CMS comparison FirstSpirit vs Storyblok

FirstSpirit vs Storyblok

FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Storyblok 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 14.

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FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
Storyblok Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: FirstSpirit on 29 Sept 2026, Storyblok 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 Storyblok feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP	Storyblok 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 with a Visual Editor where editors compose pages from developer-defined blocks. Run by Storyblok GmbH.
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	Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor	Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com	Storyblok GmbH storyblok.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud	No self-hosting Vendor cloud Spaces run in Storyblok's EU, US, Canada or Australia regions.
Built with	Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop app	SaaS, JavaScript SDKs and CLI
Database	Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sources	Managed by Storyblok
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	Free to start Starter free. Growth $99, Growth Plus $349 per space per month. Premium and Elite 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	Built in The CLI pulls and pushes JSON component schemas. Typed @storyblok/schema is in preview. 2 3 4
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 Nestable blocks inside stories. 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 Starter includes 2 locales. Growth adds locales at $20 each per month. 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 Image Optimization Service on all plans. 1
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in CaaS REST API. 5 6	Built in Content Delivery API and Management API. 1
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	Paid tier GraphQL Content Delivery API on Premium and Elite. 1
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 3 webhooks on Starter, 5 on Growth, 15 on Premium. 1
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
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 Single story scheduling from Growth. Growth allows 2 scheduled stories, Premium 100. 1
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Limited Starter keeps 1 day of versions. Growth 30 days, Premium 180, Elite unlimited. 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 Visual Editor on all plans. 1
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 and stages on Premium and Elite. Lower plans get fixed default stages. 1
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 20 releases on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 1
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 Comments and content locking. No simultaneous editing of one story. 1 10
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 10 custom roles on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 1 5
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	Paid tier Field permissions come with custom roles on Premium and Elite. 1 5
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 Premium and Elite. 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	Limited Activity log on all plans. Starter keeps 1 day, Growth 30 days, Elite unlimited. 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	Built in One account can own many spaces, each on its own plan. 6
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 Field plugins on all plans. Tool and space plugins on Premium and Elite. 1 7
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17	Built in Storyblok App Directory. 8
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 content generation and translation on all plans, metered by AI credits. 1
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 Hosted server over the Management API. 9

FirstSpirit sources

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

Storyblok sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans.

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

Where they differ

FirstSpirit and Storyblok get a different status on 14 of the 28 features and the same status on 14. FirstSpirit has 19 built in on its baseline edition, Storyblok 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.

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

Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on Storyblok 7

GraphQL API FirstSpirit: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Renders the website FirstSpirit: Built in. Storyblok: Not available.
Version history FirstSpirit: Built in. Storyblok: Limited.
Approval workflows FirstSpirit: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Custom roles FirstSpirit: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Single sign-on FirstSpirit: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Audit log FirstSpirit: Built in. Storyblok: Limited.

Built in on Storyblok, a different answer on FirstSpirit 3

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

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

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

More comparisons

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

FirstSpirit against other platforms

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

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