Instatic vs Keystone
Instatic is an open-source site builder that you host yourself. 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.
- Instatic Site builder · Open source · 15 of 28 built in
- Keystone Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Instatic on 30 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 | 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. | 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. | Instatic 0.0.20, open source Version 0.0.20, released 13 Sept 2026 | Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package Version 8.1.0, released 31 Aug 2026 |
| Vendor | CoreBunch instatic.com | Thinkmill keystonejs.com |
| Licence | Open source MIT | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. You deploy the Docker image to your own server, or use the Railway and Render templates. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. Thinkmill offers enterprise support. |
| Built with | TypeScript, Bun, React admin | TypeScript, Node.js, GraphQL, Prisma, Next.js for the admin UI |
| Database | SQLite, PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free and open source, with no paid tiers. You pay only for hosting. | 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. | Not available Tables and fields live in the database and change in the Data workspace. Plugins can create tables through the SDK. 610 | 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 Custom post types and data tables in the Data workspace. 616 | Not available |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Visual Components with typed parameters and named slots, placed and reordered on the canvas. 72 | 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. | Not available One site-wide language setting. No per-locale fields or entries. 21 | 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 Uploads get a set of WebP sizes, and the publisher writes srcset and sizes from the layout. 81 | 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. | Limited The JSON API under /admin/api/cms serves the admin behind a session cookie. No token-based content API outside MCP. 920 | Not available GraphQL only. Custom REST routes through extendExpressApp. 4 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Built in |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Not available No built-in webhooks. A plugin with network access can call a URL from content hooks. 10 | 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. | Built in Publishing renders every page to static HTML on the server's disk. 11 | Not available |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in 51 | Not available |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Built in Per page and per post-type entry. 5 | Not available |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Built in Published versions of pages and entries, restorable into the draft. Added in 0.0.20. 124 | Not available |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in The canvas renders drafts in the site design. Branch preview links work without an account. 122 | 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 Editing happens on the rendered page canvas, with a live mode for the full-size page. 214 | Not available |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Limited Branch merge requests with a review page and comments. No configurable review stages. 12 | Not available |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Limited Publish ships all draft pages at once. Branches group edits across pages and entries, but entries still publish one by one. 125 | 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. | Limited Live co-editing of pages, components and layouts in the Site editor. Content workspace entries save separately. 13144 | Not available |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Built in The Owner builds roles from a fixed list of capabilities. 1516 | 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 Capabilities apply per table type and edit category, not per field. 16 | Built in Field-level access control. 5 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Not available Email and password with optional TOTP two-factor. 15 | 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. | Built in Append-only log of logins, content changes, role edits and plugin actions. 17 | Not available |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available One site per installation. 2 | Not available |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Plugins add admin pages, editor extensions, dashboard widgets and canvas modules. 10 | Built in Custom admin pages, navigation and field views. 9 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Not available Plugins install as uploaded zip packages. No official directory. 10 | Not available |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Built in Forms are built on the canvas and submissions land in a data table. 18 | 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 Built-in agent in the Site and Content workspaces, with your own Claude, OpenAI, OpenRouter or Ollama key. 19 | Not available |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Built in Built in at /_instatic/mcp, with OAuth or scoped personal access tokens. 20 | Not available |
Instatic sources
Checked 30 Sept 2026. Instatic 0.0.20, open source.
- Instatic homepage
- Instatic repository on GitHub
- Instatic 0.0.20 release
- Instatic changelog
- Instatic docs: Content storage
- Instatic docs: Data workspace
- Instatic docs: Visual Components
- Instatic docs: Media
- Instatic docs: Server
- Instatic docs: Plugin system
- Instatic docs: Publisher
- Instatic docs: Site branches
- Instatic docs: Site shell and real-time co-editing
- Instatic docs: Content workspace
- Instatic docs: Auth and access
- Instatic docs: Capabilities
- Instatic docs: Audit log
- Instatic docs: CMS-native forms
- Instatic docs: AI agent
- Instatic docs: MCP connectors
- Instatic docs: Editor
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 Instatic and Keystone with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Instatic and Keystone get a different status on 21 of the 28 features and the same status on 7. Instatic has 15 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.
Built in on Instatic, a different answer on Keystone 13
- Content model in the UI Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Image transformations Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Renders the website Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Drafts Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Scheduled publishing Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Version history Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Preview Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Visual editing Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Custom roles Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Limited.
- Audit log Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Form builder Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- AI writing assistant Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
- Official MCP server Instatic: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
Built in on Keystone, a different answer on Instatic 4
- Content model in code Instatic: Not available. Keystone: Built in.
- GraphQL API Instatic: Not available. Keystone: Built in.
- Field-level permissions Instatic: Not available. Keystone: Built in.
- Site member accounts Instatic: Not available. Keystone: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 4
- REST API Instatic: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
- Approval workflows Instatic: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
- Content releases Instatic: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
- Real-time co-editing Instatic: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
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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
- Hygraph 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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