Framer vs Kirby
Framer is a closed-source site builder that runs 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.
- Framer Site builder · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
- Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Framer 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 | Hosted visual site builder with a CMS, hosting and AI agents. Designers build pages on a canvas. Run by Framer. | 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. | Framer 3.0 site plans, Free to Enterprise SaaS, continuously updated | Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Framer B.V. framer.com | Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Closed source Proprietary, source available |
| Hosting | No self-hosting Vendor cloud A paid plan is required to connect a custom domain. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud |
| Built with | Hosted SaaS with React code components | PHP, Vue for the Panel |
| Database | Managed by Framer | Flat files, no database required |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free plan. Basic $10, Pro $30 per site per month billed yearly. Extra editors $20 per month. | 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. | Not available You build collections in the editor or sync them through the Plugin and Server APIs. 313 | 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. | Built in 13 | 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 Components with properties that content editors can change on-page. 14 | 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. | Plugin or add-on Translation locales add-on, $20 per locale per month. One free locale to try. 117 | 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 Generates 512 to 4096 px variants served through srcset. 8 | Built in Thumbs with resize, crop and format conversion. 8 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Limited Server API in open beta, through the framer-api package over WebSocket. No plain REST. 23 | 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. | Not available | Not available |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Not available Webhooks cover form submissions only. 10 | 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 | 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 CMS items can stay in draft. 13 | 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. | Not available No native scheduling. Third-party Marketplace plugins add it. 18 | Not available |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Built in Version history and rollback of published versions. 67 | 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 Canvas editing and on-page editing of the live site. 14 | 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. | Limited Editors review and merge Pro branches. Only Deploy permission publishes. No stages. 45 | Not available Fixed page statuses: draft, unlisted, listed. 11 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Paid tier Branching on Pro groups changes and ships them in one merge. 15 | 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. | Built in Free workspaces allow up to three editors. 1 | 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. | Limited Fixed roles plus Design, Content and Deploy permissions per project. No role builder. 4 | 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. | Not available | 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. | Paid tier Enterprise. 116 | 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. | Not available Not documented publicly. | Not available |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Built in A workspace holds many site projects, each on its own plan. 4 | Not available One site per installation. |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Plugins add custom panels and tools to the editor. 11 | 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 Framer Marketplace. 12 | Built in Official plugin directory at plugins.getkirby.com. 16 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Built in Native forms. Submissions can also go to a webhook. 10 | 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. | Built in Agents write, rewrite and translate content. AI credits meter usage. 115 | 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. | Not available No MCP server. External Agents, in preview, link AI tools through a CLI and skills. 9 | Not available Third-party Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick. 19 |
Framer sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Framer 3.0 site plans, Free to Enterprise.
- Framer pricing
- Framer update: Server API (February 2026)
- Framer Developers: Server API introduction
- Framer Help: members, roles and permissions
- Framer: collaboration with branches, reviews and staging
- Framer: publish with staging, hosting and rollback
- Framer Help: staging and versions
- Framer Help: how Framer optimizes images
- Framer External Agents
- Framer Help: connect Framer forms to a webhook
- Framer Developers: plugins introduction
- Framer Marketplace plugins
- Framer CMS
- Framer Help: on-page editing
- Framer blog: Framer 3.0 with Agents and Branching
- Framer Enterprise
- Framer Help: localization
- Framer CMS Scheduler plugin (third party)
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 Framer and Kirby with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Framer and Kirby get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. Framer has 14 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.
- Self-hosting
- Framer cannot be self-hosted. Kirby can be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- Framer has a vendor-run cloud. Kirby has no vendor-run cloud.
- Free option
- Framer has a free option. Kirby has no free option.
Built in on Framer, a different answer on Kirby 7
- Content model in the UI Framer: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Version history Framer: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Visual editing Framer: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Real-time co-editing Framer: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Multiple sites Framer: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Form builder Framer: Built in. Kirby: Plugin or add-on.
- AI writing assistant Framer: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
Built in on Kirby, a different answer on Framer 4
- Content model in code Framer: Not available. Kirby: Built in.
- Localization Framer: Plugin or add-on. Kirby: Built in.
- REST API Framer: Limited. Kirby: Built in.
- Custom roles Framer: Limited. Kirby: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 4
- Approval workflows Framer: Limited. Kirby: Not available.
- Content releases Framer: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Single sign-on Framer: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Site member accounts Framer: Not available. Kirby: Limited.
More comparisons
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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
- FirstSpirit 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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