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CMS comparison HubSpot CMS vs Kirby

HubSpot CMS vs Kirby

HubSpot CMS 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.

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  • HubSpot CMS Site builder · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in
  • Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in

Sources checked: HubSpot CMS 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
HubSpot CMS vs Kirby feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
HubSpot CMS Site builder
Kirby Traditional
Overview
What it is HubSpot's hosted CMS and site builder, sold as Content Hub. Pages and blogs connect to the HubSpot CRM, and HubSpot hosts every site.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. Content Hub: Free, Starter, Professional, Enterprise SaaS, continuously updated Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 Sept 2026
Vendor HubSpot, Inc. hubspot.com Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Closed source Proprietary, source available
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting No vendor cloud
Built with HubL templates, HubSpot CLIPHP, Vue for the Panel
Database Managed by HubSpot, with HubDB for structured dataFlat files, no database required
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free plan for 2 users. Starter $20 per seat per month. Pro from $450 per month for 3 seats. Enterprise from $1,500. 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 Theme and module fields live in fields.json, synced with the HubSpot CLI. 3 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. Paid tier Module fields in Design manager on Starter. HubDB tables on Professional. 14 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 Drag-and-drop modules and sections. 5 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 Free tools cover 3 languages, Starter 50, Professional unlimited. 16 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 Automatic resizing plus the HubL resize_image_url function. 7 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 CMS APIs for pages, blog posts and HubDB. 8 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. Paid tier Content Hub Professional. 9 Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Not available Webhooks API covers CRM objects. No page publish events. 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 HubL themes and templates on HubSpot hosting. 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 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. Built in 118 Not available
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Restore previous versions on all plans. 12 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 Drag-and-drop editor edits the rendered page. 5 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. Paid tier Content approvals on Enterprise. 1 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 Content staging on Professional publishes staged pages together. 13 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 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. Paid tier Permission sets on Enterprise. Per-user permissions on all plans. 14 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 SAML SSO on Content Hub Professional and Enterprise. 15 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. Paid tier Activity logging on Enterprise. 1 Not available
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Paid tier Multisites on Enterprise. 1 Not available One site per installation.
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in Custom modules and their fields appear in the page editor. 3 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 HubSpot Marketplace for apps and themes. 16 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 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. Paid tier Memberships on Professional with 2 access groups and Enterprise with 100. 12 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 Breeze generates and refines content in editors on all plans. 17 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 Remote HubSpot MCP server reads site pages, landing pages and blog posts. 18 Not available Third-party Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick. 19

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

Where they differ

HubSpot CMS and Kirby get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. HubSpot CMS has 16 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
HubSpot CMS cannot be self-hosted. Kirby can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
HubSpot CMS has a vendor-run cloud. Kirby has no vendor-run cloud.
Free option
HubSpot CMS has a free option. Kirby has no free option.

Built in on HubSpot CMS, a different answer on Kirby 6

  • Scheduled publishing HubSpot CMS: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Version history HubSpot CMS: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Visual editing HubSpot CMS: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Form builder HubSpot CMS: Built in. Kirby: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant HubSpot CMS: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Official MCP server HubSpot CMS: Built in. Kirby: Not available.

Built in on Kirby, a different answer on HubSpot CMS 1

  • Custom roles HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Kirby: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 8

  • Content model in the UI HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
  • GraphQL API HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
  • Approval workflows HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
  • Content releases HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
  • Single sign-on HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
  • Audit log HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
  • Multiple sites HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
  • Site member accounts HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Kirby: Limited.

More comparisons

HubSpot CMS against other platforms

Kirby against other platforms

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