Statamic vs Wagtail
Statamic is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. 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 18.
- Statamic Traditional · Closed source · 8 of 28 built in
- Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Statamic 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
| Platform |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| What it is | 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. | 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. | Statamic 6, Core and Pro Version 6.34.1, released 23 Sept 2026 | Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026 |
| Vendor | Statamic, LLC statamic.com | Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use. | Open source BSD-3-Clause |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud | Self-hosting No vendor cloud The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app. |
| Built with | PHP, Laravel, Vue | Python, Django |
| Database | Flat files by default, SQL databases via the Eloquent Driver | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Core free for one admin user. Pro $349 per site, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise from $10k per year. | 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 Blueprints and fieldsets are YAML files in the project. 4 | 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 Blueprint builder in the Control Panel. 4 | 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 Replicator and Bard sets. 5 | 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. | Paid tier Multi-site and multilingual content need Pro. 61 | 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 Glide resizes and crops on request. 7 | Built in Renditions with resize, crop and format filters. 4 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Paid tier Read-only REST API on Pro. 8 | 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. | Paid tier Read-only GraphQL API on Pro. 9 | 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. | Not available Laravel events only. No webhook settings in core. | 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. | Built in Antlers or Blade templates. | Built in |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Paid tier Working copies of live entries need Revisions on Pro. Core has unpublished entries. 101 | Built in |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Limited Future-dated entries stay private until their date. Set per collection. 11 | 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. | Paid tier Revisions on Pro. 10 | 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 121 | 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. | Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 12 | 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. | Not available Approval workflows are on the roadmap as planned. 19 | 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. | 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. | Plugin or add-on Free first-party Collaboration addon. Requires Pro. 18 | 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. | Paid tier Roles and permissions need Pro. 131 | 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 Field conditions depend on field values. User roles can't drive them. 4 | 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 Pro via Laravel Socialite providers such as SAML2. Enterprise tier lists SSO. 1521 | 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. | Paid tier Enterprise tier, from $10k per year, lists audit logging. 121 | 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. | Paid tier Pro. 61 | 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. | Built in Custom fieldtypes, widgets and Control Panel pages. 17 | Built in Hooks, viewsets and custom panels. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Statamic Marketplace for addons. 18 | Built in Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 17 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Limited Core allows one form. Pro removes the limit. 116 | 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. | Paid tier Member accounts, registration and login tags need Pro. 1416 | 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. | Not available | 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. | Not available Third-party addons only, such as MCP Server for Statamic by Cbox. 20 | Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16 |
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
Wagtail sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Wagtail 8, open source.
- Wagtail 8.0 release notes
- How to use StreamField for mixed content
- Wagtail docs: Internationalization
- Wagtail docs: Images
- Wagtail API v2 usage guide
- wagtail-grapple on GitHub
- Wagtail guide: Scheduled publishing
- Wagtail guide: Configure workflows for moderation
- Wagtail docs: Permissions
- Wagtail docs: Panels reference
- Wagtail docs: Audit log
- Wagtail 6.2: content metrics and concurrent editing
- Wagtail docs: Form builder
- Wagtail docs: Private pages
- Wagtail AI
- Experiments with MCP in Wagtail
- Wagtail docs: Packages
- Wagtail docs: Signals
- django-allauth: SAML provider
- Wagtail 4.0 release notes: live preview panel
Considering more platforms? Compare Statamic and Wagtail with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Statamic and Wagtail get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Statamic has 8 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
- Statamic is closed source (Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use.). Wagtail is open source (BSD-3-Clause).
Built in on Statamic, a different answer on Wagtail 1
- Content model in the UI Statamic: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on Statamic 11
- Localization Statamic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- REST API Statamic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- Drafts Statamic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- Scheduled publishing Statamic: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
- Version history Statamic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- Approval workflows Statamic: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
- Custom roles Statamic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- Field-level permissions Statamic: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
- Audit log Statamic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- Multiple sites Statamic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- Form builder Statamic: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 6
- GraphQL API Statamic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
- Real-time co-editing Statamic: Plugin or add-on. Wagtail: Not available.
- Single sign-on Statamic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
- Site member accounts Statamic: Paid tier. Wagtail: Limited.
- AI writing assistant Statamic: Not available. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
- Official MCP server Statamic: Not available. Wagtail: Limited.
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Wagtail against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Wagtail
- Contentful vs Wagtail
- Contentstack vs Wagtail
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Wagtail
- Craft CMS vs Wagtail
- DatoCMS vs Wagtail
- Decap CMS vs Wagtail
- Directus vs Wagtail
- Drupal vs Wagtail
- EmDash vs Wagtail
- FirstSpirit vs Wagtail
- Framer vs Wagtail
- Ghost vs Wagtail
- HubSpot CMS vs Wagtail
- Hygraph vs Wagtail
- Instatic vs Wagtail
- Joomla vs Wagtail
- Keystone vs Wagtail
- Kirby vs Wagtail
- Liferay DXP vs Wagtail
- Optimizely CMS vs Wagtail
- Wagtail vs Payload
- Prismic vs Wagtail
- Progress Sitefinity vs Wagtail
- Sanity vs Wagtail
- Sitecore vs Wagtail
- Squarespace vs Wagtail
- Storyblok vs Wagtail
- Strapi vs Wagtail
- TYPO3 vs Wagtail
- Umbraco vs Wagtail
- Wagtail vs Webflow
- Wagtail vs Wix
- Wagtail vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Wagtail
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