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CMS comparison FirstSpirit vs Wagtail

FirstSpirit vs Wagtail

FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Wagtail 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 11.

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  • FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
  • Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: FirstSpirit on 29 Sept 2026, Wagtail 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 Wagtail feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP
Wagtail Traditional
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 CMS built on Django. Content types are Python models, and you host it yourself on any Python stack.
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 Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026
Vendor Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source BSD-3-Clause
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting No vendor cloud The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app.
Built with Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop appPython, Django
Database Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sourcesPostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. No free option Pricing on request. Free to start Free and open source. No licence fee.
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 Page and snippet types are Django models. 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. 412 Not available Developers define content types in Python only.
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 StreamField blocks. 2
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 Core i18n with simple_translation. The wagtail-localize package adds a translation workflow. 3
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 Renditions with resize, crop and format filters. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in CaaS REST API. 56 Built in Read-only v2 API. Writable v3 API in preview since 8.0. 51
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 Plugin or add-on wagtail-grapple, maintained by Torchbox. 6
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 Django signals such as page_published. No webhook settings. 18
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
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 Built in Go-live and expiry dates. 7
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Built in Editors can compare and revert revisions. 11
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Built in 20
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 Limited Preview panel beside the edit form. No click-to-edit on the page. 20
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Built in 8 Built in Moderation workflows with tasks assigned to groups. 8
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 Concurrent editing notifications warn editors. No live co-editing. 12
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 Groups with page, collection and model permissions. 9
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 Built in Set in code with the permission argument on panels. 10
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 Plugin or add-on django-allauth supports SAML and OpenID Connect. 19
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 Site-wide history report of logged actions. 11
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 Several sites in one installation with shared users. 9
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 Hooks, viewsets and custom panels.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17 Built in Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 17
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 wagtail.contrib.forms form builder. 13
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Limited Login for private pages is built in. Public sign-up needs a package such as django-allauth. 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 Plugin or add-on Wagtail AI, an officially supported package. 15
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 Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16

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

Where they differ

FirstSpirit and Wagtail get a different status on 11 of the 28 features and the same status on 17. FirstSpirit has 19 built in on its baseline edition, Wagtail has 18. 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). Wagtail is open source (BSD-3-Clause).
Vendor cloud
FirstSpirit has a vendor-run cloud. Wagtail has no vendor-run cloud.
Free option
FirstSpirit has no free option. Wagtail has a free option.

Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on Wagtail 4

  • GraphQL API FirstSpirit: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Visual editing FirstSpirit: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
  • Single sign-on FirstSpirit: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server FirstSpirit: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.

Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on FirstSpirit 3

  • Scheduled publishing FirstSpirit: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions FirstSpirit: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Form builder FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Wagtail: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

  • Content model in the UI FirstSpirit: Limited. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Webhooks FirstSpirit: Limited. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Content releases FirstSpirit: Limited. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Site member accounts FirstSpirit: Not available. Wagtail: Limited.

More comparisons

FirstSpirit against other platforms

Wagtail against other platforms

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

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