Kirby vs Statamic
Kirby is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Statamic is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 15.
- Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in
- Statamic Traditional · Closed source · 8 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Kirby on 29 Sept 2026, Statamic 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. | Laravel-based PHP CMS that stores content in flat files by default. Free Core edition. Pro adds users, APIs and multi-site. You host it. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 Sept 2026 | Statamic 6, Core and Pro Version 6.34.1, released 23 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com | Statamic, LLC statamic.com |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary, source available | Closed source Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use. |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud | Self-hosting No vendor cloud |
| Built with | PHP, Vue for the Panel | PHP, Laravel, Vue |
| Database | Flat files, no database required | Flat files by default, SQL databases via the Eloquent Driver |
| 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 Core free for one admin user. Pro $349 per site, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise from $10k per year. |
| 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 Blueprints and fieldsets are YAML files in the project. 4 |
| 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 Blueprint builder in the Control Panel. 4 |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Blocks and Layout fields. 6 | Built in Replicator and Bard sets. 5 |
| 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 | Paid tier Multi-site and multilingual content need Pro. 61 |
| 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 Glide resizes and crops on request. 7 |
| 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 | Paid tier Read-only REST API on Pro. 8 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Paid tier Read-only GraphQL API on Pro. 9 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Not available PHP hooks only. No webhook settings. | Not available Laravel events only. No webhook settings in core. |
| 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. | Built in Antlers or Blade templates. |
| 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 | Paid tier Working copies of live entries need Revisions on Pro. Core has unpublished entries. 101 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Not available | Limited Future-dated entries stay private until their date. Set per collection. 11 |
| 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 | Paid tier Revisions on Pro. 10 |
| 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 121 |
| 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 | Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 12 |
| 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 | Not available Approval workflows are on the roadmap as planned. 19 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available | 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 Content locking stops two editors changing one page at once. 320 | Plugin or add-on Free first-party Collaboration addon. Requires Pro. 18 |
| 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 | Paid tier Roles and permissions need Pro. 131 |
| 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 Field conditions depend on field values. User roles can't drive them. 4 |
| 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 Pro via Laravel Socialite providers such as SAML2. Enterprise tier lists SSO. 1521 |
| Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. | Not available | Paid tier Enterprise tier, from $10k per year, lists audit logging. 121 |
| 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. | Paid tier Pro. 61 |
| 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 | Built in Custom fieldtypes, widgets and Control Panel pages. 17 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Official plugin directory at plugins.getkirby.com. 16 | Built in Statamic Marketplace for addons. 18 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Paid DreamForm plugin by tobimori. 17 | Limited Core allows one form. Pro removes the limit. 116 |
| 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 | Paid tier Member accounts, registration and login tags need Pro. 1416 |
| 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 | Not available |
| 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 | Not available Third-party addons only, such as MCP Server for Statamic by Cbox. 20 |
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)
Statamic sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Statamic 6, Core and Pro.
- Statamic pricing
- statamic/cms release metadata on Packagist
- Statamic 6 release announcement
- Statamic docs: Blueprints
- Statamic docs: Replicator fieldtype
- Statamic docs: Multi-site
- Statamic docs: Image manipulation (Glide)
- Statamic docs: REST API
- Statamic docs: GraphQL API
- Statamic docs: Revisions
- Statamic docs: Collections and date behavior
- Statamic docs: Live Preview
- Statamic docs: Permissions
- Statamic docs: Users
- Statamic docs: OAuth
- Statamic docs: Forms
- Statamic docs: Extending the Control Panel
- Collaboration addon by Statamic
- Statamic roadmap
- MCP Server for Statamic addon by Cbox
- Statamic Enterprise
Considering more platforms? Compare Kirby and Statamic with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Kirby and Statamic get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. Kirby has 11 built in on its baseline edition, Statamic has 8. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.
- Free option
- Kirby has no free option. Statamic has a free option.
Built in on Kirby, a different answer on Statamic 4
- Localization Kirby: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
- REST API Kirby: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Drafts Kirby: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Custom roles Kirby: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
Built in on Statamic, a different answer on Kirby 1
- Content model in the UI Kirby: Not available. Statamic: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 10
- GraphQL API Kirby: Not available. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Scheduled publishing Kirby: Not available. Statamic: Limited.
- Version history Kirby: Not available. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Visual editing Kirby: Not available. Statamic: Limited.
- Real-time co-editing Kirby: Not available. Statamic: Plugin or add-on.
- Single sign-on Kirby: Not available. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Audit log Kirby: Not available. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Multiple sites Kirby: Not available. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Form builder Kirby: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Limited.
- Site member accounts Kirby: Limited. Statamic: Paid tier.
More comparisons
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Statamic against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Statamic
- Contentful vs Statamic
- Contentstack vs Statamic
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Statamic
- Craft CMS vs Statamic
- DatoCMS vs Statamic
- Decap CMS vs Statamic
- Directus vs Statamic
- Drupal vs Statamic
- EmDash vs Statamic
- FirstSpirit vs Statamic
- Framer vs Statamic
- Ghost vs Statamic
- HubSpot CMS vs Statamic
- Hygraph vs Statamic
- Instatic vs Statamic
- Joomla vs Statamic
- Keystone vs Statamic
- Liferay DXP vs Statamic
- Optimizely CMS vs Statamic
- Statamic vs Payload
- Prismic vs Statamic
- Progress Sitefinity vs Statamic
- Sanity vs Statamic
- Sitecore vs Statamic
- Squarespace vs Statamic
- Statamic vs Storyblok
- Statamic vs Strapi
- Statamic vs TYPO3
- Statamic vs Umbraco
- Statamic vs Wagtail
- Statamic vs Webflow
- Statamic vs Wix
- Statamic vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Statamic
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