Keystone vs Umbraco
Keystone is an open-source headless CMS that you host yourself. Umbraco is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 23.
- Keystone Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
- Umbraco Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Keystone on 29 Sept 2026, Umbraco 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 Node.js headless CMS from Thinkmill that generates a GraphQL API and an admin UI from a TypeScript schema. | Open-source .NET CMS that renders sites with Razor or serves content headless. Self-hosted or run on Umbraco Cloud. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package Version 8.1.0, released 31 Aug 2026 | Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release. Version 17.7.0, released 17 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Thinkmill keystonejs.com | Umbraco A/S umbraco.com |
| Licence | Open source MIT | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. Thinkmill offers enterprise support. | Self-hosting Vendor cloud Forms and Deploy are paid add-ons when self-hosted. Umbraco Cloud includes both. |
| Built with | TypeScript, Node.js, GraphQL, Prisma, Next.js for the admin UI | C#, ASP.NET Core on .NET 10, TypeScript backoffice |
| Database | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite | SQL Server, SQLite |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free and open source. Enterprise support from Thinkmill on request. | Free to start Free to self-host. Umbraco Cloud Starter €45, Standard €280, Professional €730 per month. Enterprise 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. | Built in Lists and fields are TypeScript config. 4 | Plugin or add-on Umbraco Deploy saves document types as .uda files in Git. Paid on-premises, included on Umbraco Cloud. 45 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Not available | Built in Document types are built in the backoffice. |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Component blocks inside the document field. 8 | Built in Block List and Block Grid editors. 6 |
| Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. | Not available No locale support documented. Model translations yourself. 12 | Built in Culture variants per property. |
| Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. | Not available Image field stores originals. The Cloudinary field hands resizing to Cloudinary. 711 | Built in ImageSharp crops and resizes images from query string parameters. 9 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Not available GraphQL only. Custom REST routes through extendExpressApp. 4 | Built in Content Delivery API. 7 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Built in | Not available No official GraphQL. Community package Nikcio.UHeadless adds one. 20 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Not available No webhook settings. Call URLs from hooks in code. 10 | Built in 8 |
| 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 Razor templates. |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Not available | Built in |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Not available | Built in 10 |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Not available | Built in Rollback compares and restores earlier versions. 11 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Not available | Built in |
| Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. | Not available | Not available |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Not available | Plugin or add-on Umbraco Workflow add-on. Its free version is capped at five approval groups. Full use is paid. 1221 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available | Plugin or add-on Release Sets in a licensed Umbraco Workflow. 13 |
| 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 |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Limited Roles are access-control functions written in code. No role editor in the admin. 5 | Built in User groups with granular permissions. |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Built in Field-level access control. 5 | Limited Per-property read and write limits per user group, enforced in the UI only. 14 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Not available The auth package covers password login. SSO means custom session code. 6 | Built in OpenID Connect providers such as Entra ID, configured in code. 15 |
| Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. | Not available | Limited Audit trail per item plus a log viewer. No installation-wide audit screen in core. 16 |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available | Built in Several root nodes, each with its own domains. |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Custom admin pages, navigation and field views. 9 | Built in Backoffice extensions. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Not available | Built in Umbraco Marketplace. |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available | Plugin or add-on Umbraco Forms, paid licence. Included on Umbraco Cloud. 217 |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Built in createAuth works on any list, including site users. 6 | Built in Members, separate from backoffice users. |
| AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. | Not available | Plugin or add-on Free Umbraco.AI packages add prompts and an editor copilot. 18 |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Not available | Built in Umbraco CMS Developer MCP server. 19 |
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)
Umbraco sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release..
- Umbraco releases
- Umbraco pricing
- Umbraco 18 release
- Umbraco Deploy licensing
- Umbraco Cloud: UDA files
- Umbraco docs: Block Grid
- Umbraco docs: Content Delivery API
- Umbraco docs: Webhooks
- Umbraco docs: Image Cropper
- Umbraco docs: Scheduled Publishing
- Umbraco docs: Rollback to a previous version
- Umbraco Workflow
- Umbraco Workflow docs: Release Sets
- Umbraco docs: Property Level UI Permissions
- Umbraco docs: External Login Providers
- Umbraco docs: Log Viewer
- Umbraco Forms licensing
- Umbraco.AI on GitHub
- Umbraco MCP on GitHub
- Nikcio.UHeadless on Umbraco Marketplace
- Umbraco Workflow docs: Licensing
Considering more platforms? Compare Keystone and Umbraco with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Keystone and Umbraco get a different status on 23 of the 28 features and the same status on 5. Keystone has 6 built in on its baseline edition, Umbraco 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.
- Vendor cloud
- Keystone has no vendor-run cloud. Umbraco has a vendor-run cloud.
Built in on Keystone, a different answer on Umbraco 3
- Content model in code Keystone: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- GraphQL API Keystone: Built in. Umbraco: Not available.
- Field-level permissions Keystone: Built in. Umbraco: Limited.
Built in on Umbraco, a different answer on Keystone 15
- Content model in the UI Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Localization Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Image transformations Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- REST API Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Webhooks Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Renders the website Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Drafts Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Scheduled publishing Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Version history Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Preview Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Custom roles Keystone: Limited. Umbraco: Built in.
- Single sign-on Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Multiple sites Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Plugin marketplace Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Official MCP server Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 5
- Approval workflows Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- Content releases Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- Audit log Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Limited.
- Form builder Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- AI writing assistant Keystone: Not available. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
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