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CMS comparison Hygraph vs Instatic

Hygraph vs Instatic

Hygraph is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Instatic is an open-source site builder that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 17.

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  • Hygraph Headless · Closed source · 13 of 28 built in
  • Instatic Site builder · Open source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Hygraph on 29 Sept 2026, Instatic on 30 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
Hygraph vs Instatic feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Hygraph Headless
Instatic Site builder
Overview
What it is Hosted headless CMS run by Hygraph, formerly GraphCMS. Serves content over a GraphQL API and can pull in data from remote REST and GraphQL sources.Open-source, self-hosted CMS with a visual canvas editor. One Bun server runs the editor, content store and publisher, and publishing writes plain HTML files to disk.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Instatic 0.0.20, open source Version 0.0.20, released 13 Sept 2026
Vendor Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) hygraph.com CoreBunch instatic.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source MIT
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Shared regions on every plan. Dedicated clusters on Enterprise. Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. You deploy the Docker image to your own server, or use the Railway and Render templates.
Built with Hosted SaaS with a GraphQL Content APITypeScript, Bun, React admin
Database Managed by HygraphSQLite, PostgreSQL
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Hobby free. Growth from $199 per month. Enterprise on request. Free to start Free and open source, with no paid tiers. You pay only for hosting.
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. Limited Management SDK applies schema changes from code. No declarative schema files. 2 Not available Tables and fields live in the database and change in the Data workspace. Plugins can create tables through the SDK. 610
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 1 Built in Custom post types and data tables in the Data workspace. 616
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Components in modular fields: 10 on Hobby, 20 on Growth. 1 Built in Visual Components with typed parameters and named slots, placed and reordered on the canvas. 72
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Field-level locales: 2 on Hobby, 3 on Growth, up to 80 on Enterprise. 1 Not available One site-wide language setting. No per-locale fields or entries. 21
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in Resize, crop and format conversion by URL or GraphQL argument. 4 Built in Uploads get a set of WebP sizes, and the publisher writes srcset and sizes from the layout. 81
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Not available Content API is GraphQL only. 3 Limited The JSON API under /admin/api/cms serves the admin behind a session cookie. No token-based content API outside MCP. 920
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 3 Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in 5 on Hobby, 10 on Growth. 15 Not available No built-in webhooks. A plugin with network access can call a URL from content hooks. 10
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Not available Built in Publishing renders every page to static HTML on the server's disk. 11
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in DRAFT and PUBLISHED stages on every plan. 1 Built in 51
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Enterprise. 17 Built in Per page and per post-type entry. 5
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Paid tier 14 days on Growth, up to 365 on Enterprise. None on Hobby. 1 Built in Published versions of pages and entries, restorable into the draft. Added in 0.0.20. 124
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 1 Built in The canvas renders drafts in the site design. Branch preview links work without an account. 122
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Built in Click to Edit via the Hygraph Preview SDK opens the field in Studio. 6 Built in Editing happens on the rendered page canvas, with a live mode for the full-size page. 214
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Paid tier Custom Workflows, up to 10, on Enterprise. 113 Limited Branch merge requests with a review page and comments. No configurable review stages. 12
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Paid tier Releases on Enterprise. 7 Limited Publish ships all draft pages at once. Branches group edits across pages and entries, but entries still publish one by one. 125
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 Collaborator View shows who else is in an entry. 9 Limited Live co-editing of pages, components and layouts in the Site editor. Content workspace entries save separately. 13144
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Up to 30 custom roles on Enterprise. Hobby has 2 standard roles, Growth 4. 1 Built in The Owner builds roles from a fixed list of capabilities. 1516
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Permissions scope by model, locale, stage, environment and condition. 8 Not available Capabilities apply per table type and edit category, not per field. 16
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier Enterprise. 1 Not available Email and password with optional TOTP two-factor. 15
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Paid tier Enterprise, 90-day retention. 1 Built in Append-only log of logins, content changes, role edits and plugin actions. 17
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Paid tier Multitenancy on Enterprise. 1 Not available One site per installation. 2
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in App Framework for custom fields, sidebars and pages. 12 Built in Plugins add admin pages, editor extensions, dashboard widgets and canvas modules. 10
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Hygraph Marketplace. 12 Not available Plugins install as uploaded zip packages. No official directory. 10
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Built in Forms are built on the canvas and submissions land in a data table. 18
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. Built in AI Assist on every plan, with a monthly AI token allowance. 110 Built in Built-in agent in the Site and Content workspaces, with your own Claude, OpenAI, OpenRouter or Ollama key. 19
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Built in Global endpoint at mcp.hygraph.com and per-project endpoints. Also a Claude connector. 111415 Built in Built in at /_instatic/mcp, with OAuth or scoped personal access tokens. 20

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

Where they differ

Hygraph and Instatic get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Hygraph has 13 built in on its baseline edition, Instatic 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.

Licence
Hygraph is closed source (Proprietary). Instatic is open source (MIT).
Self-hosting
Hygraph cannot be self-hosted. Instatic can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Hygraph has a vendor-run cloud. Instatic has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Hygraph, a different answer on Instatic 4

  • Localization Hygraph: Built in. Instatic: Not available.
  • GraphQL API Hygraph: Built in. Instatic: Not available.
  • Webhooks Hygraph: Built in. Instatic: Not available.
  • Plugin marketplace Hygraph: Built in. Instatic: Not available.

Built in on Instatic, a different answer on Hygraph 6

  • Renders the website Hygraph: Not available. Instatic: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Hygraph: Paid tier. Instatic: Built in.
  • Version history Hygraph: Paid tier. Instatic: Built in.
  • Custom roles Hygraph: Paid tier. Instatic: Built in.
  • Audit log Hygraph: Paid tier. Instatic: Built in.
  • Form builder Hygraph: Not available. Instatic: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 7

  • Content model in code Hygraph: Limited. Instatic: Not available.
  • REST API Hygraph: Not available. Instatic: Limited.
  • Approval workflows Hygraph: Paid tier. Instatic: Limited.
  • Content releases Hygraph: Paid tier. Instatic: Limited.
  • Real-time co-editing Hygraph: Not available. Instatic: Limited.
  • Single sign-on Hygraph: Paid tier. Instatic: Not available.
  • Multiple sites Hygraph: Paid tier. Instatic: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Hygraph against other platforms

Instatic against other platforms

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

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