CMS Comparison
Decap CMS vs CloudCannon
Compare Decap CMS and CloudCannon side-by-side. Explore setup, editing experience, non-technical usability, collaboration, Git workflow, and pricing.
Decap CMS
Git-Based CMSDecap CMS (formerly Netlify CMS) is a free, open-source, Git-based CMS independently maintained in the EU. It acts as a React-based wrapper around the Git workflow, storing content directly in your repository alongside your code. Originally created by Netlify and rebranded in February 2023, Decap CMS is designed for developers and content editors working with static site generators.
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CloudCannon
Git-Based CMSCloudCannon is a Git-based CMS platform built for agencies and development teams managing client websites at scale. It offers a great visual editing experience and deep SSG integration, but requires developer configuration before editors can get started. CloudCannon is best suited for teams with dedicated developers who need a robust, enterprise-grade content workflow.
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| Feature | Decap CMS | CloudCannon |
|---|---|---|
| CMS type | Git-Based (open-source, MIT-licensed) | Git-Based (commercial, agency-focused) |
| SSG support | Hugo, Next.js, Gatsby, Jekyll, 11ty, Astro, Remix, SvelteKit + any SSG that stores content in Git | Jekyll, Hugo, Eleventy (11ty), Astro, Next.js, SvelteKit, Gatsby, MkDocs |
| Pricing entry point | Free forever (core CMS). Decap Turbo paid extension starts at $37/mo (Starter) or $112/mo (Team). | $55/mo (monthly) or $49/mo (annual). No lifetime option. |
| Free plan | ✅ Yes — Core CMS is free forever, no user or project limits. | ❌ No — No free plan. 21-day trial only. |
| Free trial (without credit card) | ✅ Not needed — the core CMS is permanently free. | ⚠️ Yes but — 21 days, credit card required at the end of the trial. |
| Content security | ✅ Yes — Highly secured. No database; content stored as static files in your own Git repository. | ✅ Yes — Highly secured. No database to hack since files are stored in your Git repo. |
| Native language support | ⚠️ Yes but — Admin UI defaults to English. Other locales must be manually registered via the decap-cms-locales package. No built-in switcher. | ❌ No — No native support. Content translation is handled via third-party tools (e.g. Rosey). |
| Mobile friendly | ❌ No — Not natively optimized for mobile. A community CSS workaround exists. | ❌ No — No dedicated mobile-optimized editing experience. |
Setup & Configuration
| Feature | Decap CMS | CloudCannon |
|---|---|---|
| Non-technical setup | ❌ No — A developer must add index.html and config.yml to the project and configure authentication before the CMS is usable. | ❌ No — Developer-led setup required. Needs a cloudcannon.config.yml file to configure inputs and structures. |
| Starter templates | ⚠️ Yes but — Official starters exist for Hugo, Next.js, Gatsby, and Jekyll. No large curated template library. | ❌ No — Only an Astro starter with prebuilt components. Fewer SSG-specific options overall. |
| Edit schema modifier | ❌ No — Schema is defined entirely in a YAML config.yml file, edited outside the CMS. No visual schema editor. | ⚠️ Yes but — Via the cloudcannon.config file, editable in-app through Configuration Mode. No visual schema editor. |
Editing Experience
| Feature | Decap CMS | CloudCannon |
|---|---|---|
| Editor | Rich text (Plate-based, replaces deprecated markdown widget) + Markdown + Code. 16 built-in widgets and custom widgets. | WYSIWYG Visual Editor — true on-page editing. |
| Live preview system | ⚠️ Yes but — Customizable React-based preview templates. Requires developer setup to match the site’s frontend. | ✅ Yes — Real-time in-page preview rendered inside an iFrame. Changes are visible immediately without a full rebuild. |
| AI assistant integration | ❌ No — No built-in AI assistant or content generation tool in either the free CMS or Decap Turbo. | ⚠️ Yes but — “AI-ready infrastructure” designed for external AI agents, not an in-editor writing assistant. |
| Collaborative editing | ❌ No — No simultaneous editing. Decap Turbo Team adds a presence indicator only, not concurrent editing. | ⚠️ Yes but — Only one user edits a file at a time; others can view live in read-only mode. |
| iFrame embed preview | ❌ No — Not documented or available out of the box. | ✅ Yes — iFrames are used natively in the Visual Editor for live page previews. |
| Shortcode support | ✅ Yes — Custom editor components and widgets serve as shortcodes, configured by developers. | ✅ Yes — Shortcodes can be mapped to visual editing components via configuration. |
| SEO tools | ❌ No — Only slug and file path config. No built-in SEO analysis, SERP preview, or scoring tools. | ⚠️ Yes but — Built-in SEO optimization tools. No SERP preview. |
| Dark mode | ❌ No — No native dark mode. A community-contributed CSS override exists but isn’t official. | ✅ Yes — Light and dark mode available, follows browser default. |
Non-Technical User Experience
| Feature | Decap CMS | CloudCannon |
|---|---|---|
| Designed for non-technicals | ⚠️ Yes but — Editors can use it once set up, but setup, schema changes, and auth configuration always require a developer. | ⚠️ Yes but — Requires a developer for initial setup and configuration before editors can use it. |
| Version rollback | ⚠️ Yes but — Full history via Git. No dedicated version rollback UI inside the CMS. | ⚠️ Yes but — Requires technical knowledge or developer access to execute. |
