloud | Self-hosting No vendor cloud |
| Built with | Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop app | PHP, Vue for the Panel |
| Database | Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sources | Flat files, no database required |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | No free option Pricing on request. | No free option Basic €99 per site if revenue is under €1M. Enterprise €349 per site. Both include 3 years of updates. |
| 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 | Built in Blueprints are YAML files in site/blueprints. 5 |
| 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 | Not available You edit blueprints as files. The Panel has no schema editor. 5 |
| 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 Blocks and Layout fields. 6 |
| 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 Multi-language content is built in. 7 |
| 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 Thumbs with resize, crop and format conversion. 8 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in CaaS REST API. 56 | Built in Authenticated REST API. The official KQL plugin serves headless queries. 910 |
| 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 PHP hooks only. No webhook settings. |
| 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 PHP templates and snippets. |
| 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 Page drafts. Kirby 5 stores unsaved changes apart from the live version. 4 |
| 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 | Not available |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Built in | Not available Kirby 5 keeps the live version and one set of changes. No revision history. 4 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in | Built in Preview view renders unsaved changes, with shareable links. 4 |
| 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 | Not available Preview view compares versions. No click-to-edit. 4 |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Built in 8 | Not available Fixed page statuses: draft, unlisted, listed. 11 |
| 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 | 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 The Collaboration module adds comments on fields. No co-editing. 11 | Not available Content locking stops two editors changing one page at once. 320 |
| 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 Roles are user blueprints with permissions. 12 |
| 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 Only by loading different blueprints per role in custom code. 13 |
| 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 No first-party SSO. Community OAuth plugins exist. |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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. |
| 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 Panel plugins add fields, sections, views and areas. 15 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17 | Built in Official plugin directory at plugins.getkirby.com. 16 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Formcentric for FirstSpirit, a partner product. 18 | Plugin or add-on Paid DreamForm plugin by tobimori. 17 |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Not available | Limited Frontend login is built in. Sign-up needs custom code. 14 |
| 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 | Not available No first-party AI. Kirby Copilot is a paid third-party plugin. 18 |
| 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 | Not available Third-party Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick. 19 |
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
Kirby sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha..
- Kirby pricing
- Kirby releases
- Kirby 5 release overview
- Kirby 5: Preview your changes
- Kirby docs: Blueprints
- Kirby docs: Blocks field
- Kirby docs: Languages
- Kirby docs: $file->thumb()
- Kirby docs: REST API
- Kirby Query Language (KQL) plugin
- Kirby docs: Publishing workflow
- Kirby docs: Permissions
- Kirby cookbook: Extending permissions
- Kirby docs: Frontend login
- Kirby docs: Plugin extensions
- Kirby plugin directory
- DreamForm plugin
- Kirby Copilot plugin
- Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick
- Kirby docs: Content options (locking)
Considering more platforms? Compare FirstSpirit and Kirby with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
FirstSpirit and Kirby 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, Kirby has 11. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.
- Vendor cloud
- FirstSpirit has a vendor-run cloud. Kirby has no vendor-run cloud.
Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on Kirby 8
- GraphQL API FirstSpirit: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Version history FirstSpirit: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Visual editing FirstSpirit: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Approval workflows FirstSpirit: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Single sign-on FirstSpirit: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Audit log FirstSpirit: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Multiple sites FirstSpirit: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Official MCP server FirstSpirit: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
Built in on neither, with different answers 7
- Content model in the UI FirstSpirit: Limited. Kirby: Not available.
- Webhooks FirstSpirit: Limited. Kirby: Not available.
- Scheduled publishing FirstSpirit: Limited. Kirby: Not available.
- Content releases FirstSpirit: Limited. Kirby: Not available.
- Field-level permissions FirstSpirit: Limited. Kirby: Not available.
- Site member accounts FirstSpirit: Not available. Kirby: Limited.
- AI writing assistant FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Kirby: Not available.
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Kirby against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Kirby
- Contentful vs Kirby
- Contentstack vs Kirby
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Kirby
- Craft CMS vs Kirby
- DatoCMS vs Kirby
- Decap CMS vs Kirby
- Directus vs Kirby
- Drupal vs Kirby
- EmDash vs Kirby
- Framer vs Kirby
- Ghost vs Kirby
- HubSpot CMS vs Kirby
- Hygraph vs Kirby
- Instatic vs Kirby
- Joomla vs Kirby
- Keystone vs Kirby
- Kirby vs Liferay DXP
- Kirby vs Optimizely CMS
- Kirby vs Payload
- Kirby vs Prismic
- Kirby vs Progress Sitefinity
- Kirby vs Sanity
- Kirby vs Sitecore
- Kirby vs Squarespace
- Kirby vs Statamic
- Kirby vs Storyblok
- Kirby vs Strapi
- Kirby vs TYPO3
- Kirby vs Umbraco
- Kirby vs Wagtail
- Kirby vs Webflow
- Kirby vs Wix
- Kirby vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Kirby
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