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CMS comparison HubSpot CMS vs Wagtail

HubSpot CMS vs Wagtail

HubSpot CMS is a closed-source site builder that runs 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 13.

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  • HubSpot CMS Site builder · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in
  • Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: HubSpot CMS 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
HubSpot CMS vs Wagtail feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
HubSpot CMS Site builder
Wagtail 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.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. Content Hub: Free, Starter, Professional, Enterprise SaaS, continuously updated Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026
Vendor HubSpot, Inc. hubspot.com Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source BSD-3-Clause
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting No vendor cloud The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app.
Built with HubL templates, HubSpot CLIPython, Django
Database Managed by HubSpot, with HubDB for structured dataPostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
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. 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 Theme and module fields live in fields.json, synced with the HubSpot CLI. 3 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. Paid tier Module fields in Design manager on Starter. HubDB tables on Professional. 14 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 Drag-and-drop modules and sections. 5 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 Free tools cover 3 languages, Starter 50, Professional unlimited. 16 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 Automatic resizing plus the HubL resize_image_url function. 7 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 CMS APIs for pages, blog posts and HubDB. 8 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. Paid tier Content Hub Professional. 9 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. Not available Webhooks API covers CRM objects. No page publish events. 10 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 HubL themes and templates on HubSpot hosting. Built in
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in Built in
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in 118 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 Restore previous versions on all plans. 12 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 Drag-and-drop editor edits the rendered page. 5 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. Paid tier Content approvals on Enterprise. 1 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. 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 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. Paid tier Permission sets on Enterprise. Per-user permissions on all plans. 14 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. Not available 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. Paid tier SAML SSO on Content Hub Professional and Enterprise. 15 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. Paid tier Activity logging on Enterprise. 1 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. Paid tier Multisites on Enterprise. 1 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 Custom modules and their fields appear in the page editor. 3 Built in Hooks, viewsets and custom panels.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in HubSpot Marketplace for apps and themes. 16 Built in Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Built in 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. Paid tier Memberships on Professional with 2 access groups and Enterprise with 100. 12 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. Built in Breeze generates and refines content in editors on all plans. 17 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 Remote HubSpot MCP server reads site pages, landing pages and blog posts. 18 Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16

HubSpot CMS sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Content Hub: Free, Starter, Professional, Enterprise.

  1. HubSpot Content Hub pricing
  2. HubSpot Product & Services Catalog
  3. HubSpot docs: Modules overview
  4. HubSpot KB: Create and populate HubDB tables
  5. HubSpot KB: Edit content in the content editor
  6. HubSpot KB: Create pages in multiple languages
  7. HubSpot docs: HubL functions
  8. HubSpot API: Schedule a website page
  9. HubSpot docs: Query HubSpot data using GraphQL
  10. HubSpot docs: Webhooks API guide
  11. HubSpot KB: Set a blog post's publish date and time
  12. HubSpot KB: Restore a previous version of content
  13. HubSpot KB: Redesign and relaunch a site with content staging
  14. HubSpot KB: Create and assign permission sets
  15. HubSpot KB: Set up single sign-on (SSO)
  16. HubSpot Marketplace
  17. HubSpot KB: Generate and refine content with AI
  18. Remote HubSpot MCP server is now generally available

Wagtail sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Wagtail 8, open source.

  1. Wagtail 8.0 release notes
  2. How to use StreamField for mixed content
  3. Wagtail docs: Internationalization
  4. Wagtail docs: Images
  5. Wagtail API v2 usage guide
  6. wagtail-grapple on GitHub
  7. Wagtail guide: Scheduled publishing
  8. Wagtail guide: Configure workflows for moderation
  9. Wagtail docs: Permissions
  10. Wagtail docs: Panels reference
  11. Wagtail docs: Audit log
  12. Wagtail 6.2: content metrics and concurrent editing
  13. Wagtail docs: Form builder
  14. Wagtail docs: Private pages
  15. Wagtail AI
  16. Experiments with MCP in Wagtail
  17. Wagtail docs: Packages
  18. Wagtail docs: Signals
  19. django-allauth: SAML provider
  20. Wagtail 4.0 release notes: live preview panel

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

Where they differ

HubSpot CMS and Wagtail get a different status on 13 of the 28 features and the same status on 15. HubSpot CMS has 16 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
HubSpot CMS is closed source (Proprietary). Wagtail is open source (BSD-3-Clause).
Self-hosting
HubSpot CMS cannot be self-hosted. Wagtail can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
HubSpot CMS has a vendor-run cloud. Wagtail has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on HubSpot CMS, a different answer on Wagtail 3

  • Visual editing HubSpot CMS: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
  • AI writing assistant HubSpot CMS: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server HubSpot CMS: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.

Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on HubSpot CMS 5

  • Approval workflows HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Custom roles HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions HubSpot CMS: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Audit log HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Multiple sites HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Content model in the UI HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Wagtail: Not available.
  • GraphQL API HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Content releases HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Single sign-on HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Site member accounts HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Wagtail: Limited.

More comparisons

HubSpot CMS 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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