| Initial setup by non-dev | ❌ No — A developer must configure config.yml and the authentication backend first. | ❌ No — A developer must configure the CMS and instrument templates before editors can use it. |
Media Management
| Feature | Decap CMS | CloudCannon |
|---|---|---|
| Media management | ⚠️ Yes but — Built-in library supports upload, view, and delete via drag-and-drop. External providers (Cloudinary, Uploadcare) via plugins. No file renaming. | ✅ Yes — Drag-and-drop media library. Integrates with DAMs (Amazon S3, Cloudinary, Google Cloud Storage) and Git LFS for large-scale asset management. |
| External image URL support | ⚠️ Yes but — Handled via Cloudinary and Uploadcare plugins. No direct inline external URL support. | ⚠️ Yes but — Handled via DAM integrations. No direct inline external URL support. |
Collaboration & Teams
| Feature | Decap CMS | CloudCannon |
|---|---|---|
| User access | ⚠️ Yes but — Git Gateway (via Netlify Identity) allows non-Git login. On other hosts, a developer must configure external OAuth. | ✅ Yes — Editors can be invited via email without needing a personal Git account. |
| Custom roles | ⚠️ Yes but — A Decap Turbo feature, available on the Team plan ($37/mo) and above. The free core CMS has no centralized role management. | ✅ Yes — Default permissions on the Standard plan. Custom Permission Groups available on Team and Enterprise. |
| Organization management | ⚠️ Yes but — A Decap Turbo feature. The free CMS is per-site with no multi-project dashboard. | ✅ Yes — Organization-level management supported on all plans. |
| Branch workflows | ⚠️ Yes but — Editorial Workflow (draft/review/publish via Git branches) is included in the free CMS. PRs are created and merged in the Git provider itself. | ⚠️ Yes but — Advanced branching workflows are only available on the Team and Enterprise plans. |
Git & Deployment
| Feature | Decap CMS | CloudCannon |
|---|---|---|
| Git providers | GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, and Git Gateway (Netlify) — the broadest provider support of the two. | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket. |
| Vendor lock-in | ✅ No — No vendor lock-in. Content lives in your own Git repository. Self-hosted and fully open source. | ✅ No — All content stored as standard files (Markdown, JSON, YAML) in your own Git repository. |
| Deployment | Content commits trigger builds on any connected CI/CD platform — Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages, Cloudflare Pages, and more. | Pushes to your Git repo, triggering builds on external hosts (Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages). Also offers built-in hosting on a global Cloudflare CDN. |
Accessibilities
| Feature | Decap CMS | CloudCannon |
|---|---|---|
| Global search | ⚠️ Yes but — Search by title, slug, and configured summary fields. Can exhaust API rate limits on large repositories; can be disabled. | ❌ No — No dedicated global search across CMS content. |
| Edit configs as code | ✅ Yes — Configuration is done entirely via config.yml, edited outside the CMS. | ✅ Yes — Configuration Mode allows editing the cloudcannon.config file directly within the app. |
| Mermaid diagram preview | ❌ No — Not a built-in or documented feature. | ❌ No — Not a supported feature. |
Worth Knowing
There's a third option: Sitepins
Decap CMS is free but developer-led from setup to schema changes, while CloudCannon gets you a polished visual editor at $55/mo but no free plan. Sitepins sits in between: connect your repo and start editing in minutes with zero config, get a visual editor, AI writing assistant, and real-time collaboration, and stay on a free forever plan or a $199 lifetime deal. Sitepins is open source too (AGPL-3.0, on GitHub), so you can self-host it or contribute.
Note: If you found any wrong information here, please contact us and we will fix it.
Which one is right for you?
A quick summary to help you choose the right Git-based CMS.
Choose Decap CMS if:
- You want a truly free, self-hosted, open-source CMS with no required subscription
- You need the widest Git provider support: GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps
- Your team is comfortable with YAML config and doesn't need a true WYSIWYG on-page editor
- You want maximum extensibility through community plugins and custom widgets
- Budget matters more than a polished, agency-grade workflow
Choose CloudCannon if:
- You need a true on-page WYSIWYG visual editor for marketing or client-facing sites
- You're managing multiple client sites and need enterprise-grade permissions and org management out of the box
- You want built-in DAM integrations (S3, Cloudinary, Google Cloud Storage) and Git LFS for large media libraries
- Your team uses Bitbucket alongside GitHub or GitLab
- You'd rather pay for a polished, supported product than assemble one from open-source parts
Migration Support
Already using another CMS?
Whether you are coming from WordPress, Contentful, Sanity, or any other platform, our team is ready to help you migrate your content, structure, and workflows with zero downtime. Migration support is available for all users on the Team plan or the Lifetime deal. We handle the boring, tedious tasks so you can focus on launching as soon as possible.
Get Started with Sitepins
Get started for free today and discover easy, flexible, and full control over your content.