Hygraph vs Keystone
Hygraph is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Keystone is an open-source headless CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 21.
- Hygraph Headless · Closed source · 13 of 28 built in
- Keystone Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Hygraph on 29 Sept 2026, Keystone 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 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 Node.js headless CMS from Thinkmill that generates a GraphQL API and an admin UI from a TypeScript schema. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated | Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package Version 8.1.0, released 31 Aug 2026 |
| Vendor | Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) hygraph.com | Thinkmill keystonejs.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. Thinkmill offers enterprise support. |
| Built with | Hosted SaaS with a GraphQL Content API | TypeScript, Node.js, GraphQL, Prisma, Next.js for the admin UI |
| Database | Managed by Hygraph | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite |
| 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. Enterprise support from Thinkmill on request. |
| 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 | Built in Lists and fields are TypeScript config. 4 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Built in 1 | Not available |
| 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 Component blocks inside the document field. 8 |
| 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 No locale support documented. Model translations yourself. 12 |
| 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 | Not available Image field stores originals. The Cloudinary field hands resizing to Cloudinary. 711 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Not available Content API is GraphQL only. 3 | Not available GraphQL only. Custom REST routes through extendExpressApp. 4 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Built in 3 | Built in |
| 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 webhook settings. Call URLs from hooks in code. 10 |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Not available | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Enterprise. 17 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in 1 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Paid tier Releases on Enterprise. 7 | 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 Collaborator View shows who else is in an entry. 9 | Not available |
| 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 | Limited Roles are access-control functions written in code. No role editor in the admin. 5 |
| 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 | Built in Field-level access control. 5 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Paid tier Enterprise. 1 | Not available The auth package covers password login. SSO means custom session code. 6 |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 |
| 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 Custom admin pages, navigation and field views. 9 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Hygraph Marketplace. 12 | Not available |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available | Not available |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Not available | Built in createAuth works on any list, including site users. 6 |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available |
Hygraph sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans.
- Hygraph pricing
- Hygraph docs: Management SDK overview
- Hygraph docs: API reference overview
- Hygraph docs: Asset transformations
- Hygraph docs: Webhooks
- Hygraph docs: Click to Edit setup
- Hygraph docs: Content releases
- Hygraph docs: Content permissions
- Hygraph blog: Introducing Collaborator View
- Hygraph blog: AI Assist is now generally available
- Hygraph docs: MCP server
- Hygraph Marketplace: Apps
- Hygraph docs: Content workflows
- Hygraph docs: Set up the MCP server
- Hygraph blog: MCP Connector for Claude (September 2026)
Keystone sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package.
- @keystone-6/core on the npm registry
- Keystone releases on GitHub
- Keystone homepage
- Keystone docs: System configuration
- Keystone docs: Access control
- Keystone docs: Authentication
- Keystone docs: Image field
- Keystone docs: Document field demo
- Keystone docs: Custom admin UI pages
- Keystone docs: Hooks guide
- Keystone docs: Cloudinary image field
- Keystone documentation index (llms.txt)
Considering more platforms? Compare Hygraph and Keystone with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Hygraph and Keystone get a different status on 21 of the 28 features and the same status on 7. Hygraph has 13 built in on its baseline edition, Keystone has 6. 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). Keystone is open source (MIT).
- Self-hosting
- Hygraph cannot be self-hosted. Keystone can be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- Hygraph has a vendor-run cloud. Keystone has no vendor-run cloud.
Built in on Hygraph, a different answer on Keystone 10
- Content model in the UI Hygraph: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Localization Hygraph: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Image transformations Hygraph: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Webhooks Hygraph: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Drafts Hygraph: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Preview Hygraph: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Visual editing Hygraph: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Plugin marketplace Hygraph: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- AI writing assistant Hygraph: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Official MCP server Hygraph: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
Built in on Keystone, a different answer on Hygraph 3
- Content model in code Hygraph: Limited. Keystone: Built in.
- Field-level permissions Hygraph: Not available. Keystone: Built in.
- Site member accounts Hygraph: Not available. Keystone: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 8
- Scheduled publishing Hygraph: Paid tier. Keystone: Not available.
- Version history Hygraph: Paid tier. Keystone: Not available.
- Approval workflows Hygraph: Paid tier. Keystone: Not available.
- Content releases Hygraph: Paid tier. Keystone: Not available.
- Custom roles Hygraph: Paid tier. Keystone: Limited.
- Single sign-on Hygraph: Paid tier. Keystone: Not available.
- Audit log Hygraph: Paid tier. Keystone: Not available.
- Multiple sites Hygraph: Paid tier. Keystone: Not available.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Hygraph vs Payload.
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Keystone against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Keystone
- Contentful vs Keystone
- Contentstack vs Keystone
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Keystone
- Craft CMS vs Keystone
- DatoCMS vs Keystone
- Decap CMS vs Keystone
- Directus vs Keystone
- Drupal vs Keystone
- EmDash vs Keystone
- FirstSpirit vs Keystone
- Framer vs Keystone
- Ghost vs Keystone
- HubSpot CMS vs Keystone
- Instatic vs Keystone
- Joomla vs Keystone
- Keystone vs Kirby
- Keystone vs Liferay DXP
- Keystone vs Optimizely CMS
- Keystone vs Payload
- Keystone vs Prismic
- Keystone vs Progress Sitefinity
- Keystone vs Sanity
- Keystone vs Sitecore
- Keystone vs Squarespace
- Keystone vs Statamic
- Keystone vs Storyblok
- Keystone vs Strapi
- Keystone vs TYPO3
- Keystone vs Umbraco
- Keystone vs Wagtail
- Keystone vs Webflow
- Keystone vs Wix
- Keystone vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Keystone
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