Kirby vs Prismic
Kirby is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Prismic is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 18.
- Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in
- Prismic Headless · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Kirby on 29 Sept 2026, Prismic 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 | File-based PHP CMS with a configurable editing Panel. Content lives in text files on your own server, under a paid per-site licence. | Hosted headless page builder where marketers compose pages from developer-built slices. Run by Prismic, with SDKs for Next.js, Nuxt and SvelteKit. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 Sept 2026 | Prismic SaaS, Free to Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated |
| Vendor | Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com | Prismic prismic.io |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary, source available | Closed source Proprietary |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud | No self-hosting Vendor cloud |
| Built with | PHP, Vue for the Panel | SaaS with SDKs for Next.js, Nuxt and SvelteKit |
| Database | Flat files, no database required | Managed by Prismic |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | No free option Basic €99 per site if revenue is under €1M. Enterprise €349 per site. Both include 3 years of updates. | Free to start Free plan. Starter $10, Small $25, Medium $150, Platinum $675 per repository per month, billed yearly. |
| 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 Blueprints are YAML files in site/blueprints. 5 | Built in Model files live in the project. The Prismic CLI pushes and pulls them. 2 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Not available You edit blueprints as files. The Panel has no schema editor. 5 | Built in Type Builder in the web app. 3 |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Blocks and Layout fields. 6 | Built in Slices with variations. 4 |
| Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. | Built in Multi-language content is built in. 7 | Built in 2 locales on Free, 8 on Platinum, custom on Enterprise. 1 |
| Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. | Built in Thumbs with resize, crop and format conversion. 8 | Built in Image optimization and processing on all plans. 1 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in Authenticated REST API. The official KQL plugin serves headless queries. 910 | Built in Document API. 15 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Built in 15 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Not available PHP hooks only. No webhook settings. | Built in 6 |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Built in PHP templates and snippets. | Not available |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in Page drafts. Kirby 5 stores unsaved changes apart from the live version. 4 | Built in |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Not available | Built in Scheduled through releases on every plan. 18 |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Not available Kirby 5 keeps the live version and one set of changes. No revision history. 4 | Built in Full revision history on every plan. 1 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in Preview view renders unsaved changes, with shareable links. 4 | Built in Shareable previews on every plan. 17 |
| Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. | Not available Preview view compares versions. No click-to-edit. 4 | Built in Page Builder shows live slice previews from your site next to the fields. 7 |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Not available Fixed page statuses: draft, unlisted, listed. 11 | Limited Writer and Publisher roles from Medium. No configurable review stages. 9 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available | Built in Up to 200 pages per release. 8 |
| 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 Content locking stops two editors changing one page at once. 320 | Not available In progress with a waitlist. A status indicator shows who is editing. 10 |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Built in Roles are user blueprints with permissions. 12 | Limited Enterprise only. Fixed Read-only, Writer or Publisher levels set per locale. No role builder. 19 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Not available Only by loading different blueprints per role in custom code. 13 | Not available |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Not available No first-party SSO. Community OAuth plugins exist. | Paid tier Enterprise. 19 |
| Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. | Not available | Not available Not documented publicly. |
| 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. | Built in Each site is a repository on its own plan. Spaces group content inside one. 111 |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Panel plugins add fields, sections, views and areas. 15 | Limited Integration fields load external catalog data into a picker. No custom UI code. 12 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Official plugin directory at plugins.getkirby.com. 16 | Not available Integration guides only. No installable marketplace. 13 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Paid DreamForm plugin by tobimori. 17 | Not available |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Limited Frontend login is built in. Sign-up needs custom code. 14 | Not available |
| AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. | Not available No first-party AI. Kirby Copilot is a paid third-party plugin. 18 | Limited Beta on request: AI translation and SEO metadata suggestions. 114 |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Not available Third-party Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick. 19 | Built in Hosted at mcp.prismic.io, activated per repository. 15 |
Kirby sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha..
- Kirby pricing
- Kirby releases
- Kirby 5 release overview
- Kirby 5: Preview your changes
- Kirby docs: Blueprints
- Kirby docs: Blocks field
- Kirby docs: Languages
- Kirby docs: $file->thumb()
- Kirby docs: REST API
- Kirby Query Language (KQL) plugin
- Kirby docs: Publishing workflow
- Kirby docs: Permissions
- Kirby cookbook: Extending permissions
- Kirby docs: Frontend login
- Kirby docs: Plugin extensions
- Kirby plugin directory
- DreamForm plugin
- Kirby Copilot plugin
- Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick
- Kirby docs: Content options (locking)
Prismic sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Prismic SaaS, Free to Enterprise plans.
- Prismic pricing and plan comparison
- Prismic CLI
- Prismic Type Builder
- Prismic slices
- Prismic API references
- Prismic webhooks
- Prismic previews and live previews
- Prismic releases
- Prismic users and permissions
- Prismic update: real-time collaboration
- Prismic: organize pages with spaces
- Prismic integration field
- Prismic integrations
- Prismic AI (beta)
- Prismic MCP server
Considering more platforms? Compare Kirby and Prismic with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Kirby and Prismic get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Kirby has 11 built in on its baseline edition, Prismic has 16. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.
- Self-hosting
- Kirby can be self-hosted. Prismic cannot be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- Kirby has no vendor-run cloud. Prismic has a vendor-run cloud.
- Free option
- Kirby has no free option. Prismic has a free option.
Built in on Kirby, a different answer on Prismic 4
- Renders the website Kirby: Built in. Prismic: Not available.
- Custom roles Kirby: Built in. Prismic: Limited.
- Extensible admin UI Kirby: Built in. Prismic: Limited.
- Plugin marketplace Kirby: Built in. Prismic: Not available.
Built in on Prismic, a different answer on Kirby 9
- Content model in the UI Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- GraphQL API Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Webhooks Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Scheduled publishing Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Version history Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Visual editing Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Content releases Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Multiple sites Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Official MCP server Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 5
- Approval workflows Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Limited.
- Single sign-on Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Paid tier.
- Form builder Kirby: Plugin or add-on. Prismic: Not available.
- Site member accounts Kirby: Limited. Prismic: Not available.
- AI writing assistant Kirby: Not available. Prismic: Limited.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Prismic vs Payload.
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Prismic against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Prismic
- Contentful vs Prismic
- Contentstack vs Prismic
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Prismic
- Craft CMS vs Prismic
- DatoCMS vs Prismic
- Decap CMS vs Prismic
- Directus vs Prismic
- Drupal vs Prismic
- EmDash vs Prismic
- FirstSpirit vs Prismic
- Framer vs Prismic
- Ghost vs Prismic
- HubSpot CMS vs Prismic
- Hygraph vs Prismic
- Instatic vs Prismic
- Joomla vs Prismic
- Keystone vs Prismic
- Liferay DXP vs Prismic
- Optimizely CMS vs Prismic
- Prismic vs Payload
- Prismic vs Progress Sitefinity
- Prismic vs Sanity
- Prismic vs Sitecore
- Prismic vs Squarespace
- Prismic vs Statamic
- Prismic vs Storyblok
- Prismic vs Strapi
- Prismic vs TYPO3
- Prismic vs Umbraco
- Prismic vs Wagtail
- Prismic vs Webflow
- Prismic vs Wix
- Prismic vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Prismic
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