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CMS comparison Prismic vs Wagtail

Prismic vs Wagtail

Prismic is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Wagtail is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 17.

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  • Prismic Headless · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in
  • Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Prismic on 29 Sept 2026, Wagtail 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
Prismic vs Wagtail feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Prismic Headless
Wagtail Traditional
Overview
What it is Hosted headless page builder where marketers compose pages from developer-built slices. Run by Prismic, with SDKs for Next.js, Nuxt and SvelteKit.Open-source CMS built on Django. Content types are Python models, and you host it yourself on any Python stack.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Prismic SaaS, Free to Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026
Vendor Prismic prismic.io Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source BSD-3-Clause
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting No vendor cloud The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app.
Built with SaaS with SDKs for Next.js, Nuxt and SvelteKitPython, Django
Database Managed by PrismicPostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free plan. Starter $10, Small $25, Medium $150, Platinum $675 per repository per month, billed yearly. Free to start Free and open source. No licence fee.
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 Model files live in the project. The Prismic CLI pushes and pulls them. 2 Built in Page and snippet types are Django models. 2
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in Type Builder in the web app. 3 Not available Developers define content types in Python only.
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Slices with variations. 4 Built in StreamField blocks. 2
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in 2 locales on Free, 8 on Platinum, custom on Enterprise. 1 Built in Core i18n with simple_translation. The wagtail-localize package adds a translation workflow. 3
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in Image optimization and processing on all plans. 1 Built in Renditions with resize, crop and format filters. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Document API. 15 Built in Read-only v2 API. Writable v3 API in preview since 8.0. 51
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 15 Plugin or add-on wagtail-grapple, maintained by Torchbox. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in 6 Not available Django signals such as page_published. No webhook settings. 18
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
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in Built in
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Scheduled through releases on every plan. 18 Built in Go-live and expiry dates. 7
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Full revision history on every plan. 1 Built in Editors can compare and revert revisions. 11
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Shareable previews on every plan. 17 Built in 20
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Built in Page Builder shows live slice previews from your site next to the fields. 7 Limited Preview panel beside the edit form. No click-to-edit on the page. 20
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Limited Writer and Publisher roles from Medium. No configurable review stages. 9 Built in Moderation workflows with tasks assigned to groups. 8
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Built in Up to 200 pages per release. 8 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 In progress with a waitlist. A status indicator shows who is editing. 10 Not available Concurrent editing notifications warn editors. No live co-editing. 12
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Limited Enterprise only. Fixed Read-only, Writer or Publisher levels set per locale. No role builder. 19 Built in Groups with page, collection and model permissions. 9
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Built in Set in code with the permission argument on panels. 10
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier Enterprise. 19 Plugin or add-on django-allauth supports SAML and OpenID Connect. 19
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Not available Not documented publicly. Built in Site-wide history report of logged actions. 11
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Each site is a repository on its own plan. Spaces group content inside one. 111 Built in Several sites in one installation with shared users. 9
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Limited Integration fields load external catalog data into a picker. No custom UI code. 12 Built in Hooks, viewsets and custom panels.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Not available Integration guides only. No installable marketplace. 13 Built in Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Built in wagtail.contrib.forms form builder. 13
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Limited Login for private pages is built in. Public sign-up needs a package such as django-allauth. 14
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Limited Beta on request: AI translation and SEO metadata suggestions. 114 Plugin or add-on Wagtail AI, an officially supported package. 15
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Built in Hosted at mcp.prismic.io, activated per repository. 15 Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16

Considering more platforms? Compare Prismic and Wagtail with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Prismic and Wagtail get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Prismic has 16 built in on its baseline edition, Wagtail 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.

Licence
Prismic is closed source (Proprietary). Wagtail is open source (BSD-3-Clause).
Self-hosting
Prismic cannot be self-hosted. Wagtail can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Prismic has a vendor-run cloud. Wagtail has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Prismic, a different answer on Wagtail 6

  • Content model in the UI Prismic: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
  • GraphQL API Prismic: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Prismic: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Visual editing Prismic: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
  • Content releases Prismic: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Official MCP server Prismic: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.

Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on Prismic 8

  • Renders the website Prismic: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Approval workflows Prismic: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Custom roles Prismic: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Prismic: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Audit log Prismic: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Extensible admin UI Prismic: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Plugin marketplace Prismic: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Form builder Prismic: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • Single sign-on Prismic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Site member accounts Prismic: Not available. Wagtail: Limited.
  • AI writing assistant Prismic: Limited. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Prismic vs Payload.

Prismic against other platforms

Wagtail against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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